This time of year, its always fun to see how many of our diehard fans break out their pet cat stories. You know, those favorite players that are often at the end of the bench or deep in the depth chart but have captured the heart and imagination of some fans. Sometimes they pan out...often they don’t.
So I thought it would be fun to make a list of some of the most popular “pet cats” around here the last few years and how they turned out- either playing here, elsewhere or not at all.
I will start- Here’s a list of some guys I’ve seen mentioned often by some fans on these fan boards as pet cats, that I never quite understood what the big deal was. In no particular order:
- Rico Gathers TE- I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a sixth round draft pick with no college football experience on their resume garner so much hype and drool. He was definitely a great athlete. Football player, not so much. He looked great in shorts and preseason games against 3rd string guys who had no shot at making it in the NFL, but if you listened to some, he was headed to the ROH and maybe Canton. Cut in 2018. Somehow his HOF run has ended.
- Matt Johnson- S- a 4th rounder out of Eastern Washington, he was hailed by some as “the steal of the draft” in 2012. Unfortunately, he pulled every muscle known to science and never could get on the field. But man was he hyped. He somehow lasted on the roster 3 seasons before announcing his retirement in 2015. Good athlete but just couldn’t stay healthy.
- Charles Tapper- DE- Another 4th rounder in 2016 that had several fans frothing that he was going to bookend our DL with DLaw. Heard him hailed a lot between 2016-17. Again, injuries did him in. Was released here in 2018, landed with the jets but they released him again recently.
This list could go on and on...I’m interested in some fun memories you have of other pet cats that didn’t quite have nine lives.
Who’s on your list?