By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

JoJuan Armour was released Tuesday by the Bengals after falling to third on the depth chart at strong safety.

"It became apparent that JoJuan wasn't going to be one of the guys who were going to play significant snaps on the defensive team," coach Marvin Lewis said.

The focus then shifted to special teams, where Armour had played in 26 games for the Bengals in three seasons.

"We were trying to give him every opportunity to upgrade us in special teams, but we just feel like we need to move in a different direction right now," said Lewis, who didn't rule out the possibility of bringing back Armour later.

As Armour left Paul Brown Stadium in street clothes, he said Lewis told him about the cut shortly before noon.

"I wish the best to the Bengals, Mike Brown, Coach Lewis," said Armour, 26, who started 19 games and appeared in 38 in four seasons with the Bengals.

"Without Mike Brown, I never would have had the chance to play in the NFL. All I want is for a person to be honest with me. (Lewis) was totally honest with me from the beginning."

Armour lost his backup role at strong safety to Rogers Beckett. The starter is Marquand Manuel.

Armour, at 6 feet, 220 pounds, was too small to play linebacker in the NFL. He was a two-time Mid-American Conference Defensive Player of the Year as a Miami linebacker in 1997 and '98.

Look for Armour to sign with another NFL team. Detroit, Green Bay, Buffalo and Tampa Bay are possible destinations.

His best year with the Bengals was 2001, when he started 11 games and had a career-best 77 tackles.

With three transactions Tuesday, the Bengals roster now stands at 66 players and meets the NFL deadline to trim to that figure.

They have one exemption in linebacker Dwayne Levels, who played in NFL Europe.

Thirteen more players must be released by 4 p.m. Sunday to reach the 53-man active roster.

QB ROTATION: Shane Matthews will follow starter Jon Kitna in the preseason finale Friday night at Indianapolis, Lewis said.

"We're going to judge the flow of the game and take it from there," Lewis said of Kitna's playing time. "We'll adjust to the rhythm of that group with Jon and make sure we keep our people in there with theirs."

Rookie Carson Palmer will play last.

Lewis wouldn't say whether Palmer or Matthews would be the backup to Kitna once the regular season starts.

"We'll make that determination Sunday morning at 11:30, Sept. 7," Lewis said.

PUNTING: Travis Dorsch and Nick Harris will head to Indianapolis locked in a battle for the punting job.

Harris has been the holder for kicker Neil Rackers the past two seasons.

Will holding for the kicker be a factor in who wins the punting job? "No," Lewis said, "not at all."

SEASON TICKETS: The opener against the Broncos is not yet sold out. Lewis would like it to be.

"Everybody's kind of one foot in right now," Lewis said. "That's human nature.

"For as many people who've said they have season tickets, there should be no way we're not sold out."

LET'S GET PHYSICAL: Several players were banged up in Tuesday afternoon's practice.

Defensive tackle Glen Steele has a hyper-extended knee after bumping knees with another player in practice but said he would play Friday night.

Wide receiver Chad Johnson walked off the practice field with ice on his left shoulder after falling and suffering a bruise.

Defensive end Carl Powell was carted off because of the 90-degree heat and high humidity.

---

E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com

Return to Bengals front page...