Safety Chris Crocker’s lacking 'durability’ costs him place at Cincinnati Bengals-NFL News
Cincinnati Bengals’ safety, Chris Crocker, who was foreseen to be in the line of fire, following the poor form he had shown in the past season, has finally been let go by Bengals' management.
Bengals confirmed on Friday, April 06, 2012, to have released the player and told him that the decision was taken because of his lacking durability.
Crocker has been through some injury problems over the past two years, which have taken some toll on his fitness and strength.
His release comes even though Bengals have some room on the pay roster.
There were some hopes that the management might give a second thought to the planned waiver due to the financial capacity, but they did not take any chances.
The safety played for three consecutive seasons for Bengals, starting 38 games.
He suffered a medial collateral ligament in 2010 and the injury forced him to sit out for more than half the season.
Since then, he has been unable to regain his previous fitness and form.
The particular disappointment for him was the miss of an interception in Bengals’ playoff game against Houston Texans last season.
The lapse did not help the team to redeem earlier lost position and they eventually lost the game.
Crocker admitted:
"It's sad that I don't have a chance to redeem myself.”
However, he probably did not expect as much from the management as his release.
It turns out to be the lowest point of his career and he is expressively disappointed over the move.
He said:
"I know as a player I feel a certain way but not everybody in the building felt the same way. This was one of the best stops of my career. I got to go to the playoffs two of my three full seasons here."
Chris Crocker, 32, was ranked at the seventh position in overall tackles ratings of the league, during the past season.
The negative side of his record, however, was that he could not hold an interception throughout the season.
Being the defensive captain, he remained crucial to the team’s form and performance.
He played the team’s all 1066 defensive snaps, except for 47.
The management is aiming to save an amount of $2.7 million from the cap of number of players after his release.
Bengals are amongst the teams having problem with their salary cap, which at one point was above the league’s prescribed level.
They have managed to solve the issue to some extent and have room on the pay roster, substantial enough to retain Crocker, or sign another player within the same salary cap.
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