Former Michigan State starting quarterback Payton Thorne has been waived by the Cincinnati Bengals, the team announced on Monday.

Teams are cutting down their rosters to 53 members ahead of Tuesday’s deadline and Thorne was cut alongside 10 fellow Bengals.

Originally committed to Western Michigan, Thorne later switched to Michigan State and redshirted as a freshman in 2019 before debuting in 2020.

After playing in four games and making one start in 2020, Thorne was handed the reins to the offense in 2021 and led the Spartans to an 11-2 record, a top-10 ranking and a win in the Peach Bowl over Pitt.

He had a career-high 3,232 yards and 27 touchdowns for the season, throwing to future NFL receivers Jayden Reed and Jalen Nailor with Kenneth Walker III as his feature running back.

The Spa

See Full Page