FanPost

How Sam Bradford Affects Our 53 Man Roster.

Ah... The chaos that is Sam Bradford's career. Only the people who have watched the games know how vital he is to our team, as experts and pundits across the country hold very little value in the oft-injured quarterback.

The recent tragedy of Sammy's injury affects how the 53 man roster will shape up without question. This article will determine to what degree the effect will be. The following chart indicates who I believe, and the consensus agree, are perpetual locks to make the final roster:

POSITION

1st STRING

2ND STRING

3RD STRING

QB

SHAUN HILL

AUSTIN DAVIS

WR

BRIAN QUICK

CHRIS GIVENS

WR

KENNY BRITT

AUSTIN PETTIS

WR

TAVON AUSTIN

RB

ZAC STACY

BENNY CUNNINGHAM

TRE MASON

TE

JARED COOK

LANCE KENDRICKS

CORY HARKEY

OT

JAKE LONG

OT

JOE BARKSDALE

OG

RODGER SAFFOLD

OG

GREG ROBINSON

DAVIN JOSEPH

C

SCOTT WELLS

TIM BARNES

LDE

CHRIS LONG

WILLIAM HAYES

RDE

ROBERT QUINN

EUGENE SIMS

DT

KENDALL LANGFORD

AARON DONALD

DT

MICHAEL BROCKERS

ALEX CARRINGTON

OLB

ALEC OGLETREE

RAY RAY ARMSTRONG

OLB

JOLONN DUNBAR

DAREN BATES

ILB

JAMES LAURINAITIS

LCB

JANORIS JENKINS

LAMARCUS JOYNER

RCB

TRUMAINE JOHNSON

EJ GAINES

FS

RODNEY MCLEOD

SS

TJ MCDONALD

MO ALEXANDER

NOTES: I assume that Barrett Jones will be placed on IR and Stedman Bailey will not count against our roster.

From the above chart, along with our special teams trio of Legatron, Hekker, and McQuaide, That brings our roster count to 43 players. So who does that leave? Well, let's look at it by position:

QUARTERBACK

- I think it's safe to say that Garrett Gilbert will be placed on the practice squad. I also think it's safe to say he will make it through waivers.

WIDE RECEIVER

- Nothing changes here. When Stedman Bailey does return, we will need to open up a roster spot for him but that doesn't change anything now.

RUNNING BACK

- Here's where it gets interesting. I like both Trey Watts and Chase Reynolds. I don't think either would clear waivers if released. So who has more value? Well, as a 3rd or 4th string running back, the main value will come in special teams and Reynolds has the edge in that department. However, Watts has had more involvement on special teams as of late and has the chops to contribute more than ST for the future, whereas Reynolds will only amount to ST contribution on this team. Watts is someone who can catch out of the backfield, make decisive cuts up the middle, line up in the slot, and pass protect. You don't cut that kind of talent. Considering Bradford's injury, having capable depth at a position that will be heavily featured in this offense is a priority.

TIGHT END

- This is quite the dilemma. On one side, you have the receiving that could pay dividends in moving the chains. On the other, you have the blocking expertise that our offensive game plan is designed around. I have to go with Justice Cunningham to make the roster and Bayer to be waived. My reasoning revolves around the fact that Cunningham and Bayer have players with similar talents ahead of them, yet Cunningham can play on ST as well. Sammy's injury also helps Cunningham's case as a blocking TE is more vital to a power running game. Bayer got the short end of the stick when Bradford went down.

OFFENSIVE LINE


- I think they all need to be cut other than Bond. bond has excelled in the run game in training camp, whereas everyone from Person to Hooey haven't shown much. For the purposes of having the needed bodies, I will add Person and Bond to the final tally of my roster prediction. However, I wouldn't be against scouring the waivers for potential to replace Person. Heck, I wouldn't be against bringing Dahl back either.

DEFENSIVE LINE

- The drama that has unfolded from this camp battles is, quite frankly, overwhelming. I'm torn every which way about who to keep. I decided that both need to stay. Michael Sam and Ethan Westbrooks are too talented to let go. Let's not forget that Carrington is on a one year prove-it deal and I believe Sims and Hayes are coming to the back end of their contracts. When you "hit" on players in in the later rounds of the draft or undrafted free agency, you keep them, especially with the future insecurity of this team's depth.

LINEBACKERS


- It's Philip-Steward-or-bust here. His value on special teams is helpful here, but roster spots are too valuable to consider him.

DEFENSIVE BACKS

- So, based on everything I wrote above, I'm left with three available roster spots. Am I the only one on this website not a fan of Brandon McGee? I'm not sure if the coaching staff even likes him, but for the sake of argument, I'll assume he makes the final cut. Therefore, I have to pick between three guys for two spots: Marcus Roberson, Greg Reid, and Cody Davis. Even though Bradford doesn't have much of an impact on this side of the ball, I used him to make my decision. With Bradford out and our offensive line eat up penalties like it's candy, we'll be facing a lot of 3rd-and-25s that we won't be able to converge on. Hekker can punt far, and get us good field position. We need coverage guys in the backfield to give our defensive line time to do their jobs and create turnovers for us. That's going to give us prime scoring opportunity right there. So I decided Roberson is a must-have on our roster. I also went with Reid because of his value on ST since Pead is out. That leave Davis as the odd man out. Some of you may not like this scenario due to only have 3 safeties but I feel that Joyner can play safety in a pinch.


CONCLUSION

- Who make the roster: Trey Watts, Chase Reynolds, Justice Cunningham, Mike Person, Travis Bond, Michael Sam, Ethan Westbrooks, Brandon McGee, Greg Reid, Marcus Roberson

- Notable cuts: Alex Bayer, Brandon Washington, Philip Steward, Cody Davis