[MIJB#19]

General Manager Notes: 2114 training camp roster ready!

Our training camp roster is set. I've decided to not go over the top and bring the maximum of 70 players to camp, offering contracts to 10 free agents and seeing us sign 9 of them, to make for 61 players on team. That excludes RB Sherman Ward and LT Freddie Burnham (both are still with us as free agents), but they will not go along. It means we'll have to make just 1 release after camp and prior to pre-season action.

I've put QB Dakota Peterson in the trade block as I fully expect us to go with QB Harrison Singelton as our starter and with QB Bart Tanner in the backup role, ahead of kick holder Drake Bishop.

I'll list the 61 players by position group and elaborate on our off-season movements below each group. I can't truly forecast which players will make the 53-men roster eventually, after all, pre-season craziness has yet to take place.

Quarterbacks
45/45 QB Dakota Peterson
40/40 QB Harrison Singleton
20/35 QB Bart Tanner
10/10 QB Drake Bishop
Same group as the end of last season. The main change is Singelton returning to the team from injury and signing a contract extension. Both Peterson and Bishop are in the final year, Bishop will get an extension in pre-season. Peterson will be on the trade block.

Backfield
50/50 RB Rusty Kemp
45/45 RB Renaldo Billodeaux
40/40 FB Kenneth Holse
35/35 RB Cary Delgado
30/40 RB Edwin Erickson
25/35 RB Tommy Tasker
There are 3 new names here. Kemp is a 6th year veteran free agent signing, Tasker a 7th round rookie and Erickson an undrafted rookie. RB Bennett Holmes retired and RB Sherman Ward has been left unsigned. Kemp is an elite special teamer while also bringing along very good hole recognition, third down running, punt returning and blitz pickup skills. Tasker thrives from his breakaway speed and blitz pickup, while Erickson leans on hole recognition, breakaway speed and special teams ability.

Tight Ends
60/60 TE Ted Gordon
25/55 TE Corbin Robbins
35/35 TE Juan Brady
35/35 TE Arnie Huffman
20/25 TE Kyle Upshaw
Robbins was our top rookie pick at #19 overall, while Brady joined as a 12th year veteran to mentor him. Some claim Robbins was the second best at his position, but my staff disagreed and prompted me to pick him over the higher graded tight end. This fills the void of losing our all-time leading receiving tight end Garrett Alcala. Having Gordon and Robbins gives us plenty of opportunity to throw even more out of multiple tight end formations. Brady brings enough special teams skills, route running and run blocking ability to make him good enough for the 46-active slots.

Wide Receivers
75/75 WR Rodolfo Lane
70/70 WR Jessie Vertelney
45/45 WR Preston Gray
30/30 WR Jaylen Gearhart
15/35 WR Maurice Sweeney
25/25 WR Kai Cote
15/20 WR Hunter Tuitele
Sweeney was a 7th round pick this draft, exclusively for his kickoff return ability, at which our staff expects him to be top20 already and potentially close to the top5. Lane has improved into best in business, wouldn't it be nice to actually see hm play up to it and get above his personal bests of 59 receptions and 757 receiving yards? Maybe Lane and Vertelney just needed to stick around and get Singelton back on the team to finally let the cohesion kick in?

Offensive Linemen
70/70 RT Ivan Dole
60/60 C Zane Chaplain
55/55 G Andres Uwaezuoke
25/75 LT Dan Clancy
45/45 RT Clayton Bernstein
25/45 G Kristopher Harmon
30/40 C Duane Ondre
20/45 G Alfred Pearsall
25/25 LT Harold Gruenwalder
Clancy was our pick at #24 overall and I truly hope his excellent pass protection skills will come true. Pearsall was an undrafted rookie signing, leaning towards a run blocking type. Grunewalder and Bernstein will likely battle for the mentor role for Clancy, although I could see us using Bernstein as our second guard.

Defensive Linemen
70/70 DT Efrain Hutchins
55/60 DE Lonnie Wynn
55/55 DE Calvin Buckley
45/50 DT Francisco Blades
40/40 DT Gabriel Morris
40/40 DE Christopher Wrighster
35/35 DE Howie Tucker
20/40 DE Ernest Frias
Frias is an undrafted rookie. We lost Dwayne Downs to retirement, a huge gap on the line. I may need to keep an eye open for a half-decent veteran that could step in here, as Hutchins, Blades and Morris is a little bit thin to get through the season. We also lost DE Steve Abner to free agency, a player I almost forgot that he was actually on our team, despite that he was a very reliable pass rusher when we had to use him due to injuries and stuff.

Linebackers
55/65 ILB Jorge Mayes
55/55 ILB Gus Coleman
40/40 ILB Xavier Hoover
40/40 OLB Bobby Diaz
30/50 OLB Nicolas Giles
35/35 OLB Avery Distel
25/40 OLB Raymond Casper
15/30 ILB Jimmie Poole
Casper and Poole are undrafted rookie signings. Casper is a special teamer with pass rush strength and play diagnosis, but is too small to switch to defensive end. Poole is a special teamer with pass rush technique and zone defense skills, but he's undersized to make a switch to defensive end. Key here is for Giles and Mayes to really get to their potential and start anchoring this defense.

Secondary
45/45 S Dan Peterson
45/45 CB Evan Merrell
45/45 S Noah Matthews
45/45 CB Byron Sokol
35/35 CB Skip Horner
35/35 CB Joel Delgado
20/40 S Joe Hamblin
25/30 CB Kent Wodarz
20/35 S Peter Hinsley
25/25 S Craig Clancy
15/25 CB Seth Hook
We lost S John Aponte to free agency, despite that I tried to re-sign him. Hamblin, Hinsley and Hook are all undrafted rookie signings. Hinsley is a zone defender. Hook is a special teamer with some man-to-man and bump and run potential. Hamblin is a run stopper and punishing hitter with some zone defense potential. It is what it is, I suppose? Until I ever re-figure out how defense works, this very talented bunch will not play up to their ability and finish last in passing yards allowed.

Special Teams guys
65/65 P Tyrus Johnston
85/85 K Oscar Harrington
20/20 LS Wayne Brewer
A fine group, with Harrington elite and the other two above average compared to their counterparts elsewhere in the league.