Roster Decisions on Offense

[KB_fan]

Note:  this was written before news broke that Matt Kalil was not practicing for the 2nd straight day and that he is being evaluated for a knee injury.  Obviously that could shake up many things related to roster decisions.... 

 

The more I look at trying to project an INITIAL Day 1 53 man roster, the more concerned I am with how the injuries on the Oline are really going to make for a difficult situation, and very very tough roster decisions.

Ideally we might want to keep these numbers on offense:

QB 2 / RB 4 / TE 3 / FB 1 / WR 6 / OL 9 = 25.

Now look at Oline.   We KNOW barring injury we will keep R Kalil, Turner, M Kalil (sigh), Moton, Larsen & Van Roten. 6 locks, hopefully all healthy.  Sirles is presumably #7 for his experience and versatility.   

Now: add 2 slots for Amini and Daryl Williams.  Thats 9 OL, only 7 of whom are (hopefully) healthy.  

We obviously don't know Amini & Williams' recovery timelines yet.  But it's pretty nigh impossible that either would be able to play week 1.

Presumably Williams will go to short term IR on day 2 freeing up a space. Amini might also go to short term IR, or there's rumblings about keeping him on the active roster (Yikes). But in the meantime one or two O line guys we want to keep will have been waived.  Or do we start with 10 or 11 OL?

Add in Mahon & Clausell?

Say we keep just 1 of them (Mahon)... that's 10 OL on day 1, (but still with notably little to no depth at tackle).  Presumably we''d be trying to find a better tackle who's just been cut... (or trade for one) who could take the spot freed up when Williams goes to IR.

If you keep 10 or 11 OL on Day 1, you need to skimp at another position. (note in these scenarios, I'm not involving the possibility of "freeing up an extra spot by skimping on defense" at all.  Just looking at the offensive side of the ball for solutions.)

 

Here are some scenarios.  What would you do?

1) Go with only 2 TE plus Armah at the start of the season.  Chris Manhertz starts season on PUP (out for 6 weeks) (Put Vander Laan on PS if he's healthy).

2) Go with only 3 RB (CMC, CJ & Barner are my guys - PS Hood) at least on day 1.  In this scenario I'd say we'd cut CAP, but maybe bring him back after Williams goes to IR.  I think he'd clear waivers.  I'm sure he's not PS eligible.  But in our run heavy offense, this is pretty hard to imagine.

3) Go with only 5 WRs.  Love Byrd, I know we could use  him, but I think he's on the bubble.  Pretty sure he's not PS eligible.  We'd either hope for him to clear waivers and maybe bring him back if the Oline situation settles down (e.g. putting both Williams and Amini on IR), or perhaps use him in a trade?  However, I don't think he's likely to clear waivers.  He was a ST player of the week last year.  Burned some teams.  Teams love speed...

4) Start the Day 1 roster with only 7 healthy OL plus the 2 injured guys, trusting that Mahon would clear waivers and hoping to add back Mahon & an OT (Clausell or other) once Williams and Amini are on IR on day 2.  (We are really screwed if we keep Amini on the active 53....)

5) Here's my favorite.  Give Amini an injury settlement.  I think that means we could re-sign him later if he's healthy.  That solves a LOT of problems...

 

#5 is my favorite option.  Cut Amini.  It helps the roster math immensely.  If that's not on the cards, I'd go with #1.  Skimp on TE depth.  I think we could get by for a week or two (or even 6 until Manhertz would come off the PUP) if need be with just Greg, Ian and Armah while the Oline situation shakes out.

 

[Pup McBarky]

Yeah, I wrote in another thread option 5 is my preferred option. Take that one off the table, and I'm going with option 1.

[KB_fan]

By the way, I need to check the transaction history, but I'm pretty sure the team has precedent with giving a player an injury settlement and bringing them back later in the same season.  I think that's what we did with Bersin just last year...  I'll go check.

[Toomers]

    5 should have been done long ago.

  Option #1- No need for a 3TE. Use an backup OL in jumbo package. Armah anywhere else. 

[Jon Snow]

I think you need to factor in special teams contribution when trying to decide the final roster spots.  If those fringe guys aren't good at special teams they won't get a spot on the team.  

[KB_fan]

Hmmm, reviewing the transaction history for Bersin provides an interesting comparison.  

I *think* Bersin made the 53, but was IRed on day 2 (Sept 2).  

He was then released with an injury settlement on Sept 11.

On Nov 1 we re-signed him to the team.

 

Bersin was valuable to us for his knowledge of our offense. 

Amini is a bit similar.  Maybe we release him and keep him on speed dial as emergency depth once he's healthy.  That's what I'd do as GM anyway.  I don't think he's good, but at this point our options on O line are pretty limited.  If we could somehow have the potential of calling him up later without eating a roster spot (or even a short-term IR spot), that would be just fine.

[Pup McBarky]

3 minutes ago, stbugs said:

I wonder if an injury settlement is even needed. Can’t we just check the “we realize now he sucks” box on the waiver form?

I don't know this for sure, but I'd bet there's a clause in the CBA about cutting injured players outright. Otherwise, no one would ever make injury settlements.

[Black&BlueBubba]

Just cut Amini and sign him later.  No one is going to pick him up.  For god sakes don't cut Mahon. Someone will grab him.  

[musicman]

I believe there will be trade using 1 of our RB's or WR's to get a solid lineman, hopefully tackle. I also see them keeping 6 WRs. Samuel can get a skatback if needed. Last year, teams did a lot of last minute low end roster trades instead of or before just cutting guys. I think Williams has a roster spot but if the Guards Van Roten and Mahon can step up, Amini might be expendable and brought back at a later date (maybe he won't get picked up). 

[dxpanther]

No way Hood does not make this roster. There is just too much potential in him for them to miss out on. He's already a better runner and blocker than CAP and Barner. Barner's only leg up is special teams ability.

[KB_fan]

1 hour ago, stbugs said:

It wasn’t an injury settlement but we released Horton and brought him back later in the year. I think that was 2016.

Was that when he was suspended for 4 games? Or was his suspension in 2015?  Horton was on and off the roster a few times - once or twice sent to PS to make room for emergency call ups due to injury.

Love to see how the guy persevered and became a very valuable member of our D line?

In any case, yes, we have a history of calling up guys who are on their couch mid-season.  (Finnegan in 2015 comes to mind...)

[KB_fan]

28 minutes ago, dxpanther said:

No way Hood does not make this roster. There is just too much potential in him for them to miss out on. He's already a better runner and blocker than CAP and Barner. Barner's only leg up is special teams ability.

I think Hood's profile in CLT is higher than it is elsewhere, with him being a local guy.

Now of course, with him having scored 2 preseason TDs in 2 games, he may be getting to be on other teams' radars, but I still think we could safely stash him on PS.

I'm not saying we SHOULD do that, just that I think we could... (and I actually think we WILL).

[caatfan]

I'm about ready to predict they'll only keep 5 WR's this season. When you consider how many balls are thrown to CMC and Olsen, and the upgrade in talent among the other WR's vs. last year, I'd say Byrd is on thin ice for a roster spot. I think they need more depth in the big boy positions this time around.

[dxpanther]

1 minute ago, KB_fan said:

I think Hood's profile in CLT is higher than it is elsewhere, with him being a local guy.

Now of course, with him having scored 2 preseason TDs in 2 games, he may be getting to be on other teams' radars, but I still think we could safely stash him on PS.

 I'm not saying we SHOULD do that, just that I think we could... (and I actually think we WILL).

we need a guy that can break tackles and that's not cap or barner.