In a few weeks, Cincinnati linebacker David Pollack will know if he can resume his NFL career after fracturing a vertebra two seasons ago. Pollack, a 2005 first-round pick, might even get a chance to play with the guy the Bengals drafted one round later, linebacker Odell Thurman.
Thurman has been out of football for two years too, but not because of injury. Instead, he's been serving a suspension for violating the league's substance-abuse policy and other off-field transgressions. Now, though, commissioner Roger Goodell will decide if Thurman has earned the right to return to a team in desperate need of defensive help.
Assuming both players are eligible to play, Cincinnati would have two fewer needs to address this off-season. Thurman was up for Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2005, and Pollack was emerging as a pass-rushing threat before his back injury.
The team still needs to find help along the defensive line, and could always use some depth at linebacker, but Pollack's return and Thurman's reinstatement would be great news. The problem, of course, is that Thurman's been unable to stay out of trouble. Even if he makes his way back into the league, there's no guarantee he won't be in Goodell's office in a few months trying to explain away his latest transgression.
Either way, we'll know more in two weeks.
