Schulters offically cut

[Hostile]

You along with about another 100 board members! :moon: I love it, EVERY guy released is going to be signed by Dallas. Hey let's sign everyones cap cuts! There is a reason for these cuts people, they guys aren't worth what they think they are. Have you looked at the after June cuts? I would hardly say they are future Hall of Famers!

The thing that cracks me up is that former CBs to FS is all good thinking, but moving a guy from SS to FS is impossible.

 

[Redball Express]

You along with about another 100 board members! :moon: I love it, EVERY guy released is going to be signed by Dallas. Hey let's sign everyones cap cuts! There is a reason for these cuts people, they guys aren't worth what they think they are. Have you looked at the after June cuts? I would hardly say they are future Hall of Famers!

It's not so much that the cap cuts are tainted and should be avoided at all costs. Some are of course. Many are t'weeners. They are not prime examples of their positions, but many can and will be inserted into new schemes surrounded by different talent and made to fit in places on a team that has problems.

The Patriots and the Ravens before them as SB winners were very successful at taking players off the scrapheap and pluggin them in and getting very good results.

BP as also been one of those guys that has had success finding players cut in FA that went on to play well.

So we are not so overwhelmingly talented that we should turn our collective nose up on a player that fills a need and could help us, even in a short term situation.

I think what many here do forget is that this team went 6-10 last year and eventhough we have signed well and drafted well, we are still bottom-feeders in the NFL.

Talent is talent. Schulters could help if healthy. I wouldn't pass on him just because he is a June cut. That would be unwise if he is able to play. If not, it's a moot point.

In the present NFL, you leave no player un-turned in trying to gain an advantage. Talent is spread too thin and caps dictate you seek every situation to improve your team whether for a season or for the next 5.

You have to do both is you want to win. That's something we haven't been able to do correctly until BP showed up. And it's the recipe that keeps the better teams on top.

parcellswaterboy

 

[jobberone]

In some previous threads that were speculating about Shulters being released or not back around the mini-camps right after the draft..


..I recall it being stated that it had supposedly been said he was overall healthy again but because the Titans had decided to not keep him in their plans and informed him and his agent such, that Shulters didn't participate in the mini-camps but did attend them and continue his rehab, etc.

Apparently, the team and the player agreed not to make him particpate to avoid any possibility of re-aggrivating the injury and hurt his chances to eventually play elsewhere.

This was the jist of what I remember, possibly someone else could add more.

I think the Boy's would be interested in bringing him in and seeing the shape the injury is in and offer him a deal that would be incentive and be a 1-2 year deal to let him bring himself back slowly and see if he could make the full-recovery by September.

Some sort of deal that if he did recover and achieve his former abilities, would allow him to get his bonuses and then renegotiate after this year or be released to go elsewhere.

That would be a win-win deal for all concerned. And the risks would be minimal. That way, if he still needs to re-hab for some or all of traing camp, we've still got enough players on hand to play the position and if things don't work out, he would be released if need be in September in the last cutdowns and he'd still have a chance to catch on with somebody else.

It all depends on what the doctors say. And on what other teams do as to pursuing him and upping any offers we might want to make.

I'd like to see him IF he has the potential to help us by opening day. If not, it might be difficult to save him a roster space based on 'maybe's'.

He's the type of player, if healthy, that would allow the secondary to do lot's of things that having a Davis or Hunter in the deep secondary wouldn't. His obvious experience and former high level of play would leapfrog him over an other choices we've got at the position right now.

It's a gamble. But not if the pieces fall right for both parties.

I would add that you have to feel for the Titans fanbase. The last two years with the bleeding of their talent has to be tough. Either thru cap mistakes, injuries and attrition, they have fallen on hard times, much like we did.

But through it all, most of the players have had good things to say about their organization and understood that changes were an absolute. Only Eddie George seemed to really be bitter about it and that's because he really didn't understand his own abilities and couldn't adjust to his new situation and make the most of it when he was here in Dallas.

I only hope that when we start to let guys go next year like Glover and Ellis and a few others, that they depart with the same feelings of the team having been fair and professional with their release.

We'll see.

parcellswaterboy

Nice post and thanks for the feedback. I'm not a TN fan but I've always liked the coach and admired their organization. Yeah, they are where we were once or maybe worse. Too bad because it'll probably end up costing some people their jobs. Hopefully not.

