25-year old linebacker David Pollack has decided to retire from the NFL due to a fractured vertebrae that he suffered two years ago.  Pollack played in 16 games in his NFL career and he made 29 tackles, had 4.5 sacks and he defensed 1 pass.  This is quite a shame as Pollack was a talented football player.  Here’s hoping that he has a nice life ahead of him.

24-year old linebacker Odell Thurman has been reinstated from his two-year NFL suspension due to his off the field conduct.  It will be interesting to see if Thurman a.) learned his lesson.  b.) is rusty.  Thurman was outstanding in his only season in the NFL.  He played in 16 games as a rookie and he made 98 tackles, had 1.5 sacks, defensed 4 passes and had 5 interceptions including one that he returned for a TD.  The Bengals need Thurman to produce and behave because their defense just isn’t that good right now.

The Bengals have signed WR Doug Gabriel.  Gabriel didn’t play in the NFL last season.  The 27-year old Gabriel has now played in 57 games in his NFL career and he has caught 101 passes for 1,550 yards (15.3 avg) with 8 TD grabs.  He should be able to help the Bengals replace Chris Henry.

The Bengals have signed TE Ben Utecht away from the Colts.  He will give Carson Palmer a legit threat at TE which he hasn’t had in his career yet.  Utecht is a big guy at 6′6″, 251 pounds so he will be a big target over the middle for the Bengals.  He played in 14 games for the Colts last season and he caught 31 passes for 364 yards (11.7 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Utecht has now played in 41 games in his NFL career and he has caught 71 passes for 800 yards (11.3 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Look for Utecht to have a big season for the Bengals in 2008.

The Bengals have signed linebacker Brandon Johnson.  Johnson played in 6 games for the Bengals last season and he made only 2 tackles.  Johnson has now played in 9 games in his NFL career and he has made 4 whole tackles.  This signing will do nothing to help the Bengals’ defense.