QB O'Donnell Out In Cincy

The Cincinnati Bengals today released Neil O'Donnell, a one-time Super Bowl quarterback who was their starter for most of last season.

The Bengals had signed O'Donnell, who played for Pittsburgh in the 1996 Super Bowl, to a four-year, $17 million contract last July, after he was let go by the New York Jets.

The Bengals went on to finish 3-13 for the fourth time during the 1990s.

After taking two quarterbacks in last weekend's draft, Akili Smith in the first round and Scott Covington in the seventh, the team released O'Donnell. They still have five quarterbacks on the roster Jeff Blake, Paul Justin and Eric Kresser are the others.

The 32-year-old O'Donnell,a nine-year NFL veteran, played in 13 games for Cincinnati last season, starting 11. He completed 212 of 343 pass attempts for 2,216 yards, 15 touchdowns and four interceptions.

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