The Cincinnati Bengals have released defensive end Michael Johnson, the team announced on Saturday.
Johnson was scheduled to have a base salary of $4.55 million in 2018, per Spotrac. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport noted the veteran lineman had a cap hit of $6.1 million.
This marks the end of the 31-year-old's second stint in Cincinnati. A third-round pick in 2009, the 6'7", 272-pound lineman spent the first five seasons of his career with the Bengals, piling up 202 combined tackles and 26.5 sacks. That emergence earned him a five-year, $43.