2003 USFL Offseason Report: January 2003

So much has happened since our last USFL offseason review it is almost impossible to decide where to start. We have big news on the Portland and Memphis fronts, a wave of free agent signings, a second flurry of action as the NFL-USFL portal has reopened, and with the USFL College Draft in the books, now the mad scramble to sign players who just learned their USFL and NFL positions is in full swing. Add to this the crazy trades that moved teams up and down the draft order this year and there is just a lot to talk about. We are going to start with the draft, because the posturing, picks, and pressure to sign those selections is what everyone is buzzing about this week.

If the 2003 USFL Draft is going to be known for anything, it will be known for the trades that saw several teams parlay multiple picks into high round picks or take the deal and accumulate selections. We saw teams trade into the Territorial Draft of other clubs, but what captured our attention most were the situations where draft day trades helped clubs parlay picks into big moves up the board. Quickly, here are the moves we felt were the biggest on Draft Day.

DRAFT DAY TRADES

5) Seattle parlayed their two 3rd rounders (50 & 51) to the Chicago Machine to jump back up into the 2nd round to get the man they wanted. Who was that? TE Visanthe Shiancoe of Morgan State. Would he have been there at 50? Hard to say, there were some clubs interested, but Seattle wanted to make sure they got a shot at him and were willing to bail on the 3rd round to do it. What did Chicago do with the 2 picks they got? Went heavy on the O-line, drafting OT Wade Smith (Memphis) and OG Sean Mahan (Notre Dame), a player they passed over in the T-Draft but swung back around for.

4) Arizona was a surprise trade partner in the T-Draft as they entertained picks not for their first pick (already well-known to be DE Terrell Suggs) but were open to trading away their second pick. They found a taker in Baltimore, who traded a mid-round Open Draft pick and next year’s 2nd round T-Draft pick to Arizona to get their protected pick, and with that pick they opted for OT Jordan Gross of Utah, a need for sure in Baltimore, but a position where others were expected to be available in the open draft. The strategy allowed the Blitz a clean shot at Gross, and then they used their first Open Draft pick not on a tackle, but on his potential future linemate, Georgia guard Eric Steinbach. Looks like B’more is going for the beef this year.

3) Arizona’s second move was to take a deal that dropped them 8 spots but got them back-to-back picks. They traded their 2nd rounder (#40) to Ohio for Ohio’s pick 48 and 49, the last pick of Round 2 and first of Round 3. Who did Ohio think was out of reach at #48? WR Justin Gage from Mizzou, another weapon for Kerry Collins. And for the drop of 8 spots Arizona got 2 picks, which they used to draft CB Asante Samuel from UCF and FB B.J. Askew of Michigan, two positions of need for the Wranglers.

2) The Oakland Invaders took their shot, passing up protected QB Kyle Boller of Cal and trading away their top T-Draft pick to LA for the Express’s top T-Draft selection to take a shot at USC’s Carson Palmer. LA got a 3rd rounder as well from Oakland, who were the day’s biggest wheeler and dealer for new coach Dennis Green. Oakland chose Palmer and the negotiations are in full swing, but he has an offer from Cincinnati of the NFL as well, so this is not a done deal. As for LA, they also bypassed Boller in favor of Cal CB Nnamdi Asomugha with their pick.

1) Washington took the biggest shot in the draft, moving into the Top 10 by trading away pick 13 and 14 to the very same Oakland Invaders to get in early enough to make a pick that we all knew they needed, a DT to try to deal with Jerome Brown’s retirement. They jumped ahead of several teams thinking similar thoughts to snag the man they wanted, Dewayne Robertson of Kentucky the highest rated of a good DT class. Robinson has since been drafted as well by the New York Jets, so let the bidding war begin. Oakland, opted to use both of their picks on offensive playmakers, selecting USC halfback Justin Fargas and Florida WR Taylor Jacobs.

