NorthDallas40oz":2y9o4axc said:
I'm expecting Luke Willson, Nick Bellore and Neiko Thorpe to all be released tomorrow, to avoid having their vested veteran contracts fully guaranteed for the season by being on the Week One roster. I could then easily see any combination of them re-signed on or after Week 2. Paul Richardson falls into this category as well.
I also expect Stephen Sullivan to survive the initial cut-down tomorrow, and then to be placed in I.R. on Sunday which would allow him to return later this season if need be. He's way, way down the pecking order at TE, with his current hip injury only exacerbating his situation. This would be the savvy and risk-free method to stash him for now.
The wildcard is Jacob Hollister. If he's not traded, will the Seahawks just keep him as is, or waive him knowing that his $3.26M contract may or may not pass through waivers, with the hope off re-signing him at a lower number (esp. if Jadeveon Clowney re-signs and consumes the bulk of the Hawks' available cap space)? Obviously they could try to negotiate a pay cut with Hollister to avoid all of that in the first place, but Hollister would have to be amenable to that - which he may not be if he likes his chances of being claimed and keeping his current contract. We'll see.
Good post, thanks for the details, even if none of it turns out like that, it gives us something to work with. Yes, it's been a stealth training camp and "preseason".
I could see Luke Willson being released and then later resigned, and certainly Bellore, but unsure about Thorpe; he's been so amazing on Special Teams at times, and Pete highly values special teams.
I think they keep PRich with no funny business if he's show the tank has something left in it. He and Russell had a chemistry his last year here.
Maybe Ethan Pocic, but I think they keep him, as a versatile backup.
Hollister earned that contract last year, but I could see the Hawks risking it for a lower cap number to try to get Clowney back. The Hawks organization tries to do right by players and they've paid players for what they did "last year" (underpaid) and honored that commitment and contract. The only example that comes to mind right away would be Jermaine Kearse. I felt like the Hawks rewarded him with a nice contract the next couple years, for what he did in 2013 and 2014, rewarded him well beyond his NFL-wide market value, as a thank you for his key plays in big moments. Of course, Hollister didn't make a catch that sent the Hawks to the Super Bowl, or make a miracle catch that should have won the subsequent Super Bowl, and Kearse did, so there's that.
So which 40Oz-er is preferred in North Dallas? Does venerable Mad Dog come in 40 oz sizes, or just Steel-whatever Reserve?