NFL teams
Coley Harvey, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Receiver Denarius Moore among players released by Bengals

NFL, Cincinnati Bengals

CINCINNATI -- Receiver Denarius Moore was the biggest name to be cut by the Bengals on Monday as the team begins its roster purge to get to a 75-man roster by Tuesday's deadline.

Officially, Moore's contract was terminated by the Bengals, releasing the fifth-year veteran to free agency. He joined the roster as an unrestricted free agent this offseason after spending four seasons with the Raiders. Moore entered the league in 2011 as a fifth-round draft pick, chosen by then-Raiders head coach Hue Jackson. Jackson is entering his second season as the Bengals' offensive coordinator.

Along with Moore, the Bengals waived veterans Kwame Geathers, Nico Johnson and Sam Montgomery. Undrafted rookie free agents Chris Jasperse (Marshall), Desmond Lawrence (North Carolina A&T) and John Peters (Mount St. Joseph) also were waived. These releases put the Bengals at 80 players on the roster. They have until 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday to trim the roster to 75 players.

That means more cuts are on the way, and could come Tuesday morning.

Moore's release wasn't necessarily a surprise, considering he was only part of eight snaps in Saturday night's Week 3 preseason win over Chicago. One of the less-used passing targets, the speedy receiver had just one catch for 30 yards through the three preseason games.

Geathers and Montgomery's releases clear two more spots on a crowded defensive line and follows the cut last week of defensive tackle Kalafitoni Pole. Both Geathers and Montgomery had trouble getting on the field. Montgomery's time became at hand once linebacker Chris Carter broke out in preseason games, rushing well off the right side as both a hand-in-the-ground end and a stand-up outside linebacker.

Johnson's release was a little surprising only because he seemed a likely candidate to be on the roster bubble all the way up through Thursday's preseason finale at Indianapolis. Johnson actually led all Bengals defenders in tackles this preseason with 14.

A local product, Peters was from the same Cincinnati-based Division III school where Lauren Hill played basketball earlier this year. Peters had very limited opportunities in the preseason and long appeared a likely cut.

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