2026 Offseason Thread

[Simba]

other tidbits from that conversation/context that i picked up on:

1) Emery Jones will be taking reps at OT in EDC's mind - to me that always seemed like his best position going back to his college tape where I didn't project him as OT conversion candidate
2) Danny Pinter is definitely leading the C competition
3) Carson Vinson is an exciting developmental guy - and i wonder if they hope/think they might have Stanley's successor in-house already
4) The Nnamdi non-update/update is positive
5) Teddye Buchanan is looking at pretty close to the best-case scenario for his recovery timeline from the ACL tear in December

Along with this... I know a lot of people are looking at Vorhees for potential cap savings, but this makes him the top backup G with the other options being quite uninspiring. Gwyn and Bullock are more of C options but could slide out to G if needed. Otherwise, you've really got Beerntsen as the only other on paper option for that role. Not saying he won't step up but an undersized older rookie G isn't exactly a thrilling consideration in his own right.

Theoretically...

LT: Stanley, Vinson
LG: Simpson, Vorhees
C: Pinter, Bullock/Gwyn
RG: Ioane
RT: Rosengarten, Jones

 

[Baltimorican]

Or Jones could be the top backup at rg/rt? That's not too much to ask a 3rd rd OLineman.

 

[rmcjacket23]

Or Jones could be the top backup at rg/rt? That's not too much to ask a 3rd rd OLineman.

Unless he's working specifically at Tackle all offseason, I'd anticipate he's your top reserve lineman at both Guard spots and at RT.

 

[rossihunter2]

Along with this... I know a lot of people are looking at Vorhees for potential cap savings, but this makes him the top backup G with the other options being quite uninspiring. Gwyn and Bullock are more of C options but could slide out to G if needed. Otherwise, you've really got Beerntsen as the only other on paper option for that role. Not saying he won't step up but an undersized older rookie G isn't exactly a thrilling consideration in his own right.

Theoretically...

LT: Stanley, Vinson
LG: Simpson, Vorhees
C: Pinter, Bullock/Gwyn
RG: Ioane
RT: Rosengarten, Jones

my guess is that Jones will be a swing backup at G/T
and with Pocic now having been signed, Pinter offers you some flexibility at G too (although i much prefer him at C)

LT: Stanley, Vinson
LG: Simpson
C: Pocic, Pinter
RG: Vega
RT: RR, Jones

C has questions marks for both guys, but i'd be surprised if those 2 guys weren't on the 53
that is 8 near locks in my opinion

which leaves you only 1or 2 spots remaining out of the following:
Vorhees - probably the favourite to stick, but you do save cap if you get rid of him and he is in the final year of his rookie deal
Gwyn - we know Ledford likes him, but clearly not enough to stop EDC signing Pocic and we know Pinter was ahead of him throughout the offseason so far - not sure there's room for a 3rd C to ride the inactives all year
Beertsen - rookie draft pick status might help him - but he's undersized and older and seems to have been buried on the depth chart so far
Bullock - pre-offseason, would have said he was easily the favourite to stick, but he doesn't seem to be factoring into any of the OL competitions
Pounds - udfa flyer - who's best shot is if the coaches decide that Emery Jones is more of a guard and they want a 4th pure OT

my guess is it's 9 OL and Vorhees is OL9 (only question would be if someone offers them a day 3 pick/pick-swap for Vorhees)
and they look to add Gwyn, Beertsen and Pounds to the practice squad but won't be heartbroken if any of them are sniped elsewhere

 

[rossihunter2]

My pre-training camp best guess at the 53:

QB (2)
Locks: Lamar, Huntley
Bubble: Thompson
Longshots: Fagnano, Pavia

QB seems easy enough unless Thompson does enough that they want to keep him as the emergency 3rd QB on gameday rosters.

RB (4)
Locks: Henry
Near Locks: Hill, Ali, Randall
Longshots: McMillan, Tau-Tolliver

RB doesn't need much explaining. Barring a surprise this group is pretty much set already.

