Ex-Hawkeye Mitch King knows: The NFL can be a cold place

I was rummaging across a list of former Iowa Hawkeyes in the NFL to see if any are making news. Training camps start later this month, so I didn't have high hopes.

But I did learn what I had somehow missed a month ago. Defensive tackle Mitch King got released by the New Orleans Saints. It's the fourth time in his career he has been waived or released, by Tennessee, Indianapolis, St. Louis and New Orleans.

King played in four games for Indianapolis in 2010 and three games for the Saints last season. Just getting on an NFL roster is a considerable accomplishment. King was a fun guy to cover and watch, and he won't curl up in the fetal position and cry for himself as his Twitter feed attests.

NOLA.com, the Web site of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, reported on King's release in this June 5 entry.

The first six paragraphs of the seven-paragraph story were about the Saints' signing of former Tampa Bay Buccanneers cornerback Elbert Mack. This is the seventh and final paragraph of the story:

The Saints also waived defensive tackle Mitch King.

On the more upbeat side, 500 people in Muscatine came to a downtown block party Saturday to see former Iowa wide receiver Marvin McNutt, a Philadelphia Eagles rookie.

That got better play in the Muscatine Journal than King's release did on Nola.com.