[MIJB#19]

General Manager Notes: Training Camp 2116

LB Jorge Mayes reported for camp. He signed a new 5-year contract with us, giving him a $25M signing bonus, a salary of $19M this season and $30M in each of the next 4 seasons.

QB Bart Tanner is still holding out and has skipped training camp. All signs are that QB Harrison Singleton will get this team back, something I did not expect at this stage of the season in 2115 and especially not when he went down with that career threatening injury.

So, we went through training camp and it makes sense to make a round up of the roster. Yet at the same time, people who now this game well, they know that after our first pre-season game, some players will magically become a completely different person, which could make this breakdown premature. But let's do it anyway.


Quarterbacks
40/40 QB Harrison Singleton
40/40 QB Bart Tanner
15/40 QB Kent Figures +2/+1 camp
15/15 QB Blake Stai +1/+1 camp
Pre-season cuts: none
53 Men bubble: Tanner, Figures, Stai
Underwhelming improvement by the rookie Figures, which makes it far less likely he's worth sticking around as a project for the near future. But if Tanner continues to hold out, we'll need a QB2 one way or another. Stai's stay is not per se based on keeping a project around, but when it comes down to the last spot, that's certainly something to consider.

Backfield
55/55 RB Rusty Kemp
45/45 RB Renaldo Billodeaux
35/35 RB Edwin Erickson +2/+0 camp
30/35 RB Reggie Gretzky +1/-1 camp
30/30 FB Kenneth Holse
Pre-season cuts: Gretzky
53 Men bubble: none
We gave the rookie Gretzky a shot at it, but he didn't wow and as such it's already over for him. We're expecting some regression for Billodeaux and Kemp, but we'll still expect to see these 4 guys make the eventual roster.

Tight Ends
55/55 TE Ted Gordon
55/55 TE Corwin Robbins
35/35 TE Arnie Huffman
25/30 TE Richie Osborne +4/+0 camp
Pre-season cuts: none
53 Men bubble: Osborne
Despite that Gordon showed he can be a 1,000-yard receiver, I'm higher on Robbins as a receiver and we'll likely give them both 100 targets again. Huffman has the route running and courage to make plays as well, so I might be foolish not putting him in as a primary or secondary targets in some formations. Osborne made good progress, but his job as the TE4 is not safe. I mean, if I see an upgrade on the open market, I made make a move for it, but we'll certainly go into the regular season with 4 tight ends and Osborne is for now that player.

Wide Receivers
70/70 WR Jessie Vertelney
65/65 WR Rodolfo Lane
50/60 WR Rufus Montgomery +5/+0 camp
35/35 WR Antonio Price
35/35 WR Preston Gray
25/30 WR Maurice Sweeney +2/+0 camp
20/20 WR Claude Nakis +2/+0 camp
15/15 WR Kai Cote
Pre-season cuts: Gray, Nakis
53 Men bubble: none
I need to find the right way to put Vertelney, Lane and Montgomery all in the mix with 120 targets. It's such a waste of cap money and talent not to use them properly. Price will make the team to mentor Montgomery and as the emergency WR3 in case one of the big3 goes out. Sweeney is our kick off return specialist, Cote a special teamer.

Offensive Line
75/75 LT Dan Clancy +7/+1 camp
55/60 G Herb Nieves +4/+0 camp
55/55 C Zane Chaplain
45/45 G Andres Uwaezuoke
45/45 RT Clayton Bernstein
45/45 RT Dennis Northcutt
40/50 G Alfred Pearsall +5/+0 camp
35/35 C Duane Ondre
Pre-season cuts: none
53 Men bubble: none
Bar pre-season non-sense, this will be our group for 2116. Clancy is the elite left tackle that we hoped him to be. Chaplain and Uwaezuoke are safe with their cohesion value. Northcutt will likely be our new run blocking right tackle. The second guard slot is still up for grabs for all of the other guys. Nieves looks like he has a small advantage, but he's not got this locked up.