TE (4)
Locks: Andrews
Near Locks: Smythe, Hibner, Cuevas
Longshots: Pezza, Scott

TE much like RB doesn't need much explaining. Again barring a significant underperformance by the rookies, this group is basically locked already.

WR (6)
Locks: Flowers, Bateman
Near Locks: Walker, Lane, Sarratt
Bubble: Wester
Longshots: Wade, Guillory, Johnson, Smith Jr, Braham Jr

Feels harsh to call Wade a longshot but he is. Wester is only really on the bubble because we've added some other potential return options this offseason, but i'd still expect him to win the WR6 and starting PR job.

OL (9)
Locks: Stanley, Simpson, Ioane, Rosengarten
Near Locks: Jones Jr, Vinson, Pocic, Pinter
Bubble: Vorhees, Gwyn, Beertsen, Bullock, Pounds
Longshots: Lichtenhan, Penning, Dawkins

Seems like we're almost locked on 8 of the 9/10 OL right now. Vorhees would be my favourite right now to be last man on. Pinter still feels like a near lock for the 53 to me even with the Pocic signing.

DL (7)
Locks: Madubuike, Jones, Campbell, Jenkins
Bubble: Peebles, Washington, Benny, Okoye
Longshots: Olajiga, Wilson Jr, Graves

Could definitely see them only keep 6 DL here. Hard to choose who the last one off would be though - Peebles in year 2 and who showed promising flashes as a rookie feels hard to leave off, Washington has underperformed his contract but hard to argue he's not good in the rotation, Benny has the traits and trust with the coaching staff that it feels tough to project him missing out. Which is why i've ballparked 7 DL for now. Would not surprise me though if they kept 6 DL and opted for an extra EDGE or LB.

EDGE (4)
Locks: Hendrickson, Green, Robinson, Young
Bubble: Isaac, Rucker
Longshots: Burke

Feels pretty straightforward. Only real question is whether Isaac can earn himself a 53 man roster spot or not as a 5th EDGE vs someone at another position.

LB (4)
Locks: Smith, Buchanan, Simpson
Bubble: Higgins
Longshots: Williford, DeLuca, Jones

Again feels like a light position but we always seem to be able to find guys at LB. Right now though hard to pick more than the 4 guys who were there last year.

DB (10)
Locks: Hamilton, Starks, Wiggins, Humphrey, Hawkins, Awuzie
Near Locks: Tampa
Bubble: Jackson, Rivers, Martin, Kone, Longerbeam, Oruwariye, Wallace
Longshots: Robinson, McDoom, Webb Jr, Robinson, Walters

The bottom of the 53 at DB feels so hard to predict. Jackson feels like the easy one because of his special teams prowess. Rivers feels tough to leave off because of the draft pick status. Which for me would leave Martin vs Kone for the final DB spot right now but would potentially leave you light at safety which is where K'Von Wallace might fit in and sneak on at the end.

For me the questions going into camp right now for last spots on are:
OL10 vs DL7 vs EDGE5 (Isaac) vs LB5 vs DB11 for 1 spot on the roster

and then also the competition for the last "guaranteed" positional spots at various positions too:
OL9 - 1 of: Vorhees vs Gwyn vs Beertsen vs Bullock vs Pounds
DL6 - 2 of: Peebles, Washington, Benny, Okoye
DB10 - 3 of: Jackson, Rivers, Martin, Kone, Longerbeam, Oruwariye, Wallace

 

[Simba]

My pre-training camp best guess at the 53:

QB (2)
Locks: Lamar, Huntley
Bubble: Thompson
Longshots: Fagnano, Pavia

QB seems easy enough unless Thompson does enough that they want to keep him as the emergency 3rd QB on gameday rosters.

RB (4)
Locks: Henry
Near Locks: Hill, Ali, Randall
Longshots: McMillan, Tau-Tolliver

RB doesn't need much explaining. Barring a surprise this group is pretty much set already.

TE (4)
Locks: Andrews
Near Locks: Smythe, Hibner, Cuevas
Longshots: Pezza, Scott

TE much like RB doesn't need much explaining. Again barring a significant underperformance by the rookies, this group is basically locked already.