I would like to look at Lance. It couldn't hurt. If we can keep upgrading we continue to increase our chances of being a serious player.

 

[InmanRoshi]

Have you looked at the guys we currently have at the FS position? I would hardly say they are future Hall of Famers!

There. Fixed it for you.

 

[Next_years_Champs]

The thing that cracks me up is that former CBs to FS is all good thinking, but moving a guy from SS to FS is impossible.

ROTFLMAO ! Best post of the day. Sometimes a little comparison analysis can shine a lot of light on a subject.

 

[InmanRoshi]

The Falcons, Lions, Cowboys and 49ers are among the teams expected to show some interest in Schulters. But today he plans on cleaning out his locker at Baptist Sports Park and saying goodbye to his teammates, particularly linebacker Keith Bulluck, cornerback Tony Beckham and Williams.

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050617/SPORTS01/506170400/1328/SPORTS


Also, rotoworld.com's commentary on the matter...

The Cowboys make a lot of sense. They have a huge need at free safety and Schulters seems like a Parcells guy.

 

[Charles]

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050617/SPORTS01/506170400/1328/SPORTS


Also, rotoworld.com's commentary on the matter...

Good find Inmanroshi

I'll paste this entire article. We can't learn much from it but Schulters comes off a solid guy. He took getting cut personally....."getting fired". It appears he still has fire. If he passes a physical I don't think Jerry Jones will let him leave down.

It's speculation on my part but he comes off as a Parcells type player.


Titans let Schulters go due to cap

By JIM WYATT
Staff Writer


Lance Schulters had braced himself for the news, but when he heard it he still wasn't sure how to react.

The Titans officially released the veteran safety yesterday, finally admitting they wanted to go in another direction at the position. The fact that Schulters would have made a sizable dent in the team's salary cap didn't help matters.




"I haven't been in this situation before. I have never been fired before,'' said Schulters, who left his first NFL team, the 49ers, to sign with the Titans as a free agent in 2002.

"I chose to leave San Francisco when I left. At this point I am dealing with being fired for the first time in my life and that's weird. They call it a release or being waived or something, but they fired me."

Schulters is the seventh veteran of note to be waived by the Titans since the end of last season, joining February cuts Samari Rolle, Kevin Carter, Derrick Mason, Fred Miller, Joe Nedney and Robert Holcombe.

The Titans paid Schulters a $250,000 roster bonus in March, but wanted him to take a significant pay cut from his scheduled 2005 salary of $2.75 million. His agent, Brian Levy, made one final proposal to the Titans on Wednesday.

"This is a case where we are continuing to deal with the salary cap issues that were primarily addressed in February, and we were unable to find a deal that was agreeable for both sides," Titans General Manager Floyd Reese said. "We wish him the best and realize he still has some quality football ahead of him, but we are committed to getting through our cap difficulties this year."

By waiting until after June 1 to release Schulters, the Titans will be able to spread his charges against the salary cap over the next two seasons instead of taking all the hit this season.

Veteran Lamont Thompson, who filled in for the injured Schulters much of last season, will start at free safety this fall.

"I felt the direction the team was going in, my salary, the way it was and Lamont having a good year, I'm sure they figured he could play the position for way cheaper than I could,'' Schulters said. "After everything, I'm sad to see it had to end. I wanted to stay."

Schulters had 35 starts, 192 tackles and six interceptions in three seasons with the Titans. He was an emotional leader, popular with his teammates, and wasn't afraid to stir things up on the field or with the media.

Yesterday he challenged fourth-year pro Tank Williams, who will start at strong safety when he returns from a knee injury, to become that guy.

"He has to be more of that vocal leader,'' Schulters said. "He is a quiet guy and he really didn't talk a lot in the three years that I was there with him, but I think that is because I was there and I was that vocal guy so he really didn't need to.

"Now that I am gone, he is the elder statesman in the defensive backs room and he has to take control of that group and put guys in place when he has to. I know he can do it."

The release of Schulters leaves the Titans with little depth at safety. Donnie Nickey has been working at strong safety in minicamp, but another safety, Justin Sandy, is out with an injury.

Vann McElroy, the agent for veteran safety Reggie Tongue, who was released Wednesday by the Jets, said he planned on calling Reese last night.

Another McElroy client, safety Rich Coady, is also a possibility for the Titans if he's released by the Falcons. Coady played for the Titans in 2002.

