[MIJB#19]

General Manager Notes: 8 down, 1 to go
Wait, what?

In our roster trimming down from 60 players to 53 players, the first big step has been made. We released 8 players, and signed 2 new players.

The release of 7th round picks LS Joshua Harvey and DT Trey Woods was harsh, but not unexpected given the presence of better veterans on roster. They might get back into the picture come post-season time, if we're not participating in the IHOF Bowl and if they haven't found a new home in between.

The release of TE Ty Rumans and LB Julio Pochman has been the results of picking rookies TE Ted Gordon and LB Bobby Diaz. It happens in the numbers game. But harder was the decision to release 3 long time members, all cornerbacks.

CB Eduardo Cowdrick was a 6th round pick in the mega 2102 draft class. He was never a starter, yet always in the CB3 or CB4 role and often joined the special teams unit. He's been active in 124 regular season games and the pair of 2104 playoffs games.

CB Logan Wallace was a 2nd round pick in the 2102 draft for us. For 7 straight seasons he was the undisputed shutdown corner for our team. But his skills were receding and as a result the stay in Maassluis ends after 122 regular season games and the obvious pair in the 2104 playoffs.

CB Dennis Finley's stay in Maassluis ends after 5 seasons. The late 7th round pick in 2105, he sat out his rookie season and then in 2106 became a sensation as the league's best punt returner. After 3 seasons lonely at the top, he had clearly lost some of his speed last season and now we've decided to look elsewhere in a position battle. Finley's journey with us ends after 64 regular season games.

RB Richard Ragley was drafted in the 4th round this off-season to replace Finley, but he showed far too little progress to unseat Finley. In both cases, we made the release after we signed a veteran at the same position with a reputation of being a top of the league punt returner. CB Will Warrick and RB Darnell Greenham both have a history in Toronto, where Greenham took over Warrick's role as the team's punt returner in 2108. Greenham also has a history in the European division, with stints in Paris and Gothenburg.

We've also started the negotiations with QB Harrison Singelton. Apparently we lowballed a bit too much on our first attempt, hence, we'll go for another shot at it. He's seeking a $120M 5-year deal, while being on the third year of his4-year rookie contract. We're trying to find a construction that makes him not too expensive this season and also a cap out candidate in the next 3 seasons, in case he's going to discover that he's a perennial All-IHOF candidate and starts asking for $75M per season, instead of his current $24M per year suggestion.

Aside from the released veterans, RB Bennett Holmes looks like the biggest casualty of the changes of time. I'm likely going to stick with him in a rotation with Marcus Jorg and Cary Delgado, but he's also less likely to be a special teams candidate. Which could pave the way for the FB duo of Randy Julian and rookie Kenneth Holse to both make the team and active 46-men roster. Rookie P Sergio Scott was unimpressive and we'll have to evaluate what to do between him and mentor P Jimmy Summers, the latter does look like the better option. With 54 players signed, that means even QB Billy Russell is likely to be save, despite his own drop in ability and desire to get traded. We've had some interest for him, but that has faded away.

Pre-season re-evaluation wasn't bad on all players. Rookie LB Bobby Diaz made good progress and looks like a viable passing downs option and a special teams option as well. But Diaz was the lone bright light in that regard. Well, that and we won both pre-season games, for whatever that will prove to be worth...