Preston Brown's time in Cincinnati has surprisingly come to an abrupt end.
The Bengals announced Tuesday they have waived the veteran linebacker.
Brown came over to Cincinnati on a one-year deal in 2018 after spending his first four seasons in Buffalo and appeared in seven games before suffering a season-ending knee injury. The Bengals retained Brown via a new, three-year contract signed in the offseason, and he appeared in all nine of Cincinnati's games in 2019.
Perhaps the writing was on the wall, though. Brown didn't start in Sunday's thrashing at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens, which dropped the Bengals to 0-9 on the year. Rookie Germaine Pratt, a 2019 third-round pick out of N.C. State, played in Brown's place.
With Cincinnati clearly looking toward football played well after 2019, cutting ties with the veteran makes sense as the franchise aims to better understand what it has in its younger players.
Here's other news around the NFL that we're tracking on Tuesday:
» The Tampa Bay Buccaneers cut cornerbackVernon Hargreaves III after less than four seasons with the team. The former first-round pick was benched Sunday by coach Bruce Arians for a lack of hustle, which ultimately served as a precursor for Tuesday's move.
» NFL Network's Omar Ruiz talked to Pittsburgh Steelers running back James Conner (shoulder) a little bit before practice. He said he's trending in the right direction to play and was a full participant in today's practice.
»San Francisco 49ers RB Matt Breida will get a second opinion on the sprained ankle he aggravated in last night's loss to the Seahawks, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported, via an informed source. Pelissero added that it doesn't sound like a bad injury, but Breida may miss some time to let it heal.
49ers coach Kyle Shanahan announced LT Joe Staley has a finger fracture/dislocation, and DE Ronald Blair has a torn ACL and will go on IR. If Staley chooses to undergo surgery, it could sideline him for a couple of weeks. Wideout Emmanuel Sanders (rib) was also announced as a possible game-time decision for Week 11.
» The Baltimore Ravens have signed veteran defensive tackle Justin Ellis, per Rapoport. A piece among the Raiders' D-line rotation for six seasons, Ellis gives the Ravens an experienced midseason addition, given the injuries at that position. He was released by Oakland on Oct. 8. In corresponding moves, the Ravens are cutting CB Cyrus Jones and placing DL Daylon Mack on IR with a knee injury, per Pelissero.
Pelissero also confirmed that the team will sign free agent nose tackle Domata Peko to a deal that will pay him $1 million for the rest of the season, per an informed source. Pelissero added that the veteran will get $700K guaranteed and can earn another $300K in incentives. Peko, 34, has racked up 585 total tackles, 20 sacks and 14 pass deflections in 201 career games (186 starts).
» The Carolina Panthers are cutting guard Bryan Witzmann, per Pelissero.
»Oakland Raiders DB Lamarcus Joyner is expected to miss up to a few weeks with a hamstring injury, according to Pelissero, via a source. Joyner's injury is not believed to be season-ending.
» The Log Angeles Rams have placed C Brian Allen (MCL) and LB Bryce Hager (shoulder) on IR.
» The New York Jets have promoted LB B.J. Bello and CB Kyron Brown to the active roster, and placed RG Brian Winters (shoulder) and TE Chris Herndon (rib) on IR in corresponding moves.
» The Detroit Lions were awarded T Dan Skipper via waivers from the Texans, the team announced. In a corresponding move, the Lions also announced that they have placed DT Kevin Strong on IR.
» The Tennessee Titans waived RB Rod Smith from the active roster, and added OL Daniel Munyer to their practice squad.