Bengals release LB Preston Brown

Benching Andy Dalton now might be the second-most shocking move the Bengals have made this season.

The Bengals are releasing linebacker Preston Brown, per Tyler Dragon of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Originally signed last offseason as a free agent from the Buffalo Bills, Brown made 15 starts for the Bengals in two years. He was hurt for the majority of 2018 after signing a one-year deal with the team, but he was rewarded with a three-year $16.5m contract this offseason; a move that rivaled the Bobby Hart signing in terms of cluelessness.

And that’s what makes this move even more astonishing. The Bengals will now eat $5.4M in dead money to release Brown half a season into his three-year deal. In all honesty, it may be worth it, because Brown has been even worse this season than he was last year. He didn’t even start this past Sunday against the Ravens.

With Brown now out of the picture and Nick Vigil entering free agency this offseason, major changes should be on the horizon at the linebacker position.