PROTECTED PLAYERS PASSED OVER

In addition to these 5 big draft day trades, the other surprises were the deals not made, particularly the T-Draft picks not made by clubs that had the shot. While not entirely surprising that some big name prospects went unselected in the T-Draft, since we do tend to see teams scout for viability (willingness to sign) as much as for quality, but still some of these names were a surprise to fall into the open draft. Here are our Top 5 Players we thought would not make it out to the Open Draft, but did just that:

5) Kyle Boller, QB, CAL—With Oakland chasing Carson Palmer, this became something of a known situation, but it was surprising that no one traded in with Oakland to get him. Boller fell to the Open Draft, where he was the 2nd selection of the Nashville Knights.

4) Rex Grossman, QB, Florida—Again, we did not expect Orlando to pick him, since they are already working with a young QB in Joey Harrington, but that no one jumped at the chance to sneak into Orlando’s T-Draft to go for Grossman is a bit of a surprise. Knowing Orlando would not go QB, it would have been possible to trade for the 2nd or even 3rd pick and snag the Florida QB.

3) Eric Steinbach, G, Iowa—Considering their need at the position, it is a bit shocking that Philly did not use a T-Draft pick on the clear #1 guard in the draft. They let him fall to the Open Draft, where Arizona snatched him up quickly.

2) Ty Warren, DE, Texas A&M—Again, a position we knew was not a high priority for the team with Warren’s rights, the Gamblers. They are fine at DE, but the fact that no one traded in was odd. Apparently Boston flirted with it, but their offer was not good enough for Houston to lose out on a different player from their pool. That ended up something of a wash as Boston decided to jump on Warren with the top pick in the Open Draft anyway, so in the end they got him, but they certainly, with a better deal, could have obtained the pick for Warren through Houston’s T-Draft pick and still had their #1 overall pick to add a second Top 5 choice.

1) WR Andre Johnson, Miami—We just cannot figure this one. Tampa Bay clearly needs a 2nd receiver to line up opposite Randy Moss. Johnson was a prime candidate, the top wideout in the draft pool, and he was there for the taking, and yet, the Bandits opted not to use one of their 4 selections on him, opting instead to draft Willis McGahee (expected), Ken Dorsey (expected), and two DEs (Shurron Pierson of USF and Jamaal Green of Miami). That left Johnson available in the 1st round of the Open Draft, and he did not last long, selected by Michigan with the #4 pick. The big wideout has since also been drafted by the Houston Oilers of the NFL, so Michigan needs to up their game to sign him, but the fact that Johnson was there for the Bandits and they passed is still a head scratcher. They would not draft a wideout until the 4th round of the Open Draft, when they went with a small school option, David Kircus of Grand Valley State.

POST-DRAFT SIGNINGS

It has been 3 weeks since the USFL Draft, and only 1 week since the NFL’s version, so the battle for bids between the two leagues is well underway. This usually lasts into training camp, with players weighing their options and agents licking their chops and counting their money. We have seen a few signings over the past couple of weeks, but once again this will come down to the wire. Most of those signed tend to be in the later rounds, where we see greater divergence between USFL and NFL picks, and often players get one offer rather than 2 competing bids. But we have seen a handful of signings already. Here is our list of the 4 biggest signings to date and the 4 outstanding that the USFL needs to lock down if they can in the next couple of weeks:

SIGNED: Birmingham came to a deal with their 1st round pick, DT Jonathan Sullivan of Georgia. The big man signed a 4-year deal and is expected to be a week 1 starter for the defensively-challenged Stallions.

NEED TO SIGN: Arizona’s entire draft could sign, but if T-Draft superstar Terrell Suggs opts for the NFL instead, many fans will be unsatisfied. He was taken by the Baltimore Ravens and the Ravens are pulling out the stops, so Arizona had better open that checkbook.

SIGNED: Houston jumped on two of their T-Draft selections right away, signing two top Texas A&M products, wideout Bethel Johnson and CB Sammy Davis. Now they have to focus on their top Open Draft pick, LB Nick Barnett of Oregon State.

NEED TO SIGN: Michigan may downplay how much they need Andre Johnson, but the reality is that he would be an instant starter and a huge weapon for QB Drew Brees. The Oilers also have a big need at wideout, so this one could be a dragged-out battle that will make Johnson and his agent very wealthy in the end.

