unsigned vets still available

Gus Frerotte – After make his declaration that he did not want to return to Minnesota unless viewed as a starter, the Vikings responded by trading for former Texan Sage Rosenfels. Now, Frerotte heads the unemployment line. It may take a preseason injury until some team dials up the sixteen-year pro.

Rex Grossman: “Wrecks” recently switched agents from Eugene Parker to Drew Rosenhaus. The illustrious negotiator all but guaranteed that he’d find his client a new landing spot…that was a month ago. The erratic and error-prone signal caller may be hard pressed to even secure a backup position at this point, although there should be plenty of teams willing to make him compete as a third quarterback.

J.P. Losman: Denver’s interest in the former Bill went out the door with its selection of Tom Brandstater in the sixth round. Carolina, on the other hand, has also been rumored to be keeping tabs on Losman. If the Panthers do bring him in, however, it won’t be to duke it out with Jake Delhomme for the starting job. Despite his physical tools, the Tulane product has never shown any sort of consistency.

Edgerrin James: The former star running back doesn’t have much to offer at this stage of his career. New Orleans seems like the most logical fit due to their lack of a workhorse halfback. James can still be an effective inside runner given his ability to read the holes in front of him, but his days of being a breakaway threat have gone the way of the Oldsmobile.

Warrick Dunn: Unlike James, the 34-year-old Dunn still has gas left in the tank after posting over 1,000 total yards last season as a Buc. While a team like Washington could certainly use the services of this shifty runner to spell Clinton Portis, there really hasn’t been much interest expressed for the Louisiana native.

Deuce McAllister: The 30-year-old war horse is determined to make a comeback. In fact, he was recently spotted working out at Duke University. The reality of the situation is that McAllister recently had his knee scoped during the off-season. That’s four knee surgeries in four years for those of you scoring at home. Watching him last year, it was clear that the longtime Saint has neither the quickness nor the leg drive to be of much help to anyone.

Lorenzo Neal: The 38-year-old battering ram is champing at the bit to sign with another team…and he may soon get his wish. Oakland is reportedly willing to take on the journeyman fullback due to the uncertain status of Oren O’Neal. Last seen opening holes for the Baltimore Ravens, Neal is a physical marvel who can still plaster defenders as a lead blocker.

Plaxico Burress: Except for the wide-out deficient N.Y. Jets, the receiver’s uncertain legal status has scared most teams away. Burress is facing possible jail time and a subsequent suspension, which will probably keep him off the field in 2009.

Marvin Harrison: Knee and hamstring ailments have significantly slowed down Harrison, who up until three years ago was still an elite pass catcher. There have been some whispers of Indianapolis resigning the future Hall-of-Famer, but nothing has been confirmed. Harrison’s precise route running, soft hands and body control can still buy him a couple of more years in the league. But does he love the game enough to stick around that long?

Jerry Porter: After a promising start to his NFL career, Porter hit the skids. A popular theory seems to be that the former Raider never worked hard enough to improve after signing a sizable contract in 2005. After all these years, Porter’s act has worn so thin that even Uncle Al has refused to roll out the welcome mat this time.

Amani Toomer: The former Wolverine went out kicking and screaming after the 2008 season, claiming that the Giants purposely shied away from getting him the ball. The truth is Toomer repeatedly failed to make plays last season even when he was targeted seven or eight times. The 6’3” possession wide out hasn’t received a sniff from other teams yet, and may have to settle for the minimum if he actually gets any offers.

 

Can any of them play DT?

 

That's quite a list.

 

I have always had a man crush on Lorenzo Neal. I know we just drafted a fullback but the thought of him opening holes for DW gives me a warm fuzzy feeling deep inside.

 

Lorenzo Neal is badass. True story.

 

You forgot Brett Favre

 

Neal's age is a big part of it, too. There's no doubt that backs just don't even make it to that age, or really past 32.

But, for a young team, a guy like that at the 10 year vet exemption would be a steal. The downside is if he'd play for that. The only guy I'd even consider of that list would be Losman, fighting for the 3rd spot. He's not mature enough for the 2nd, nor stable enough. And given what we have invested in the other two guys, is that spinning your wheels to give a bunch of preseason snaps to a guy who has no chance.
The only benefit is to get a guy like that in preseason, cut him, and then you have insurance if he's still there and you have a QB injury. Losman's a guy I liked coming out, because I used to be all about ball velocity coming off the arm -which I inevitably had to learn also means either you're fantastic overall, or you have very little accuracy.

 

I think it is different with fullbacks. I would hate to have to cut Hoover but if we could bring in Neal for a year I would have to think pretty hard about it. Fiametta might benefit from it as well.

 

neal signed with the raiders.

 

You would eventually think that the Raiders could score some points with all that talent on offense. They have three good backs and now a very good blocking fullback.