After the pandemic delayed much of the offseason program, Colliders’ GM Josh Hammond finally pulled himself out of the wreckage of a 1.56-point loss in the championship game to make some much needed offseason moves.
weakside linebacker this season.
“Congratulations to the Krakens. Or whatever,” said Hammond.
The Colliders signed one of their four option-eligible players. Leighton Vander Esch, the oft-injured linebacker, will play on a one-year “show me” deal for $7.91. Christian Kirk, Rashaan Evans, and Marcus Davenport will become unrestricted free agents. All three were drafted in the second round of what turned out to be a less than stellar 2018 draft for the Colliders.
“Don’t sugarcoat it,” said Hammond. “It was Bust City up in here. And would you believe that people are still hyping Marcus Davenport? Saying this is the year he has the opportunity to finally put it together? I’ve heard that one before.”
The Colliders convened OTAs via Zoom. Notably absent were TE Darren Waller, CB Marlon Humphrey, and S Logan Ryan. While the players did not speak to the media, their agents have indicated they are unhappy with their contracts. Hammond wasn’t surprised, given the team led the league in scoring last year.
It’s speculated that Waller will be paid, however, given that the Colliders cut TE Zack Ertz to clear cap space.
Other players were cut as well, including S Jalen Thompson, DE Benson Mayowa, LB Vince Williams, and WR Miles Boykin. While Hammond has denied this, some speculate that these players were cut because of their social media posts indicating their own hesitancy to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
“While it’s true that our goal is a 100% vaccinated team,” said Hammond, “nobody can look at that list of players with a straight face and come to any conclusion other than they were cut because they suck.”
The Kamara Conundrum
Most see these cost-cutting measures as a transparent effort to franchise tag RB Alvin Kamara. Generally speaking, Hammond has not been a fan of spending $60 on running backs. Kamara led all running backs in scoring, however, and few will soon forget his 6-TD performance in Immersion Bowl XI.
Kamara, however, finds himself in transition as QB Drew Brees has retired. The quarterbacks vying to replace him, Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill, have not shown love to Kamara in the passing game. Most experts predict a big dropoff for Kamara, which could make signing him to a $62 contract foolhardy.
When a reporter pointed out that RB Joe Mixon was also an option for the franchise tag, Hammond laughed. “Let the Banthas overpay for that guy. Regarding Kamara, all options are on the table. We’ve got a big decision to make, and we’ll consider it carefully. It’s concerning that he got Covid-19 right after the championship. Who knows if he has permanent damage? But I did see that the Saints are one of the teams that are leading the way in vaccination rate, so that’s good.”
“Not that getting the Covid-19 vaccine has anything to do with our personnel decisions,” Hammond added with a wink.
© 2021, Josh Hammond. All rights reserved.
The Pirates will happily welcome all your non-vaccinated players!