Bahamian offensive lineman Alex Cooper was released by the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday, as they trimmed their roster to 53 players. (Photo: File)

After surviving the cut to 75 players early last week, former Houston Cougars' offensive lineman and Eleuthera native Alex Cooper saw his shot at being a part of the Cincinnati Bengals' 53-man roster end on Saturday after he was released by the club. As of now, it is unclear whether or not the team will attempt to get him on the practice squad.

The 6-foot-4 305-pound offensive lineman saw action in all four of the Bengals' preseason games and took a lot of snaps with the second unit.

Despite being a player who's suited to offensive line coach Paul Alexander's style, there were just too many proven veterans at that position.

Prior to the start of the preseason, the Bengals wanted to see how Cooper would react to playing center. They inserted him at that position sporadically throughout the four games, but the results were mixed. What made Cooper even further expendable was the fact the 2016 fifth round draft pick Christian Westerman gave them some very productive minutes.

Cooper signed a three-year $1.62 million contract in April as an undrafted free agent out of Houston. He started his final 25 games in college at every position on the Cougars' offensive line, except for center.

Along with the Bengals, Cooper worked out for the Houston Texans, the Oakland Raiders and one

Canadian Football League (CFL) franchise since leaving college.

Cooper was one of the leaders on and off the field for last year's Cougars' squad, who finished with an impressive 13-1 overall record, going 7-1 in the American Athletic Conference (AAC).

Cooper was named All-AAC and Phil Steel's AAC Second Team Selections.

He was one of 19 members of the Cougars' program to work out for pro teams.

At the Cougars' pro-day, Cooper measured 6-foot-3 and 300 pounds with a hand size of 10-3/8", 34" arms, and an 82-1/2" wingspan. He performed a 28 inch vertical and broad jump of 8 feet, 8 inches. He completed the 40-yard dash in 5.24 seconds, the three-cone drill in 7.7 seconds and completed 23 reps of the bench press at 225 pounds.

Prior to completing his final season on the field, he had already completed his undergraduate degree.

Randy Smith, Guardian Sports Reporter

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