Rogers gone: Let the spin begin

By Os Davis  |   Monday, September 04, 2006  |  Comments( 3 )

Detroit Lions
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To no one's surprise, former first-round draft choice WR Charles Rogers was cut by the Detroit Lions over the weekend. All that's left for Lions fans (You'll recognize them: They're the ones wearing orange) to decide is the spin they wish to put on the personnel move.

Motor City pessimists will point out the massive squandering of resources on a guy who had half as many collarbone injuries as touchdowns. (Did the Detroit front office really give Rogers a 14.2 million signing bonus? Was that in U.S. dollars?) Heck, if they hadn't blown so much cash on Rogers, the Lions might be involved in the Deion Branch sweepstakes right now. Not to mention the fact that the silver-and-blue squandered a No. 2 pick for which they had worked so hard to run up a 3-13 record in 2002.

Detroit's optimists, a species more endangered than the Mexican long-nosed bat, can take pride in the 2006 Lions' draftees, a list seemingly crafted more by new head coach Rod "Almighty" Marinelli than GM Matt "Fire" Millen. The release of Rogers may indicate that Millen is serious about giving over control to the guy that should be making personnel decisions over financial ones, if the goal is in fact to create a winning team.

Then there's the salary cap question. The cutting of Rogers represents a serious blow to the Lions' cap. Exact numbers are not readily available, probably due to the integral calculus-level mathematics needed to sort through a typical team salary these days, but the hit is big.

In fact, due to his huge contract, Rogers was assuring the media that he'd be on the Detroit roster for 2006 as late as Wednesday, one day before the Buffalo Bills game in which he caught one pass. Fellow first-round washout Mike Williams has money to thank for his continued existence as a third-stringer on Marinelli's Lions.

Draw that dividing line again. Pessimists will now lament the salary cap hit, bemoaning the lack of opportunity to sign any difference makers for this season and possibly the next. Those Michigan folks wearing rose-colored glasses - all five or six of 'em - see this as proof that these Lions may have an actual plan for the future. Of course, realists realize that no one except for maybe Simeon Rice is going to line up to play in Detroit until Marinelli and co. actually produce results on the field.

Personal outlook aside, in the final analysis, the argument could be made that Rogers is only one player, albeit an overpaid Joey Harrington-level multimillion-dollar bust of a player. But Marinelli, the man the fans are pinning there hopes on, has won this battle, which has to be a good thing.

Follow the Detroit Lions' gray clouds and silver linings at RealFootball365.com.
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About Os Davis

Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's...
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