Hard Knocks star could be victim of final cuts

If you saw the second episode of this season’s “Hard Knocks”, you saw Cincinnati Bengals safety Taylor Mays being the subject of a lot of laughter thanks to the “Rookie Talent Show”. It came as quite a laugh, even for Mays, who continues to easily be the corniest character on the show.

But the former second-round pick in the 2010 draft out of USC isn’t worried about how corny he may come off as. Mays has failed to make much of his NFL career, and after failing with the San Francisco 49ers, he was shipped to the Bengals for a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Bag.

Actually, it was a sixth-round draft pick. And since coming to Cincinnati, he’s gotten onto the field in the two previous regular seasons as he has through three preseason games this year. The Bengals are trying to get him on the field as much as possible as they decide whether to make him the starting strong safety, cut him, or keep him buried on the bench where he’s been most of his NFL career.

The Bengals used a third-round pick in this year’s draft on Georgia’s Shawn Williams and a fifth-round pick last year on George Iloka. Mays has done little to convince the Bengals he deserves playing time over either player, and his walking papers may already be written up. A bad showing tomorrow night in the team’s preseason finale could lead the turk to sign, seal, and deliver those papers to Mays.