Rey Maualuga

The Cincinnati Bengals have released linebacker Rey Maualuga on Saturday.

Fantasy Impact

Maualuga, a staple on Cincinnati's defense for the past eight seasons, was cut by the club Saturday. His release will save the Bengals $3.975 million of cap space in 2017 and was likely triggered by the signing of Kevin Minter last week. Maualuga should find a new suitor before the start of training camp.

The 28 year old linebacker out of USC, Rey Maualuga, re-signed a three-year deal with the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday. This was a no brainer considering Burfict is coming back from a knee surgery and Lamur being placed as a second-round tender. With Maualuga locked up, they can look at re-signing a few other free agents such as, Clint Boling and Terrence Newman.

Fantasy Impact

This was an important signing for the Bengals considering their run defense was below average last season. When Maualuga played this year the Bengals allowed 107.1 rushing yds/g. When Maualuga was absent for four games, the Bengals allowed 145.0 rushing yds/g. I think it is quite clear that the Bengals need Maualuga on the field to defend the run. Look for the Bengals to make some more interesting defensive acquisitions this off-season.

Per Geoff Hobson, Maualuga will sit out for the second consecutive game.

Fantasy Impact

Maualuga isn't typically a huge IDP scorer, but his absence could be linked to the struggles of the Bengals overall team defense. He is a leader and it was obvious this past Sunday that the Bengals were lacking in that department. Look for Vincent Rey and potentially Emmanuel Lamur (limited in practice today) to see more snaps.