SIGNED: Los Angeles did very well with their top picks in both the T-Draft and Open Draft, signing USC safety Troy Polomalu to a 4-year deal the day after the NFL Draft (where he was taken by Pittsburgh), and then adding their top Open Draft pick, TE L.J. Smith of Rutgers as well.

NEED TO SIGN: Seattle is taking a huge chance at QB. They traded away Brian Griese, leaving them with Craig Erickson and Brock Huard at QB, and we knew that meant they were targeting a QB in the draft. Everyone assumed it was Carson Palmer, but Seattle zigged when we thought they would zag and used their 1st round pick on Marshall signal-caller Byron Leftwich. Now they have to sign the athletic QB with the big arm, as losing out on Leftwich would be disaster for the Dragons.

SIGNED: Nashville added a major disruptor at DE when they made quick work of the signing process and landed Troy State’s Osi Umenyiora with a 5-year deal. Umenyiora did not even wait for the NFL Draft, signing prior to the big day and disrupting some NFL team’s plans for sure. Nashville is hoping to add even more weight to their defense having also selected DT Anthony Adams of Penn State, LB Hunter Hillenmeyer of Vandy, and LB Matt Wilhelm of Ohio State.

NEED TO SIGN: Do we have to say it? Carson Palmer. Oakland pulled bypassed Kyle Boller to jump on the chance to sign Palmer, made the trade with LA, and have been in talks ever since. You would think it would be a no-brainer for Palmer to stay in California, albeit with a team that has had issues, rather than travel to another dysfunctional franchise in Cincinnati. And while Coach Green may feel OK about having Jon Kitna and Marques Tuiasosopo on the roster, you don’t make a move like this if you don’t think you need a major upgrade at the QB position.

It has not been a quiet few months on the free agency front, that is sure. A lot of talent has changed hands since our October report as clubs try to fill gaps, improve depth, and add difference-makers across their rosters. We will review all the moves in our Preseason Reviews, but for now, let’s run through the 10 biggest signings from within the USFL before moving on to look at how the NFL-USFL portal has reopened and to what impact.

10) Washington found themselves a pretty solid slot receiver in former Knight Kevin Lockett.

9) Orlando landed a backup for Joey Harrington in former Atlanta starter Mark Bulger.

8) LA beefed up their D-line considerably with two signings, DE Israel Ifeanyi and DT Travis Kirschke.

7) Baltimore got the deal done with LT Blake Brockmeier, bringing the big man over from LA.

6) Memphis, after signing FB Damien Shelton, worked on the run game some more, signing former Wrangler lead back Dorsey Levins to carry the rock for the Showboats.

5) Oakland landed the best DT in the pool, former Stallion Joe Salave’a to a 3-year deal.

4) Boston brought in 2 weapons for Drew Bledsoe, a good blocking fullback in Richie Anderson (ARZ) and a slot receiver in Isaiah Byrd (NOR).

3) Denver finally made a move, signing guard Tony Claridge after several key losses this offseason.

2) The two top tight ends in the free agency pool were snapped up as Birmingham grabbed former Express TE Troy Drayton and Texas jumped at former Showboat Johnny Mitchell.

1) Seattle keeps building on defense, landing DE Anthony Edwards to line up opposite John Abraham.

NFL Transfer Window now open

The NFL-USFL transfer window is back open for the next 3 weeks, and while we are only about 5 days into the new cycle, we have already seen significant movement as the USFL tries to take advantage of the wave of NFL players who have become free agents upon the completion of the NFL season with this past week’s Super Bowl victory of the Buccaneers over the Tennessee Copperheads.

Two solid quarterbacks were signed to USFL deals this week, one something of a surprise. While the signing of Tony Banks by Arizona is clearly a depth move, with Banks now to sit behind Jake Plummer on the Wrangler depth chart, the surprise was Pittsburgh’s signing of former Jet, Bengal and Saint Jeff Blake could well challenge Charlie Batch for the starting job for the Maulers. At the very least coach Bicknell seems interested in having a QB battle to motivate and engage Batch in active improvement. In 4 years as the Mauler starter, Batch has had moments, and his 91.5 rating is not at all a poor one. He has had two solid years with 33 TDs to 13 interceptions in 2001 and a 21-10 ratio last year, so the question is whether Batch is truly the issue for the Maulers’ offense. With the Blake signing, Bicknell seems to be saying, at the very least, that Batch needs to be challenged.

