Released by the Cincinnati Bengals on Tuesday morning, cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick isn’t through with football. But finding a new team after eight years in Cincinnati is more complicated this offseason.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, NFL teams have closed their facilities, and the league has prohibited travel by team personnel.

“Right now, I think the whole world is sitting back,” Kirkpatrick told Geoff Hobson of the Bengals’ official website. “Everybody is sitting back. I’m just relaxing. Watching TV. I’m not worried about getting a job. It’s all about timing. I’ll play it out and see what’s best for me and my family.”

READ GEOFF HOBSON’S “DRE HEADS OUT WITH HEAD UP”

Cincinnati selected Kirkpatrick from Alabama with the 17th pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. The Bengals already had veterans Leon Hall, Adam Jones and Terence Newman at cornerback, and Kirkpatrick worked as a reserve and special-teamer for his first three seasons before entering the starting lineup in 2015.

A knee injury caused Kirkpatrick to miss the final 10 games of the 2019 season.

“I leave with my head held high,” Kirkpatrick told Hobson.

This offseason, Cincinnati has added five cornerbacks to its roster, including another former Alabama standout, Tony Brown. Winston Rose came aboard after helping the Winnipeg Blue Bombers win the 2019 Grey Cup. In free agency this month, the Bengals signed Trae Waynes to a three-year, $42 million contract, Mackensie Alexander to a one-year, $4 million contract and LeShaun Sims to an undisclosed deal.

Kirkpatrick had two seasons remaining on a five-year, $52.5 million contract extension. He was due a $9.4 million base salary in 2020. Cutting Kirkpatrick took $8,293,750 off the Bengals’ salary cap.

Kirkpatrick praised the Bengals for the way the team handled his release, with coach Zac Taylor delivering the news.

"At the end of the day, they showed me a lot of respect,” Kirkpatrick said. “They called me. They could have called my agent. He was very generous about it.

"I was just happy to get the phone call from them instead of hearing about it from TV or something. That was a sign of respect. I was able to do what I wanted to do with it. I appreciate everything they've done for me – (former coach) Marvin (Lewis), (team owner) Mr. (Mike) Brown and his family -- as far as giving me the opportunity."

Kirkpatrick was a two-time All-State player at Gadsden City High School and earned the Class 6A Back of the Year Award for the 2008 season, and he received first-team All-American recognition from the Football Writers Association of America for Alabama’s 2011 BCS national championship team.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @AMarkG1.

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