ProFootballWeekly.com
asks personnel expert Joel Buchsbaum for his thoughts on the hottest topics in
football.
Jaguars find bargains in OL Roundtree, DE Coleman
The Jacksonville Jaguars continue to fortify their lines, signing versatile OG Raleigh
Roundtree to a one-year contract and agreeing to terms with former Redskins DE Marco
Coleman on a three-year contract. Roundtree, who spent his first five seasons with the San
Diego Chargers and started 31 games at both guard positions over the last two years, did
not draw much interest in the free agent market and signed for the veteran minimum of
$525,000. Coleman will replace Renaldo Wynn, who is now taking his spot with the Redskins.
Buchsbaum: The Jaguars made two major offseason acquisitions at very reasonable costs
over the weekend. Signing Roundtree gives them depth on the offensive line. He can play
any position except center and is coming in at the veteran’s minimum wage. There is a
chance that he could replace high-priced Zach Wiegert, making him a salary-cap casualty.
Wiegert has never lived up to expectations after an All-American career at Nebraska.
Coleman did not have a very good year with the Redskins and is 32 years old. However,
he is a great leader, a great worker — the type of player who sets a great example
— and he was basically a one-armed player last year because of a shoulder injury. I
really expect him to bounce back in Jacksonville’s scheme and have a very positive
influence on the Jaguars’ young defensive linemen like Tony Brackens, who does not
always work as hard as he should and their two young tackles, John Henderson, their
first-round pick this year, and Marcus Stroud, last year’s first-round pick from
Georgia.
RB Carter bolsters Packers’ backfield
Free-agent RB Ki-Jana Carter, the first pick of the 1994 draft who has been hampered by
injuries throughout his NFL career, reached agreement on contract terms with the Green Bay
Packers on Friday. He spent his first four seasons with the Bengals, sat out the 2000
season and revived his career with the Washington Redskins last season, gaining 308 yards
on 63 rushes and catching 13 passes for 83 yards as a backup tailback.
Buchsbaum: Signing Carter was an excellent move for the Packers. While he will never
live up to being the first pick in the ’94 draft because he wasn’t as good as
advertised to begin with and can’t be a heavy-duty back anymore because of that knee,
he still could be a very effective second back — as he showed with the Redskins last
year. He is a very good short-yardage and goal-line runner, he catches the ball well,
knows how to pick up the blitz and while he doesn’t have the explosiveness or agility
he once had, he still has very good run vision and balance.
Tanuvasa excels as situation pass-rusher
Atlanta signed nine-year veteran DT Maa Tanuvasa on Friday. Tanuvasa, a 6-foot-2,
270-pounder, played for the Denver Broncos from 1995 through 2000. He began his career
with the Los Angeles Rams and has also played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and, most
recently, the San Diego Chargers.
Buchsbaum: Picking up Tanuvasa could benefit the Falcons. Tanuvasa is the type of
player who when you try to play him every down, he wears down, he gets hurt and isn’t
very effective. But if the Falcons could just use him as a situational pass rusher, he
could be a very good inside situational pass rusher though he is undersized because he has
quickness and leverage.
QB Batch nearing deal with hometown Steelers
Former Lions QB Charlie Batch extended his visit in Pittsburgh a day while his agent
negotiated with the Steelers. Batch is scheduled to visit the Saints on Tuesday and has
already taken trips to Houston, Jacksonville and Green Bay. It’s possible that his
future could be determined before he visits the Saints.
Buchsbaum: If no one is going to give Batch a chance to compete for a starting job and
no one is going to offer him much more than the veteran’s minimum, then the team
Batch would most definitely like to play for is the Steelers. Pittsburgh is right near his
hometown in Pennsylvania plus the Steelers are a legitimate Super Bowl contender. Batch
also feels comfortable with the Pittsburgh situation for a year and if anything were to
happen to Kordell Stewart, there is a chance he could beat out Tommy Maddox and get a
chance to play and showcase himself for the following year. The team that seems to be
making the heaviest push for him however is Jacksonville, which has no veteran behind Mark
Brunell at present.
Patriots release injury-plagued LB Katzenmoyer
New England released injury-plagued linebacker Andy Katzenmoyer on Friday. The Patriots
drafted Katzenmoyer out of Ohio State with their second pick in the first round of the
1999 draft. He started 11 of 16 games as a rookie and recorded 107 tackles, but he damaged
a disc in his neck. He had surgery in November 2000 and missed the second half of the
season. During last year’s training camp, he left camp for two days without
permission, citing concern about a feeling in his neck he experienced the first time he
was hit. He was placed on injured reserve on Aug. 28 and did not play during the season
that ended with the Patriots winning the Super Bowl. His agent says he is still injured.
Buchsbaum: It was no surprise the Patriots cut Katzenmoyer. There has been a lot of
friction there to begin with. He had the neck injury, but most importantly since the
Patriots took him in the first round of the draft, he has been a bust even before he had
any neck problems. Katzenmoyer was one of the most overrated college linebackers of all
time. While Brian Bosworth was a good college linebacker with great workout numbers who
was a bust as a pro, Katzenmoyer was just a very overrated college linebacker who was a
bust with the Patriots.
Upshaw out for season after tearing ACL
Raiders DE Regan Upshaw, who led the team in sacks last season, will miss the entire
season after tearing a ligament in his right knee during minicamp. Upshaw, a seven-year
veteran in his third season with Oakland, was injured during a drill Thursday. He expects
to have surgery next week, with an expected recovery time of at least six months. The
Raiders are already without DT Darrell Russell, who will miss the season under a one-year
NFL suspension for violating the team’s substance abuse policy.
Buchsbaum: If Trace Armstrong can come back from his injury, the Raiders will be able
to make do at defensive end. If not, they will either have to go outside of the
organization or play their second first-round pick Napoleon Harris as a defensive end. He
did play right defensive end last year with Northwestern, but his best pro position is
probably outside linebacker. But he is big enough to play end, is not much smaller than
Upshaw and can get up to 265 pounds if they want him to. Harris has the speed to rush off
the edge. |