Arizona added Banks, but also dipped into the HB pool to add a 4th back to their roster and possibly to the rotation. We have seen over the past few years that the Wranglers have struggled to obtain a legitimate run game outside of QB Jake Plummer. They are apparently going to try to do so with a committee this year as they have added Stanley Pritchett, recently of the Bears (after stints in Miami and Philadelphia) to a halfback group that already includes returning players Dominique Rhodes and Chester Taylor along with rookie signee Earnest Graham. Crowded, but can any actually break out and provide Arizona with a legitimate threat in the run game?

Texas hopes they have solved their issue at wideout. The Outlaws have a long history of quality receivers, from Carlos Carson to Eric Metcalf. They were able to acquire Carl Pickens in a trade last year, and he goes into the season as the clear #1, but this week they added a very solid 2nd receiver to their group, signing former NY Giant Ike Hilliard to line up opposite Perkins. Hilliard suffered through an injury-plagued 2002 campaign, but in the 4 years prior had averaged nearly 800 yards per season. Those are numbers the Outlaws would love to see from Hilliard as they hope to diversify their passing attack.

The best defender signed by the USFL this past week has to be in Memphis, where the Showboats landed LB Hannibal Navies from the Carolina Panthers. Navies is a very solid run-stuffing LB who can cover a large swath of the field. Navies will likely line up on the weak side, with Jim Schwantz in the middle and Marvin Pope and Rahim Abdullah splitting time at strongside LB.

Ohio brought in a veteran kicker after losing Don Silvestri in free agency, signing former Chicago Machine kicker John Carney, who spent 1 season with the New Orleans Saints before returning to spring football.

Other recent signings include TE Fred Baxter in Chicago, LB Keith Newman by the Bulls, CB Todd McBride by the Stars, and G Jamar Nesbit by the Glory.

For the NFL, the tide has shifted, with few USFL players unsigned this late into the offseason. The only really notable signings so far in this window are former Michigan WR Oronde Gadsden by Miami, DT Larry Webster by the NY Giants, DT Craig Veasey of Oakland with the 49ers, and guard Henry Haynes of Baltimore by the Minnesota Vikings.

PORTLAND THUNDER IN LIMBO AS SEASON NEARS

With the 2003 USFL Season only weeks away the Portland Thunder find themselves in a precarious state and the future does not look promising. With Bernard Ebbers’ assets frozen and his status as team president suspended, leadership has turned over to Phil Ruffin, who for all purposes is something of an absentee owner, invested in the club for economic gain but with no real expertise in running a sports franchise and no real interest in operating the club day to day. The league, sensing the need to create some stability, has agreed to prop up the Thunder for the near future, not only financially but operationally, with league funds diverted to the operating expenses of the club while also providing significant operational support out of the New York offices.

The role of the league in everything from day to day operations of the franchise to the search for expanded ownership to keep the club in Portland is tenuous at best. Several league owners seemed poised to push to dismantle the franchise and contract to 23 teams, but were held in check by others who emphasized the disruptive impact of such a move, particularly when the league schedule had already been determined. The alternative was to prop up the franchise, create a temporary stasis in which the club could continue to meet its financial needs as a search continued for additional investors, and consider options for 2004. This is the route the USFL has taken, diverting nearly $20 million from leaguewide resources to the Thunder simply to ensure that contracts could be met, the stadium lights would be on come March, and everyone from vendors to players could get paid as planned. Of course, with all the chaos around the future of the team, it is expected that club revenue will drop. We have already seen a significant dip in season ticket sales, down from 25,400 to 19,200 for the 2003 season. That does not help the club as it tries to stabilize its finances following the Worldcom scandal which has absorbed the team and led to several indictments against the franchise’s president and lead owner.

