UPDATE: Bengals release five, including Chris Perry and Gary Russell

We wrote earlier that the Bengals will have a tight competition for two spots on the roster -- given that Cedric Benson is surely the team's feature back. Well, the first causalities have already begun. Chris Perry is one of the several players cut from the team, writes Geoff Hobson.

Running back Chris Perry became the first first-round pick of the Marvin Lewis era to be cut Monday when the Bengals ended his injury-riddled five-year career in Cincinnati.

They also cut safety Mike Doss as well as two players that saw players taken at their positions in the third round Sunday in defensive end/linebacker Eric Henderson and tight end Nate Lawrie.

None of these cuts go as any surprise. Chris Perry was all but given his walking papers as soon as Cedric Benson signed with the Bengals during the 2008 regular season. Eric Henderson, another walking-ridden player, was likely replaced by Michael Johnson and Nate Lawrie was the fourth tight end after Chase Coffman was drafted.

However, it's unclear how we (if we should) perceive Mike Doss' release. He wasn't a big contributor, but speculation about an imminent Roy Williams signing is going to gain traction. However after not touching the position in the draft, they signed safety Tom Nelson out of Illinois State, an undrafted free agent, late on Sunday night.

UPDATE: Joe Reedy writes in his post about the cuts, that Gary Russell was also waived. We hardly knew ya.