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Bengals Linebacker Rey Maualuga Unsure If He'll Return To Cincinnati In 2013

Rey Maualuga has been the target of frustration among the Cincinnati Bengals fanbase.

By Josh Kirkendall

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Andy Lyons

Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Rey Maualuga, who generated over 150 tackles this season, is feeling it.

We've been saying it.

The starting middle linebacker told Joe Danneman with Fox 19 that he believed his future in Cincinnati would "hinge" on how he played on Saturday against the Houston Texans. It wasn't good. He missed a handful of tackles and his pass coverage (allowed four of five completions for 59 yards and 44 YAC) was often ridiculed by Mike Mayock during NBC's coverage of the Wild Card game.

Pro Football Focus lists Maualuga as the worst linebacker entering free agency and his PFF grade of -29.8 was the worst on the team. His 18 missed tackles doubles the player with the second-most missed tackles and Maualuga is feeling the pressure of a younger Vontaze Burfict squeezing him out of Cincinnati as the next inside linebacker.

Will he be back?

Entering free agency as an unrestricted free agent, Maualuga admitted to Danneman that "he doesn't know" if he'll be back in 2013.

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