1965 Free Agency Pre-Draft
The free agency window was one that was a little more active with more of the top players signing ahead of the draft. The biggest name of DB Malik Davenport would land in a new home with the Montreal Rouge, who were bringing him in to replace the departing DB Jared Francis. Davenport was very excited about joining a team that will be competitive after spending almost his entire career with the Victors (only being traded to Buffalo midway through last season). As for DB Jared Francis, he would head westward to Louisville to fill out their top 3 DBs behind Oliver Langstrom and Jayden Mills. While Davenport decided to move on to better things, his longtime teammate DB David Jones would end up returning to Indiana despite the opportunity to go elsewhere.Boston would look to get some help for LB Brent Harper and LB Konrad Aust, however, the is questions if 32-year-old LB Harrison Bennett was the right option considering both Harper (34) and Aust (31) are no longer the young bucks they once were. LB Joe Larkin, who some considered a better option ended up being interested in what the Royals were building and would head to the team on a 3-year deal. Larkin is hoping the Royals will provide him with a bigger role over the next few years.
As for some of the top offensive players, there certainly wasn’t as much interest going around. Most of the top guys would end up taking the only offer they got. TE Paul McDowell would head to Toronto to mentor their young TE Jesse Butler. RB Eddie Thompson would head over to Providence to be RB Rashed Smith’s new backup, and WR Darryl Duke would ultimately return to his first team on Long Island. RB Eric Sydney would also make a shift over to join the Raiders as RB Dareion Fields’ backup.
The veterans certainly did not get the same amount of attention as the younger talents. Many younger players had up to 4 or 5 offers each. After the bidding, the Tigers would land WR Dwayne Alexander to be the team’s new #3 WR. DL Jordan Buckner would land in Ottawa thinking in a similar way as LB Joe Larkin hoping for a larger role with the team. WR Stuart Smalls will hopefully finally get some more snaps as Louisville’s #3 WR, while WR Bernard Sandiers would stay with the Raiders. QB Joshua Nolan was the only younger talent that only received a couple of offers. The QB market seems to have hit a lull waiting for the draft and potentially some other moves to go through, however, Nolan would still take the 2-year deal with Rouge. He will hope to finally be on a NAAF roster after spending the last 3 on the Raiders’ reserve list.
The Blacksmiths did not make any signings, however, they did make a pair of trades to clear out a couple of their expansion-tagged players. The first was DB Evan Harris who was shipped back to Toronto in exchange for Toronto’s 3rd round pick in 1965 and RB Alex Warren. Warren was not happy with the lack of snaps he got last season in Toronto and will be excited for the opportunity with Pittsburgh. With Warren coming in, the Blacksmiths then send their own tagged RB, Wally Morton, to the Royals (the team that originally drafted him), in exchange for Ottawa’s 3rd rounder and OL Tommy Yorke. Both tagged players would sign contracts with their new teams.
1 - DB Malik Davenport BUF -> MTL 2Y, $18,000
2 - DB Jared Francis MTL -> LOU 1Y, $15,500
3 - LB Harrison Bennett BUF -> BOS 1Y, $18,600
4 - LB Joe Larkin HFX -> OTT 3Y, $18,000
5 - TE Paul McDowell OTT -> TOR 1Y, $14,000
6 - QB Robert Humphrey LI
7 - RB Eddie Thompson LI -> PRO 1Y, $12,750
8 - S Nick Larson TOR
9 - DB David Jones IND -> IND 1Y, $13,500
10 - WR Darryl Duke LOU -> LI 1Y, $12,000
11 - QB Rigobert St-Hilaire LDN
12 - S Cal Clemmons PRO
13 - WR Dwayne Alexander TOR -> LDN 2Y, $12,500
14 - RB Eric Sydney OTT -> LI 1Y, $12,000
15 - DL Jordan Buckner TOR -> OTT 2Y, $13,500
16 - OL Ivan Zamora MTL -> PRO 1Y, $13,500
17 - WR Stuart Smalls BUF -> LOU 1Y, $8,000
18 - DL Dennis Hughes BOS -> MTL 1Y, $13,500
19 - OL Stanley Witt BUF -> BOS 1Y, $14,500
20 - S Johan Eckhart HFX -> IND 1Y, $12,000
21 - RB Bernard Alston LI
22 - QB Joshua Nolan LI -> MTL 2Y, $13,500
23 - DL Allen St. Bensen IND -> BOS 1Y, $14,000
24 - WR Bernard Sandiers LI -> LI 1Y, $9,000
25 - S Nick Dixon LI -> TOR 2Y, $8,000
Expansion Tagged Players
1 - DB Evan Harris PIT -> TOR 2Y, $18,500
2 - RB Wally Morton PIT -> OTT 2Y, $18,000
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