Defensive Line
70/70 DT Efrain Hutchins
60/60 DE Lonnie Wynn
50/65 DT Carlos Fisher +6/+0 camp
50/50 DE Calvin Buckley
40/50 DT Bryan Lomax +3/+0 camp
45/45 DT Francisco Blades
35/35 DE Ernest Frias +1/-1 camp
35/35 DE Christopher Wrighster
25/25 DE Howie Tucker
Pre-season cuts: none
53 Men bubble: Blades, Tucker
Fisher and Hutchins could be the best duo in business. The tricky part with defensive tackles is that most can't be all downs players. Hence, we've got Lomax and Blades to play on some running downs, whilst some of the defensive ends could sub in on passing downs. Wrighster, Buckley and Wynn are the obvious pass rushing ends, with Tucker as the alternative. Frias is the run stopping end, which makes it likely he'll be on the field in some formations. Blades and Tucker are on the bubble as I'm not sure yet we're going to take 9 defensive linemen into the regular season. Taking 8 active looks like a bit too much already.

Linebackers
65/65 LB Jorge Mayes
40/40 LB Xavier Hoover
40/40 LB Bobby Diaz
40/40 LB Raymond Casper +3/+0 camp
40/40 LB Nicholas Giles
30/45 LB Ezekiel O'Neal +5/-3 camp
25/45 LB Roy Finch +4/+0 camp
20/30 LB Wendell Reynolds +3/+1 camp
Pre-season cuts: none
53 Men bubble: O'Neal, Finch, Reynolds, Casper
Locking Mayes up, means we've got no room for other expensive linebackers anymore. As such, we'll continue with using Diaz as our passing downs LB2 and put Hoover and Giles on running downs as the LB2 and LB3 around Mayes. Casper and Reynolds are special teams specialists, but so are Hoover, Diaz and O'Neal, which means the rookies are not likely to make the team. Finch and O'Neal lack zone defense ability, which means to make the team they have to prove to be an improvement over Hoover. They're close, but close is not quite good enough.

Secondary
35/60 CB Zachary Blair +5/+1 camp
45/45 S Dan Peterson
45/45 CB Byron Sokol
40/40 S Peter Hinsley +4/-2 camp
35/45 CB Asher McElroy +4/+0 camp
35/35 CB Skip Horner
34/34 S Noah Matthews
30/40 CB Marquis Wolf +4/+2 camp
20/40 S Cesar Welch +6/+1 camp
30/30 CB Kent Wodarz
20/30 CB Adrian Kornegay +2/+2 camp
25/25 CB Joel Delgado
15/30 CB Greg Bradley +3/+1 camp
15/25 S Britt Schulz +2/+0 camp
Pre-season cuts: Bradley
53 Men bubble: Kornegay, Wolf, Delgado, Wodarz, Schulz, Welch
Kornegay made the switch from safety to cornerback well, which seems to suit him a bit better anyway with his body frame. But the only reason he'll likely make the team is he's by far the best special teamer of this unit. Bradley still looks like nothing more than a punishing hitter, I just don't see how to justify keeping him. Blair didn't bomb, yet, so for now, he's going to be the other corner opposite Sokol. Hopefully Blair's endurance will allow for him to eventually be an all downs corner, which would be bad for McElroy or Wodarz. Peterson, Matthews, Horner and rookie Wolf are the undisputed guys to make the team. Delgado must not break, or face the consequences. Schulz and Welch are both promising, but I'd like to see a bit more proof of their respective signs of being underrated players. Wodarz is showing arthritis and it's going to be tricky for him to play football going forward. Putting him on injured reserve is something I'm seriously considering.

Special teamers
75/75 K Oscar Harrington
65/65 P Tyrus Johnston
40/55 K Myles Washington +3/+0 camp
25/30 K Carter Madison +3/-3 camp
20/20 LS Roderick Kaeding
Pre-season cuts: Washington
53 Men bubble: Madison, Harrington
Okay, it's less likely now, I already concluded Washington wouldn't be an improvement, but Madison might show just enough upside in pre-season to make us consider releasing the most talented kicker to ever play for the Merchantmen. Harrington's cap cost has decreased and we might find the $1.5M that we'll need to extend his contract into next season. But Madison will get a chance here, based on his kickoff ability. We might still think about the open market if we get tight on cap space. Johnston is safe for another season. Kaeding is to me our long snapper for the next 15 or so seasons. If we could offer him such a long contract at minimum salary now, I would offer it.


So, tricky quarterback situation, still some decision to be made in a crowded secondary and in the front seven there's also a player or two to not make the team. At least, that's where we are for the next day or two. Until we've played our first pre-season game at the Brooklyn Fightin' Bums.