Bengals surprise with release of veteran safety George Iloka
After starting 76 games for the Cincinnati Bengals over the past five seasons, safety George Iloka was unceremoniously released by the team on Sunday.
A stunner: The #Bengals are releasing starting safety George Iloka, per @MikeGarafolo and me. He’s started every game he’s played in since 2013. Purely a financial decision, but a 28-year-old safety hitting the market at this point is good news for interested teams.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 19, 2018
Iloka was set to count $6.2 million against the cap this year. In addition, The Bengals are still on the hook for $2.1 million, per Spotrac. Although, this means they’ll save $4.1 million with this roster move.
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He is a former fifth-round pick out of Boise State. Iloka has racked up 346 tackles, nine interceptions, 32 pass defenses and two forced fumbles so far in his career.
It is also worth pointing out that second-round pick Jessie Bates out of Wake Forest has been working with the starting defense more and more recently, which likely had a lot to do with this surprising move.