WR (6)
Locks: Flowers, Bateman
Near Locks: Walker, Lane, Sarratt
Bubble: Wester
Longshots: Wade, Guillory, Johnson, Smith Jr, Braham Jr

Feels harsh to call Wade a longshot but he is. Wester is only really on the bubble because we've added some other potential return options this offseason, but i'd still expect him to win the WR6 and starting PR job.

OL (9)
Locks: Stanley, Simpson, Ioane, Rosengarten
Near Locks: Jones Jr, Vinson, Pocic, Pinter
Bubble: Vorhees, Gwyn, Beertsen, Bullock, Pounds
Longshots: Lichtenhan, Penning, Dawkins

Seems like we're almost locked on 8 of the 9/10 OL right now. Vorhees would be my favourite right now to be last man on. Pinter still feels like a near lock for the 53 to me even with the Pocic signing.

DL (7)
Locks: Madubuike, Jones, Campbell, Jenkins
Bubble: Peebles, Washington, Benny, Okoye
Longshots: Olajiga, Wilson Jr, Graves

Could definitely see them only keep 6 DL here. Hard to choose who the last one off would be though - Peebles in year 2 and who showed promising flashes as a rookie feels hard to leave off, Washington has underperformed his contract but hard to argue he's not good in the rotation, Benny has the traits and trust with the coaching staff that it feels tough to project him missing out. Which is why i've ballparked 7 DL for now. Would not surprise me though if they kept 6 DL and opted for an extra EDGE or LB.

EDGE (4)
Locks: Hendrickson, Green, Robinson, Young
Bubble: Isaac, Rucker
Longshots: Burke

Feels pretty straightforward. Only real question is whether Isaac can earn himself a 53 man roster spot or not as a 5th EDGE vs someone at another position.

LB (4)
Locks: Smith, Buchanan, Simpson
Bubble: Higgins
Longshots: Williford, DeLuca, Jones

Again feels like a light position but we always seem to be able to find guys at LB. Right now though hard to pick more than the 4 guys who were there last year.

DB (10)
Locks: Hamilton, Starks, Wiggins, Humphrey, Hawkins, Awuzie
Near Locks: Tampa
Bubble: Jackson, Rivers, Martin, Kone, Longerbeam, Oruwariye, Wallace
Longshots: Robinson, McDoom, Webb Jr, Robinson, Walters

The bottom of the 53 at DB feels so hard to predict. Jackson feels like the easy one because of his special teams prowess. Rivers feels tough to leave off because of the draft pick status. Which for me would leave Martin vs Kone for the final DB spot right now but would potentially leave you light at safety which is where K'Von Wallace might fit in and sneak on at the end.

For me the questions going into camp right now for last spots on are:
OL10 vs DL7 vs EDGE5 (Isaac) vs LB5 vs DB11 for 1 spot on the roster

and then also the competition for the last "guaranteed" positional spots at various positions too:
OL9 - 1 of: Vorhees vs Gwyn vs Beertsen vs Bullock vs Pounds
DL6 - 2 of: Peebles, Washington, Benny, Okoye
DB10 - 3 of: Jackson, Rivers, Martin, Kone, Longerbeam, Oruwariye, Wallace

I feel like I'm pretty close to this.

DL certainly feels like the deepest spot on the roster. Can't keep them all and you're almost surely cutting someone that is going to play elsewhere in the league if not here. I don't think Okoye did much improving once he got on the field but he's not done playing in this league and he feels to be the least likely of the bubble guys right now, which is a good problem to have.

DB is the other one where you have a lot of options, and I'd consider the possibility of some veteran handshake stuff there. Guys like Oruwariye and Wallace would probably be amenable.

Not saying he's making it by any means, but I wouldn't discount Carl Jones' shot at the roster. May be more of a PS guy but they tried to sign him to their PS a few times after he was cut but he opted to stay in Chicago. Took them finally claiming him to get him here.

With all of that being said, definitely feels like a lighter depth year than normal. Feels like you only have about 60ish real candidates at it before we see if any of the UDFAs stand out in camp.

 

[JAAM]

Gonna be so weird seeing this offense without Ricard