The Falcons, Lions, Cowboys and 49ers are among the teams expected to show some interest in Schulters. But today he plans on cleaning out his locker at Baptist Sports Park and saying goodbye to his teammates, particularly linebacker Keith Bulluck, cornerback Tony Beckham and Williams.

Jim Wyatt covers the Titans for The Tennessean. Reach him at jwyatt@tennessean.com or 259-8015.

 

[Charles]

Schulters, Titans part ways after three seasons

By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com
Archive

Lance Schulters

Unable to come to an agreement on a restructured contract, the Tennessee Titans on Thursday released safety Lance Schulters, a proven defender who figures to very quickly generate considerable interest in the free agent market.

"It's been a long process [in Tennessee] but it's time for Lance to move on," agent Brian Levy said. "There are a lot of teams interested in a healthy Lance Schulters. There are a lot of teams that have been waiting for [his release]."

The release of Schulters, who missed all but three games in 2004 because of a foot injury, has been anticipated for months. In recent days, however, the two sides attempted to find some middle ground, with the Titans seeking some relief from Schulters' scheduled cap charge of $4.2 million for 2005.

"This is a case where we are continuing to deal with the salary cap issues that were primarily addressed in February, and we were unable to find a deal that was agreeable for both sides," said general manager Floyd Reese said. "We wish him the best and realize he still has some quality football ahead of him, but we are committed to getting through our cap difficulties this year."

On Wednesday, Levy submitted a final contract proposal to Reese, but the Titans rejected it after considering it for a day. They then apprised Levy that Schulters would be released. The seven-year veteran still had three years left on his contract with the Titans, at base salaries of $2.75 million (2005), $3.65 million (2006) and $4 million (2007).

Schulters, 30, becomes the latest veteran jettisoned by the Titans in an offseason in which the team has been forced to pay a steep price for its cap excesses of the past. Schulters is the fifth starting-caliber defender to leave the team this offseason for cap considerations. Tennessee likely will use much of the savings from Schulters' departure to sign some of its 11 draft choices.

Among the teams expected to have an interest in signing Schulters are Atlanta, Dallas, St. Louis and Detroit.

A former Hofstra standout, Schulters spent his first four seasons in San Francisco, where the 49ers chose him in the fourth round of the 1998 draft. He signed with Tennessee as a free agent in 2002.

In 91 games, including 76 starts, Schulters has 412 tackles, 15 interceptions, 43 passes defensed, 5½ sacks, three forced fumbles and two recoveries. As recently as 2002, he posted six interceptions. Schulers has gone 22 straight games without an interception but is still regarded as a top-flight safety, assuming he has recovered from his '04 foot injury.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com. To check out Len's chat archive, click here .

 

[InmanRoshi]

Schulters had 35 starts, 192 tackles and six interceptions in three seasons with the Titans. He was an emotional leader, popular with his teammates, and wasn't afraid to stir things up on the field or with the media.

Yesterday he challenged fourth-year pro Tank Williams, who will start at strong safety when he returns from a knee injury, to become that guy.

"He has to be more of that vocal leader,'' Schulters said. "He is a quiet guy and he really didn't talk a lot in the three years that I was there with him, but I think that is because I was there and I was that vocal guy so he really didn't need to.

"Now that I am gone, he is the elder statesman in the defensive backs room and he has to take control of that group and put guys in place when he has to. I know he can do it."

Nothing wrong with bringing this guy in.

 

[Charles]

Nothing wrong with bringing this guy in.

Totally agree. If Healthy..... he's a proven defensive starter.

It improves the competition at the position and also upgrades the position.

 

[Pooz]

There. Fixed it for you.

What a guy! :

 

[Lord Sun]

So far, the Dallas backfield is still a work in progress, to wit:

CB 1 - check. I am confident that either Newman or Henry will get the job done.

CB 2 - check. See above.

CB 3 - check. Glenn should be capable of starting in a pinch or playing nickel.

CB reserves - check. Hunter should win #4 easily, with Frenchie & Co. hustling for PS.

SS 1 - check. Duh. Roy is good to go.

SS 2 - in progress. I have a sneaking feeling Beriault will win this spot.

FS 1 - in progress. Here's the rub. We all know it's a sore spot, and I don't think we have a starter. We have two reserves, in Reese and Davis. Both excel on ST, which makes them more valuable to the roster. Neither has a big contract, which makes them useful as we seek to massage the roster. They are good risks - nothing to lose.