Bengals linebacker David Pollack, a first-round pick in 2005 whose career was derailed by a broken neck suffered in 2006, has decided not to pursue a return to the NFL.

Coach Marvin Lewis acknowledged Pollack’s decision on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, there’s something about this passage from Bengals.com that is bothering us:  “Pollack, a defensive end at Georgia that the Bengals chose No. 17, had a tough, brief pro career that was in such contrast to his All-American run.  His switch to strongside linebacker was complicated by a nearly three-week holdout and injuries limited him to 14 games, but he did become the first Bengals rookie to log a postseason sack and with four of his 4.5 sacks coming late in the season he looked to have turned the corner.”

The guy’s career was dramatically shortened by a broken neck, and the team is dredging up the fact that he held out for three weeks as a rookie?  And should Pollack also be regarded as injury-prone or soft because he only played in 14 of 16 games as a rookie?

We’re not suggesting that Geoff Hobson’s assessment crosses the line; it just strikes us as bad form to be saying anything other than good things about Pollack on the day that his inability to continue what looked to be a very promising pro football career has become official.

And that’s coming from a web site that is always looking for a negative angle.

While we’re feeling all warm and fuzzy, we should point out that we’ll never forget this play from Pollack’s college days.  (We HIGHLY recommend watching it until the end.)