The Bengals have parted ways with veteran offensive lineman Mike Pollak, the team announced today (via Twitter). After spending two seasons in Cincinnati, Pollak will become a free agent immediately, having been cut by the Bengals.
Pollak, who celebrated his 30th birthday on Monday, started his career with the Colts before joining the Panthers briefly and then landing in Cincinnati. In two years with the Bengals, he appeared in 22 games, starting 11 of them. The former second-round pick spent time at both left guard and right guard for the team in 2014, but the Bengals ultimately finished the season with Kevin Zeitler on the right side and Clint Boling on the left.
With Boling headed for unrestricted free agency next month, the Bengals could have kept Pollak on the roster as a potential starter for next season, but it appears the club either is confident Boling will re-sign or is comfortable moving in a different direction. As Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com tweets, Cincinnati is expected to target depth at guard in free agency and in the draft.
By releasing Pollak, the Bengals remove his $1.2MM base salary and $75K workout bonus for 2015 from their books. However, the veteran lineman still had two years left on his contract, so the team will have to deal with a little dead money. Overall, the move reduces Pollak’s cap number from $1.44MM to about $333K.