1961 Re-sign Stage

1961 Re-sign Stage 

Quarterback Madness
There was plenty of news regarding Quarterbacks across the league. Starting with several of the contracts dished out. In Boston, the Independents locked up QB Nathaniel Braddock for 6 years starting at $37,500, with raises and a no-trade clause kicking in during the 3rd year of the contract. They are set on their young QB and hopes he can take them to the next level next season. Not far down the road were the contract talks between the Providence Gold Stars and Connor O’Rourke. They would come to a 3-year agreement at $34,000 a season with a no-trade clause. The most interesting element is a mutual opt-out option for next season. This comes from O’Rourke’s late injury last season which may have brought upon some concern heading into this season. The last big re-signing was Stanley Troyer in Indiana on a 2-year contract at $24,000.  

However, on the other end of the spectrum, there were some big names that did not sign with their teams. The big surprise was out of Montreal with both QB Lee Rogers and QB Stanislav Ovechkin not re-signing with the team. It makes sense that Rogers would be looking for a starting role after backing up Ovechkin last season, however, the reason for Ovechkin’s departure comes with GM Virgil Gross’ lack of confidence in Ovechkin and no desire to pay him as much as he was getting paid. It will be a big question as to who will be the guy in Montreal next season. Reports have said that Gross was in contact with the Gold Stars in a potential trade for O’Rourke, but Providence wasn’t super interested in the move. The bigger of all the departures were out of, you guessed it, Worcester. QB Gene Bishop was apparently not happy at all with his negotiations with the Athletics being very vocal about it. He made several comments saying that he put everything into the team last season and got them to the playoffs again, but they clearly were not willing to commit to him on the same level he was committing to them. Bishop, only 25-years-old will be the hottest commodity in free agency this season.  

Salary Cap Effect
With the new salary cap being implemented this offseason, there were going to be some teams near the top losing some key pieces. The Raiders were the biggest losers in this regard. With the team needing to lock up RB Dareion Fields (4Y, $28,500), they would need to worry about a couple of other big names with their contracts coming to an end this season. The biggest name was LB Rusty McVee. The Raiders opted to keep the younger Gene Bensen and Deon Wiggins and had to let go of their top LB for next season. They also lost longtime Raiders WR Robert Lang as well which will certainly dampen their pass-attack even more. The Tigers also suffered as well with backup RB Don Gregson leaving the team, as well as veteran LB Benjamin Pittman. Boston had to let go of DL Clyde Dale after only having traded for him last season, Ottawa lost WR Truman Harry and DB Petr Westerburg, and Buffalo ended up losing DB Jared Francis.

Hot Rod Decides to Leave Indy
Overshadowed by Gene Bishop’s decision to leave the Athletics, RB Rodney Clark’s decision to leave Indy is almost just as shocking. Clark has been given a lot of attention in the offence, but it appears some injuries and a lack of success from the team have deterred him from returning to the squad for the future.  

Worcester Problems Continue
Along with the shocking departure of QB Gene Bishop, Worcester also lost a couple of other important pieces. S Shawn Jensen finally had enough with the organization and decided to look elsewhere for a spot for next season. However, his reasons were not because the team was not willing to pay him, but rather a frustration with how far the team had fallen. With the strong season they had this year, it seemed like he would stay, but with Bishop’s decision, Jensen had enough. 

Top Signings (That weren’t mentioned above)
WR Ellis Lindholm BOS - 2Y, $28,000 - NTC
LB Brent Harper BOS - 3Y, $27,000 - NTC
S Frazier Brooks BUF - 2Y, $25,600 - NTC
LB Lloyd Mathis BUF - 1Y, $15,000 - NTC
S -> DB Malik Davenport IND - 2Y, $16,000
S -> DB David Jones IND - 2Y, $15,000
DL Olympus Heights LDN - 2Y, $18,500
DL Richard Blunt LDN - 3Y, $16,000
LB Gene Bensen LI - 3Y, $25,000
WR Wilson Queensgate LI - 3Y, $16,000
OL Bernhard Altermann LOU - 4Y, $16,500
DB Jayden Mills LOU - 3Y, $15,000
DL Dexter Barbarcos MTL - 3Y, $13,000
TE Eli Grant MTL - 2Y, $15,000
WR Chester Bennett OTT - 3Y, $22,500
DB Mingan Oliver OTT - 2Y, $23,000
OL Nicholas Waller PRO - 2Y, $14,000
LB Daevion Shelton PRO - 1Y, $10,000 - NTC
WR Trig Jegman WOR - 2Y, $15,000
OL Cliff Strautzenberger WOR - 1Y, $20,000 

Top 25 Free Agents
1 - QB Gene Bishop WOR
2 - LB Rusty McVee LI
3 - S Shawn Jensen WOR
4 - RB Rodney Clark IND
5- QB Stanislav Ovechkin MTL
6 - QB Lee Rogers MTL
7 - RB Johnnie Stafford LI
8 - DB Jared Francis BUF
9 - RB Don Gregson LDN
10 - OL Stanley Witt LDN
11 - WR Robert Lang LI
12 - DB Petr Westerburg OTT
13 - LB Benjamin Pittman LDN
14 - TE Tanner Tint LDN
15 - QB Caldwell Higgins III IND
16 - RB Tobias Graves MTL
17 - DL Clyde Dale BOS
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
24 - LB Charlie Finster LOU
25 - QB Randy Sellers BUF