Former Bengals Linebacker A.J. Nicholson Finds a Home in the Arena League

A.J. Nicholson is emblematic of what the Cincinnati Bengals used to be. Namely, a team full of shady characters who were given second, third, and fourth chances because of their unbelievable physical skills.

That roster-building philosophy has since given way to more conventional means of identifying and acquiring talent, and Nicholoson, along with Chris Henry, Reggie O'Neal and Odell Thurman, had a lot to do with that. Last May, Nicholoson was arrested for assaulting his girlfriend. That came four months after he was suspended from his final college game for violating team rules, and two months after he pleaded no contest to burglary and grand theft.

All of this proved to be too much even for the Bengals, and they released him in May, 2007. Now, though, the former Florida St. star is getting a chance at redemption. Yep, that's right, Nicholson is playing in the Arena League.

Orlando Predators linebacker A.J. Nicholson isn't setting any lofty goals. Forget the big NFL dreams and all the distractions that have caused him trouble before.

Instead, Nicholson is more concerned about the next scrimmage, the next practice and the next big hit.

"Of course, I want to get back to the NFL and that's always going to be the big dream, but I know I have to take care of business right now," Nicholson said. "I have to work hard at being the best I can be with the Predators. I want to do something special with this team."

Who knows how this story ends; there are countless tales of former players looking to reform their images and improve their NFL chances by making a pit stop in the lower rungs of professional football only to never be heard from again. Nicholson sounds like he's learned from his mistakes, but outside of Maurice Clarett it's seldom the case players don't sound contrite. We'll see, I guess.