Bengals LB Odell Thurman suspended 4 games
The tumultuous offseason of the Cincinnati Bengals continued Thursday when two league sources and one source close to Odell Thurman confirmed that the starting middle linebacker has been suspended for four games for a violation of the NFL’s substance abuse policy.
League and team officials, citing the confidentiality guidelines of the substance-abuse program, declined to comment Thursday on Thurman’s status.
There is at least circumstantial evidence, however, to suggest that Cincinnati officials and coaches knew that Thurman faced a suspension. At the team’s minicamp in June, the middle linebacker was excused for what coach Marvin Lewis termed “personal reasons.” And it certainly appears the choice of Brooks, whose off-field problems have been well documented, was likely made to help compensate for Thurman’s loss.
The photo you see accompanying this news item is an actual, undoctored photo of Thurman taken from the Bengals website. Obviously Thurman has been ingesting fairy dust, which we weren’t aware of as a banned substance, but it’s a good thing it is.
