1961 Free Agency Part 1

1961 Free Agency Part 1 

Bishop to Mount Royal, Rogers and Ovechkin head West
The big talk of the offseason would be at the QB position for several teams. Montreal, Worcester, Indiana, and Buffalo all had questions about who would be the QB heading into the season. Montreal would be the first to address their issue by signing the big fish in QB Gene Bishop. Bishop would be locked in for 6 years starting at $31,500 and will get to $34,000 by the end. Bishop said his decision was pretty clear after just one conversation with Virgil Gross who was very willing to pay Bishop what he thought he was worth. As for the other two big names, they would find themselves moving on to West Division clubs. QB Stanislav Ovechkin would land in Buffalo on a 2-year contract at $23,000 a season. While the team is hoping QB Charles Lemieux develops, Ovechkin will be good for some stability and veteran presence. QB Lee Rogers would then end up signing with the Indiana Victors, a team that was looking to land him last season. He would sign for 2-years at $17,500 a season. While QB Stanley Troyer just signed a 2-year, $24,000 contract, Rogers will certainly have a shot at potentially being a starter for the team. Worcester ended up empty on the high-end QB sweepstakes leaving QB Terry Bourbon as the likely starter going into the season at this point.  

Providence Makes Major Moves Towards Quick Defensive Turnaround
A lot were not sure what the Gold Stars might do after a rough 1-11 season. In the end, GM Allen Hutchinson was looking to build the team quickly especially with QB Connor O’Rourke still in his prime. The first piece would end up being LB Rusty McVee. The former rookie of the year and 2-time champion wants to still compete and between the Gold Stars and the Thunder he felt that he had more confidence in O’Rourke and the Gold Stars getting back into contention. McVee would lock in for 2-years at $26,000. Hutchinson was not finished on his quest and would bring in S Shawn Jensen and DB Jared Francis to fix up the secondary. Each should make an immediate impact on the back end to get the defence rolling. On top of those moves, the Gold Stars are likely to take a DB or LB with the top pick in the draft which will only add to the team moving forward.  

Indiana’s New Backfield
With the departure of RB Rodney Clark, Indiana needed a fresh start in the backfield. New GM Everett Henderson, would be very aggressive when it came to finding a fit. In the end, he would land two RBs to lead the team into the future. Last season’s Offensive Player of the Year, RB Johnnie Stafford, would end up signing with the team for 1-year at $15,000. It isn’t a long-term solution, but they also landed 27-year-old RB Don Gregson for 3 years to potentially fill that role for the future with a salary of $17,000. Indy’s backfield is certainly looking stronger with both backs being able to make an impact next season.

(This only takes into account the moves that have occurred before the NAAF draft)
Top 25 Free Agents
1 - QB Gene Bishop WOR -> MTL 6Y, $31,500-$34,000
2 - LB Rusty McVee LI -> PRO 2Y, $26,000
3 - S Shawn Jensen WOR -> PRO 2Y, $22,000 
4 - RB Rodney Clark IND
5 - QB Stanislav Ovechkin MTL -> BUF 2Y, $23,000
6 - QB Lee Rogers MTL -> IND 2Y, $17,500
7 - RB Johnnie Stafford LI -> IND 1Y, $15,000
8 - DB Jared Francis BUF -> PRO 2Y, $12,000
9 - RB Don Gregson LDN -> IND 3Y, $17,000
10 - OL Stanley Witt LDN -> BUF 4Y, $14,000
11 - WR Robert Lang LI
12 - DB Petr Westerburg OTT -> BOS 2Y, $12,000
13 - LB Benjamin Pittman LDN -> LOU 1Y, $13,000
14 - TE Tanner Tint LDN
15 - QB Caldwell Higgins III IND
16 - RB Tobias Graves MTL
17 - DL Clyde Dale BOS -> LOU 2Y, $11,000
18 - QB Andrew Sexton IND
19 - TE Duane Halloway WOR
20 - WR Truman Harry OTT
21 - WR Fredrick St. Pierre MTL
22 - DB Victor Bean LI
23 - DL Remington Hart MTL -> IND 4Y, $9,000
24 - LB Charlie Finster LOU
25 - QB Randy Sellers BUF