After a week of free agency and 12 signings, see below for our 53-man current roster plus five who are very unlikely to make the squad. I've listed those as "Practice Squad" players.
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MG’s ROSTER AS OF MARCH 6
OFFENSE (26)
QB (3) Brady, O'Connell, Gutierrez
RB/FB (5) Taylor, Faulk, Morris, Maroney, BJGE
WR (5) Moss, Welker, Lewis, Aiken, Slater
TE (3) Watson, Baker, Thomas
OT (4) Light, Kaczur, LeVoir, O’Callaghan
OG/C/LS (6) Mankins, Koppen, Neal, Hochstein, Yates, Connolly
DEFENSE (25)
DL (6) Wilfork, Seymour,Warren, Green, Smith, Adams
LB (10) Thomas, Mayo, Guyton, Bruschi, Woods, Crable, Banta-Cain, Alexander, Redd, Ruud
DB (9) Hobbs, Springs, Wilhite, Wheatley, Richardson, Meriweather, Sanders, Spann, Ventrone
SPECIALISTS (2)
K (1) Gostkowski
P (1) Hanson
PRACTICE SQUAD
Wendell, Listorti, DeVree, Craig, Malone
Nice Job. I've separated out the LBs and DBs and have added a few comments:
OFFENSE (26)
QB (3) Brady, O'Connell, Gutierrez -
Basically set, and an upgrade over Cassell/O'Connell/Gutierrez last year; a vet backup like Ramsey would be nice, but only if cheap. Is Gut still PS eligible?
RB/FB (5) Taylor, Faulk, Morris, Maroney, BJGE -
Deepest RB corps we've had; do we really need a FB replacement for Evans?
WR (5) Moss, Welker, Lewis, Aiken, Slater -
A little think after the first 2, but adequate; one solid developmental WR in the draft would round it out nicely
TE (3) Watson, Baker, Thomas -
Extremely solid; Baker gives us a nice approximation of Daniel Graham to balance out Watson and Thomas
OT (4) Light, Kaczur, LeVoir, O’Callaghan -
Would love to see an eventual OT to take over from Light
OG/C/LS (6) Mankins, Koppen, Neal, Hochstein, Yates, Connolly -
Same as 2008; solid if Neal can stay healthy; an OG/C replacement would be nice if the draft falls right
DEFENSE (25)
DT (6) Wilfork, Adams -
Would love to see a true NT backup for Wilfork in the draft (Sammie Lee Hill?); Smith can cover here, but still very thin
DE(4) Seymour,Warren, Green, Smith -
Weaker than 2008 unless we can resign Mike Wright, but still very solid
OLB (5) Thomas, Woods, Crable, Banta-Cain, Redd -
Godo depth, but would like a quality starter opposite Thomas
ILB (5) Mayo, Guyton, Bruschi, Alexander, Ruud -
Also good depth, but could use a true SILB opposite Mayo
S (4) Merwieather, Sanders, Spann, Ventrone -
Very thin; need at least one solid S (future starter) in the draft; weakest overall position on the team
CB (5) Hobbs, Springs, Wilhite, Wheatley, Richardson -
Improved over 2008 with Springs instead of O'Neal and Wilhite/Wheatley with a year under their belt; don't think we need to spend a high draft pick here unless the value is too good to pass up
SPECIALISTS (2)
K (1) Gostkowski
P (1) Hanson - [COLOR="royalblue]Same as 2008; upgradeable, but adequate[/COLOR]
LS (0) - [COLOR="royalblue"]Hochstein is probably adequate, but Leach in FA or a rookie LS would be nice to replace Paxton[/COLOR]
PRACTICE SQUAD
Wendell, Listorti, DeVree, Craig, Malone
Based on this, unless we sign any additional FAs, I see our major draft needs being the following:
1 OT - luxury pick, if the right value is there
1 OG - also a luxury pick; would definitely like to see us add at least one OL
1 WR - would like a true #3 WR after Moss/Welker
1 DT - would really like a true 3-4 DT backup to Wilfork
1 OLB - first day pick; 2nd biggest "immediate" need after safety (or maybe WR)
1 SILB - possible first day pick
1 S - probable first day pick
1 CB - luxury pick
1 P - luxury pick
1 LS - luxury pick assuming Hochstein is adequate