Bengals cut starting safety Iloka

The Cincinnati Bengals announced the release of starting safety George Iloka on Sunday, with the move reportedly being motivated by finances.

Iloka was two years into a five-year, $30-million deal he inked ahead of the 2016 season. He had been a mainstay in Cincinnati's secondary, starting 76 of a possible 80 regular-season games since 2013.

In 16 outings last year, Iloka posted a career-high 80 tackles along with one interception. The 28-year-old instantly becomes one of the biggest names on the free-agent market.