So, what happens next? Well, the league is certainly not going to accept long term control over the franchise, so that really only leaves three options; either through league efforts new ownership is identified which allows the club to remain in Portland, the league accepts investment from colleagues of current team president Phil Ruffin, a move which could very well lead to relocation of the franchise, or the voices calling for contraction win out and the Thunder are forced to fold. We all know what fans in Portland prefer, and we are quite certain that this is also what league officials and the preponderance of owners prefer as well, but to date no strong candidates for a local ownership expansion in Portland have been identified, leaving the league with two unsavory options, relocation or contraction, unless someone steps forward in the next few months. As for Portland fans, there is considerable anger and frustration, having gone through an ownership crisis barely over a year ago, and believing that an ideal situation, one which not only kept the team in Portland but promised a new stadium to boot, to now have an even worse ownership gap develop and to face the very real proposition of losing both is devastating and enfuriating for diehard Thunder fans. At this point, however, it is hard to imagine a scenario where the situation with the Thunder will lead to a positive result for Portland and the fanbase of the club.

MEMPHIS AT CROSSROADS

A slightly more promising outlook for fans of the Memphis Showboats. While the club has been in ongoing talks with the city of St. Louis, talks which could potentially lead to a 2004 relocation upriver to the Gateway City, the threat of losing their 20-year old franchise has seemed to motivate not only the fans, but the city of Memphis as well. Both the city and the state of Tennessee have expressed concern for the potential loss of the Showboats (and the considerable revenue they bring to the region) and it appears that the city and county are prepared to join in on a bond referendum that could support the much-needed renovations to the Liberty Bowl Stadium which have been at the center of the Showboats’ demands. Yes, it feels a bit like extortion for the club to hold relocation over the city as a means of extracting the stadium updates they have long demanded, but after several failed attempts to get the city and its voters to agree to stadium replacement or renovation, the threat of St. Louis has appeared to put a fire under officials.

Just this past week the mayor of Memphis stood outside the Liberty Bowl and made bold claims that they would do whatever was needed to ensure that the Showboats remained Memphis’s team. Citing the success of the Showboats as not only a financial boon to the city but a key factor in contributing to the recent relocation of the Vancouver Grizzlies NBA franchise to the city, the mayor spoke to the economic and community benefits of the franchise to Memphians. Fan support for the Showboats has been incredibly robust over the past 2 decades, and has not waned as the club made another deep playoff run this past season, despite the controversy and some level of disgust with ownership as they dangle St. Louis as an option. For the city, the Showboats represent a major economic positive, with tens of millions of dollars pouring into the city coffers due to the presence of big time pro sports in the market. It appears that now that there is a very real risk of the club taking that economic impact elsewhere, the importance of the franchise to the city has been highlighted and interests both public and private have begun to realize that the time is now to do what is needed to protect this vital economic engine for the city.

That said, Memphis is not inherently a wealthy community, and in the past the city has only been willing to fund improvements to the stadium through proposed bond sales, each of which has failed in public referendum. The city is again proposing a public referendum to initiate a bond sale to raise the funds necessary to cover 80% of the anticipated stadium renovation costs, with the club expected to produce the other 20%, but this too could be a tough sell to a community that is economically depressed and has few corporate resources to draw on. Is the love for football and the Showboats in particular strong enough to encourage a positive result in the vote or will economic hardship remain a major impediment to the club’s and the city leadership’s attempts to improve Liberty Bowl Stadium and its capacity to remain a pro football venue? The special referendum being proposed would occur this May, so we will not know for several months if Memphians will step up to offer resistance to the relocation argument being made by the club, or if St. Louis can counter these with an even sweeter deal to bring the Showboats to town. The next few months will show us how serious the Showboat ownership is about their claims that they do not wish to abandon the city, or if the lure of a sweetheart deal in St. Louis may outmuscle even positive steps being taken in Memphis to meet the demands of the club for renovation and long-deferred facility development.

You can vote on the fate of the Memphis Showboats.

Click on the Showboat Poll link at the top of the page to cast your vote.

Poll will remain open until Week 5 of the 2003 USFL Season.