[MIJB#19]

General Manager Notes: Say hello to our new quarterback and our draft class 2120

QB Renaldo Wilson (65/65) has joined the Maassluis Merchantmen. The stubborn player agent of LT Dan Clancy threw a wrench in the engine earlier on, keeping us from getting the required cap room to be able to afford Wilson and QB Bart Tanner (40/40) at the same time. But the decision to release Tanner and get it over with was somewhat easy.

Yes, we played exceptionally well at times with Bart Tanner. At times I really liked him and at times I felt like he couldn't get the job done. His couple of holdouts didn't help either, nor did our 8-game losing streak which also threw him down from a winning quarterback to having just a .500 kind of record as a starter. Truth be told, in the 2119 off-season I already pulled the plug on releasing Tanner, but by seeing the lack of alternatives that would be sufficiently able to at least mimic Tanner's ability to extend drives, we went for him another season.

In off-season 2119, Renaldo Wilson was also on my radar, but by the time I figured it was worth making a shot at sending a trade feeler out, he was already switching to the Harlem Apollos. After a disappointing season there, he found himself on the block and as the Harlem owner already knew that Wilson is a quarterback up my alley, it wasn't hard to come to an agreement quickly. And now we have shared rooting interests against one another as we hold their 1st round pick and they hold our 2nd and 3rd rounders.

There are three risks here. The first one is that Wilson is entering the twilight of his career and albeit he dodged the bullet of reduction in talent so far, sooner or later it will come and it would be something to see it happen in Maassluis. at the same time, on a 1-100 scale, Tanner was roughly a 40 and Wilson a 65, even a -10 would still make Wilson an improvement. Regardless that Tanner is a top 32 quarterback, so it will be interesting whether he'll find a new home before or after training camp. I would not have minded at all to try and find the cap room to make him our backup for a season or two.

The second risk with Wilson is that we'll have to agree terms on a new contract, as he's on the final year of a 2-year deal he signed in Harlem last off-season. As y'all know, I don't want to see players on my team in their final year of contract, especially in key positions. He's likely to cost us more than his current $40M salary.

Third and not ignorable, Wilson is the kind of player that we'd call a red flag. It was a reason to ignore him for a while, but his passing game is good enough and he's never had the luxury of working with players like the awesomeness that we have walking around at wide receiver and tight end.

Our overhaul at quarterback will not stop at the starter. QB Harrison Singleton (20/20) is not likely to make the team as our backup, albeit he's the second best on roster at the moment, factoring in his cohesion bonus. We signed free agents QB Julian Andrews (25/35) and QB Damon Franz (5/35) to cheap 2-year deals, both are basically scrambling kick holders. They'll fight it out for that kind of role. Or perhaps they will be outdone by our 4.29 pick QB Al Schneider (25/40), who is slightly less reliable as a holder.

Ahead of Schneider, we went defense heavy in the draft, with 1st round picks CB Andre McAninch (55/75) and DT Floyd Dillon (45/80) both standing out as exceptionally talented players at their respective positions. But, as I also already mentioned, in the third round we added S Max Junker (15/55), with his excellent potential in zone defense and play diagnosis, and DE Roger Graf (30/55), with his excellent pass rush technique.

Less spectacular were our 5 picks in the fifth through seventh round, but we'll have to mention them naturally. RB Corey Ward (30/35) has a nice breakaway speed and hole recognition combo. TE Wally Stephens (25/40) could be described as a misclick, as the 2 picks later taken TE Wally Stevens was actually our target. C Chester Coffey (25/55) has underwhelmingly low pass blocking technique, hopefully he'll develop enough as a run blocker and in the blocking strength. DE Gage Benson (15/45) gives us more to choose from, coming in with very good pass rush technique and play diagnosis. LB Marco Long (20/45) will lean heavily on his play diagnosis in his efforts to make the team.

We're currently at 58 players signed and, aside from DE Leslie Kelly moving on to Outer Banks, the bunch of free agents is still walking around in Oranje Haven training facilities to keep their condition fair. From this group of QB Noah DeLay (5/10), QB Orlando Garrett (5/20), LT Nathaniel Janke (30/35), LT Lester Money (25/25), DE Lonnie Wynn (45/45), DT John Craig (35/35), DT Bryan Lomax (45/45) LB Alonzo Bauer (35/35), LB Ezekiel O'Neal (45/45), CB Todd Weaver (20/25) and LS Scottie Burks (15/15), there are just a handful, if not less, that I'll offer a lowball contract for training camp. I think for most of them it'll determine whether they'll extend their pro football careers in the IHOF.

Lastly, let's not forget that this off-season we already signed free agents LT Roy Wilkerson (60/60) and DT Rodney Gagliardi (70/70). Together with Wilson, that's quite the improvement we might have acquired here. So let's hope they'll hold up as much as possible.

And tomorrow, we'll take a look at the undrafted rookies we signed, providing some of the kids we approached do indeed sign with us...