Bengals Cut Levi Jones

The Cincinnati Bengals have released veteran left tackle Levi Jones. The team announced the move earlier today. Jones was a first-round pick in 2002, and he quickly became a fixture on the left side of the line. Signed through 2012, Jones was due to earn a base salary of $3 million this year. (Frankly, it’s a reasonable amount for a guy who by all appearances can still play.) The Bengals held onto Jones until they could obtain his replacement, Alabama’s Andre Smith, with the sixth overall pick in the 2009 draft. The departure of Jones means that both starting tackles from 2008 are now gone. Right tackle Stacy Andrews signed with the Eagles early in free agency. The Bengals reportedly informed Jones after picking Smith that the team would try to trade Jones before cutting him. They found no suitors. Now that Jones is on the market, look for the Bills to make a run at him, given that Buffalo traded left tackle Jason Peters and didn’t replace him with either of their first-round draft picks.