The Cincinnati Bengals on Friday released watch B.J. Finney, finishing a time of disarray, dread and actual impediments for the previous $8 million player.
Finney struggled to properly prepare last offseason in dread of losing a $2 million marking reward from the Seattle Seahawks because of COVID-19 limitations on physicals, sources told ESPN. Finney marked a two-year, $8 million arrangement with Seattle last March however never made light of a hostile for the group, appearing at stay outdoors of shape.
Seattle sent him to Cincinnati as a component of the Carlos Dunlap bargain in October, and he didn’t play there by the same token. The center issue: With groups incapable to supervise physicals last offseason because of the Covid episode, they put provisos in agreements that fizzled physicals would bring about relinquished signing bonus money.
Finney couldn’t take his physical until instructional course – Seattle’s building briefly shut down and the group didn’t allow third-party physicals, which some however not all NFL groups did. So Finney downsized his exercises to try not to get injured and appeared at camp over his ordinary playing weight of 315 pounds.
The shortfall of Organized Team Activities and minicamp in June didn’t help the previous undrafted free specialist who depends on smarts and expectation above crude physicality. He in the long run got beat down by Ethan Pocic at focus in Seattle.
Another free specialist endorsed via Seattle a year ago affirmed the legally binding issue with the physicals was an hurdle.
“It put a player like him in a bad situation — he literally couldn’t work out to get in shape, and he was in a funk all year because of it,” a source close to Finney with direct knowledge of the situation told ESPN. “This is the one time you can set yourself up for life, and if you tweak your back or do anything, you’re in jeopardy of losing your contract.”
Finney wound up making $3.03 million from Seattle – where he played 29 special teams snaps, none on offense – and $1.47 million from Cincinnati.
Finney, 29, spent the initial four periods of his profession with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
About Author
Disclaimer: The views, suggestions, and opinions expressed here are the sole responsibility of the experts. No Guardian Talks journalist was involved in the writing and production of this article.