Open Roster Spots

[TheNewStandard]

Well, let's see, so far the players we have totally let go of are as follows. (Please correct me if I'm wrong.)

Johnson, Edwards, Finnegan, Cotchery, Harper, Tillman, Scott

thats 7 roster spots available at this juncture.

i expect at least 1 DE signing in FA and would be thrilled if we got Weddle on board with Coples. We'll retain most of, if not all of our draft picks.

i expect Betsin, McClain, Chris Scott, Velasco and Sillatolo to be gone as well, 

That leaves us with 12 openings  on our final roster to fill out our game-day roster.

So, who do y'all expect or really think could be upgrades over those players?

 

[iamhubby1]

Well, first let me say. I was just thinking about this myself. So there is that.

 

Scott has already resigned. McClain is an interesting name. IMO he earned the right to come to camp and compete for a spot.

 

Let's see. QB pretty much set. RB, pretty much set. O-line, pretty much set. Some depth questions to answer. Nothing to see here. LB, pretty much set. WR, pretty much set. CB, pretty much set. Except for depth. S, I'd say set. For the time being. But could use some depth. TE, pretty much set. But hoping for an upgrade. DT, pretty much set. Could use a solid, or better, vet to add in.

 

So that leaves the DE, and NB as the only 2 positions in real dire need of being addressed. I see this like the WR. You have some kids you love. And would love to give them the chance to deliver. But bringing in a Vet who can both deliver, and mentor could pay huge benefits.

 

I'd say, for a SuperB owl caliber team. That is pretty remarkable. To have almost you entire roster set. In my eyes, it is easier to build when you know what you have. Gman has done a great job with our roster. Just gotta sit back and enjoy how he runs this ship.

[KB_fan]

Here's a comment I posted on the Nate Chandler thread the other day after CJ, Edwards and Chandler were all cut:
 

Quote

 

Before these 3 cuts were made, with the practice squad guys and the future contract guys, (and including all our pending free agents), we had:

• 61 players who finished on the active roster or the IR (counts Wes Horton who was temporarily demoted to the PS at season's end)
• 16 Practice Squad / Futures Contract guys
• 1 new free agent signing (Punter Swayze Waters)

So, before today, that equaled 78 players before adding draft picks, new free agents, and UDFAs, leaving only 12 spots total (for the 90 man roster during the offseason) and only a very few spots open on the potential 53 man roster for 2016.  Making a few more spaces for new blood and to keep the roster fresh is always a good thing!  

Now we're down to 75, and I expect we'll see a few more places open up (free agents who are not re-signed).

 

 

[The Lone Panther]

What about Anderson?  I read somewhere that cutting him would save almost 1 million and let's be honest, he's a waste of a roster spot.  Cam doesn't need a mentor anymore, he needs a quality #2 to back him up.  Call me crazy, but I'm all for drafting a QB.  Cardale Jones in the 4th?  When you really think about it, it's not that far fetched. 

[KB_fan]

Here's what our roster looks like as of this morning.  I've broken it down into the following groups:

Starters,  Key Role Players, Backups.  (With the exception of new punter Swayze Waters, all of these guys were either on the active roster or the IR during the 2015 season)

Then there are the PS guys signed to a Futures contract, and the new Futures contract players.

Assuming that Harper and Tillman  do not return, and assuming that J-No and Remmers DO return, we would have spots for 4 or 5 starters on our roster:

1)  Jared Allen's spot is our biggest hole.  We need another starting DE.  Presumbly this will be a free agent.

2) Harper's spot would presumably be filled by Tre Boston, or perhaps a FA.

3) Charles Johnson's spot would presumably be filled by Kony Ealy.

4 & 5) Peanut Tillman's spot is presumably filled by Bene Benwikere,... but that opens up Bene's roster spot at nickel.  That could possibly be filled by Finnegan, McClain, a FA or a draft pick.

Other possible changes to starters:

We could upgrade Remmers (presumably Daryl Williams).

We also might want to upgrade Ed Dickson (FA or draft). 

Ginn & Brown are listed among the starters at WR since that was their role in 2015, but I'm assuming that Funchess will take one of those spots, with our top 3 WRs being Benji, Funch and either Ginn or Brown.

Running Back?  Do we want another RB to share the load with J-Stew?  Could CAP or Wegher be that player?

Among role players:

Edwards is gone.  Alexander will be gone.  For now, I assume we'll re-sign Love, Tolbert and Webb.  I assume Cotchery will leave.  Finnegan perhaps could stay around as competition for Nickel CB (but in any case, we would need more CB depth)  Nortman will likely stay, but in any case we've already signed Swayze Waters as a potential replacement.

So the holes:

1) DT to replace Edwards in the rotation.  High priority - FA and/or draft.

2) DE Depth (to "replace" Alexander and also Ealy who will now be a starter)... we might be ok with Addison, Horton & Delaire, Cox and Miley, but I would think we'll at least draft someone.

3) CB Depth to replace / compete with Finnegan & McClain.  Pretty big need.

4) WR to replace Cotchery - we already have Benjamin, Funchess, Ginn & Brown.  Possible 5th wideouts are Hill, Norwood, Bersin, Byrd, or a draftee.  Doubt we'll sign a FA.

5) Safety Depth:  With Boston presumably starting, we may need added Safety depth.  Perhaps with Marlowe, Marcus Ball and Ras-I Dowling we might have enough players, but a FA or draft pick is possible.

