Players in their 30's are more likely to get hurt and take longer to recover when they are hurt. Smart GMs recognize this when players like Lee are on the downward slope and get as much as they can for him. Lee was bad in 2010, looked bad in 2011 training camp and Buddy was smart enough to cash him in while he still had some value.
Impressive in a preseason game? How did he look in the AFC championship game?
It seems the NFL has written him off, no teams have brought him in for a visit yet.