1961 Free Agency Part 2

1961 Free Agency Part 2 

Lang Lands in Montreal
The long-time Raider/Hawk WR Robert Lang found a new home in the Montreal Rouge following the draft. While it was rumoured he might land in Ottawa, they were quickly silenced with the Royals trade for WR Angus Stevenson. Lang would sign a 1-year deal in Montreal to give the Rouge a real strong WR core heading into next season. WR Derek Cross will lead the way with both Lang and WR Ray Lopez being able to support. Not to mention the Rouge just drafted WR Taylor Karis who is certainly going to make a push for touches this season. QB Gene Bishop is certainly excited about the WR core he is going to have to work with this season.  

Hot Rod Heads Just Down The Road, Joins Several Vets in Move to Thunder
The departure of RB Rodney Clark from the Victors was a little shocking, but what was more surprising was the time it took for Clark to make a decision on a new home. Ultimately, with just a month before training camps were to open, Clark would sign with the Victors’ rivals in the Louisville Thunder. The young RB will be paired up with RB Stavros Black and will likely split a lot of the touches as both are fit to be a starting back. However, Louisville was not finished with just bringing on Clark as they also brought in several veterans aiming to add experience to the young squad. WR Truman Harry, DB Victor Bean, and TE Duane Holloway all signed deals with the team. Truman Harry had previously spent some time with Louisville before he was traded to Ottawa a couple of years ago, Victor Bean is still hunting for a championship and hopes the Louisville secondary can get them there, and Holloway was looking for a fresh start after getting out of the Worcester turmoil. Louisville has quietly become a little more competitive this offseason and they could make a run for the top if things click.  

Boston Has New Face at Tight End
For many seasons the Independents have had TE Richard Stewart headlining the TE position, but he has not been as impactful as they once hoped. After suffering a season-ending injury early in his career, the TE had not fully recovered enough to reach his potential, so Boston finally sought out a new face. They quickly spotted their new piece in TE Tanner Tint who just recently left the London Tigers’ backup role. The 25-year-old is just about to hit his prime and looks pretty solid, many are expecting him to take over Stewart’s starting spot out of the gate. 

ACFL and GLFL Shift
Some young players from both the ACFL and GLFL made moves over to the NAAF. The most notable was WR Fred Summers who signed on with the Buffalo Blue Wings for 3 seasons. The 24-year-old had been playing for the Washington Americans and was not getting a great opportunity, which is suspected to be because of his skin colour. Summers decided to leave and was excited to join a young Buffalo team that hopes he develops into a strong WR for the future. S Gilbert Lopez moved on from the Cincinnati Centurions of the GLFL following the team getting a bright young safety to replace him. He found the NAAF was intriguing and decided to make the shift to the Victors. A pair of youngsters out of the Philadelphia Rebels, LB Ronald Palmer and DL Billy Melton would both join the Worcester Athletics for this season as well. It seems like more young players are looking for greater opportunities and seeing the NAAF as a strong option. 

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 -> LOU 2Y, $17,000
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 -> MTL 1Y, $16,000
12 - DB Petr Westerburg OTT -> BOS 2Y, $12,000
13 - LB Benjamin Pittman LDN -> LOU 1Y, $13,000
14 - TE Tanner Tint LDN -> BOS 4Y, $12,000
15 - QB Caldwell Higgins III IND -> WOR 1Y, 17,500
16 - RB Tobias Graves MTL -> OTT 1Y, $10,000
17 - DL Clyde Dale BOS -> LOU 2Y, $11,000
18 - QB Andrew Sexton IND -> MTL 1Y, $10,000
19 - TE Duane Halloway WOR -> LOU 1Y, $7,500
20 - WR Truman Harry OTT -> LOU 1Y, $12,000
21 - WR Fredrick St. Pierre MTL -> BOS 2Y, $10,000
22 - DB Victor Bean LI -> LOU 1Y, $10,000
23 - DL Remington Hart MTL -> IND 4Y, $9,000
24 - LB Charlie Finster LOU -> PRO 1Y, $13,000
25 - QB Randy Sellers BUF -> BOS 2Y, $10,000 

Undrafted Free Agents
WR Johnny Starwood - Kalamazoo, MI - Rugrat -> IND
QB Jimmy House - Barre, ON - Wallflower -> LOU
DL Leoric Rensfeld - Toronto, ON - Darknes -> LDN
RB Neal Boeser - Waterloo, ON - JamHeronArk -> WOR
DL Barney Morton - Buffalo, NY - Stickman -> BUF
WR Troy York - Troy, NY - ItDoesntMatter -> LI
TE Ronald Orwer - Quebec City, QC - Sevsdast -> PRO
LB Cornelius Mayo - Somerville, MA - ItDoesntMatter -> BOS
TE Jean-Pierre Beaumont - Saint-Eustache, QC - Kingsfan11 -> OTT