6) Fullback?  Depends on if we re-sign Tolbert.  Almost every Mock draft I've done / seen has FB "baby Gronk" (Glen Gronkowski) available on the board when we pick in round 5.  I could see him being a possible draft pick for us.

7) Running Back??  I could see Fozzy losing his place in the RB rotation.  I can't see us carrying 4 RBs & a FB on the active roster again.  Either Fozzy or Wegher is likely gone.  Do we draft or sign some competition?  I've seen several post-Combine mocks with Ezekiel Elliot falling to us, but I don't think it really very likely....

 

Depending on whether we resign Silatolu and Velasco, Our biggest need for greater depth is on our Oline, with particular attention at Center (Kalil is on the final year of his contract).

[KB_fan]

24 minutes ago, The Lone Panther said:

What about Anderson?  I read somewhere that cutting him would save almost 1 million and let's be honest, he's a waste of a roster spot.  Cam doesn't need a mentor anymore, he needs a quality #2 to back him up.  Call me crazy, but I'm all for drafting a QB.  Cardale Jones in the 4th?  When you really think about it, it's not that far fetched. 

We re-signed Anderson last season I believe.  His contact expires in 2018.  I don't see us looking for a new backup QB this season.  Obviously never say never.  If there's a good QB as BPA in a late round of the draft, G'man could take him, but it's not a priority right now.  We are blessed at QB with Cam, DA & Webb.  At QB & LB we've got to be the envy of every team pretty much.

[Khyber53]

57 minutes ago, KB_fan said:

We re-signed Anderson last season I believe.  His contact expires in 2018.  I don't see us looking for a new backup QB this season.  Obviously never say never.  If there's a good QB as BPA in a late round of the draft, G'man could take him, but it's not a priority right now.  We are blessed at QB with Cam, DA & Webb.  At QB & LB we've got to be the envy of every team pretty much.

There's no way we lose Anderson. The guy is too good and with Cam's style of play, an injury is always a possibility. Having a QB who can come in and play at a level that is better than a third to a half of the NFL starting QBs out there is something you can't put a price tag on. Also, DA has been incredibly beneficial to Cam's development and team chemistry. He's been the perfect back-up QB who puts the team first and only competes against the other team, not his own QB. I don't know of another team in this league that is in such a good position for QB as we are. Try to fix it and you'll just break something that won't be easy to repair.

[jdpanther5]

5 hours ago, TheNewStandard said:

Well, let's see, so far the players we have totally let go of are as follows. (Please correct me if I'm wrong.)

Johnson, Edwards, Finnegan, Cotchery, Harper, Tillman, Scott

thats 7 roster spots available at this juncture.

i expect Betsin, McClain, Chris Scott, Velasco and Sillatolo to be gone as well.

 

I'll assume you meant Chandler the first time you mentioned Scott. The second time, well...we re-signed Scott last week, so he's not going anywhere just yet. As it stands, we have a total of 12 FAs (11 UFAs, 1 RFA) with 64 players on the roster. 

As for Finnegan, Cotchery, Harper, and Tillman; nothing official has been said, just speculation that they're gone. It's probably correct speculation, but nothing concrete. You can also probably add Tyronne Green, Fernando Velasco, and Frank Alexander (the only RFA we have yet to retain) to the "probably not coming back" list. 

That leaves Webb, Tolbert, Silatolu, Love, and Nortman; all of which we'd probably bring back at the right price. Webb could potentially find a job as a 2nd QB/ST ace, and could get a bigger paycheck elsewhere. I'm not sure Tolbert will find much on the FB market (having so many teams that don't even use the position can't help his market value), and I think will be back. 

Amini has had moments but of course has trouble staying healthy. He may not get a big deal, but I could see him moving on to a place he could compete to start. Love may be the biggest priority on this list, I think we keep him and he may get a decent raise out of it. Finally, Nortman: I don't know. He really struggled at times this year, so much so that we had punter tryouts at one point mid-season. Feels like a guy that may have a bigger price than we feel comfortable with. 

[shaqattaq]

6 hours ago, The Lone Panther said:

Call me crazy, but I'm all for drafting a QB.

Fine, You're crazy.

Seriously though, Anderson has been a pretty solid backup, even if he seldom plays. His contract runs through the next 2 seasons. Next season, he'd be a $1.75 million dollar savings is replaced, so I might could more easily see the logic of letting him go at that point.

[ItsNotGonnaBeAlright]

8 hours ago, The Lone Panther said:

What about Anderson?  I read somewhere that cutting him would save almost 1 million and let's be honest, he's a waste of a roster spot.  Cam doesn't need a mentor anymore, he needs a quality #2 to back him up.  Call me crazy, but I'm all for drafting a QB.  Cardale Jones in the 4th?  When you really think about it, it's not that far fetched. 

Cutting him would save $250,000. His cap number goes from $1.25 million to $1 million. He ain't going nowhere.

[TheNewStandard]

I forgot about Jared Allen. Well, we signed J Webb...I would be thrilled if he is the lowest-ranked player when our 53-man final roster is penciled in.

we're looking in pretty good shape so far. 

[TheNewStandard]

3 hours ago, ItsNotGonnaBeAlright said:

Cutting him would save $250,000. His cap number goes from $1.25 million to $1 million. He ain't going nowhere.

Derek Anderson is the best backup QB in the league and could probably start for a fair number of NFL teams right now and make them better. 

He hasn't lost a game that he's started, in relief for Cam. And that contract is pure genius and a gift if you ask me...maybe he just loves living here? Cause he could make a lot more money somewhere else.