2025-2026 Offseason thread

[ben_the_eskimo]

Fords bonus is due Feb 1st so whatever is going to happen with him will happen this week IMO

Yup. The picture will be A LOT clearer come Sunday.

[adb]

Yup. The picture will be A LOT clearer come Sunday.

I see that a few players due an off season bonus like Tre is on Feb 1st have been released today:

Austin Mack (ALS)
Darius Ciraco (ARGOS)
Derek Parish (ARGOS) wasn't listed as having a Feb 1 bonus due but timing seems like he might have.
Drew Wolitarsky (Ticats)

Maybe that's a good sign and they are still talking about possibly renegotiating his contract...or maybe just wishful thinking on my part.

[Sectionq]

Fords bonus is due Feb 1st so whatever is going to happen with him will happen this week IMO

I am guessing Hervey has been looking for a trade which I don't think will happen. I said it awhile ago. If I am a team, I am waiting for him to be released then I go sign him a I don't think the line up for teams will be long. I actually surprised it hasn't happened yet as they can't be paying their back up as much as he's making.

[Looner]

I am guessing Hervey has been looking for a trade which I don't think will happen. I said it awhile ago. If I am a team, I am waiting for him to be released then I go sign him a I don't think the line up for teams will be long. I actually surprised it hasn't happened yet as they can't be paying their back up as much as he's making.

We will know soon enough but I guarantee he won't be making anywhere near what he was last year. I'm thinking the reason he hasn't been released yet is that the renegotiation process hasn't completely been shut down or there is a little trade interest.

[SKIP12]

We did have more than 7 National Starters for many games last season. I think it is nice to have that flexibility and ability to adjust the ratio during the game if in particular a National Starter gets hurt or not playing well. I think ONE area that clearly was an issue last season was having that game changer REC or in particular deep threat....

I assume that Gittens Jr. was not cheap as a National Starter.... We have the ability to start 4 American REC... I think that we need 2 NEW REC to join the EE. I like the new guys that came in late last season.....but I like White, Mack, Rhymes more.... I hope we can get a few new faces in FA.

National Starters:
4 OL
1 DL
1 LB
1 DB

[Looner]

I'm always curious when Hervey signs a receiver as he's brought some great ones to the league. We recently signed Kisean Johnson (not the riders one).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rzwasz2l5Tk&t=2s

Who he is (quick profile)

• Position: Outside wide receiver
• Size: Listed around 6’1”, 216 lbs
• College: Western Kentucky
• Big college year: In 2024, he started 14/14 games and led WKU with 75 catches, 925 yards, 7 TD.

Recent pro path (before the Elks)

• Signed with the Cleveland Browns as a UDFA (May 12, 2025).
• Appeared in preseason action with Cleveland (e.g., box scores show him in the receiving totals).
• Then landed with the Green Bay Packers practice squad on Jan 6, 2026 (Packers roster page / transaction trackers).

What the Elks are likely getting


Based on his college usage and production, he profiles as:

• Boundary/outside target with enough size to work contested catches.
• A guy who can step into “X” receiver reps (outside the numbers) rather than being only a gadget/slot type.

[adb]

We will know soon enough but I guarantee he won't be making anywhere near what he was last year. I'm thinking the reason he hasn't been released yet is that the renegotiation process hasn't completely been shut down or there is a little trade interest.

Pure speculation on my part but would a trade between the Ticats and us make sense where we trade away Ford for Powell. Such a trade would have to involve input from the player agents as Ford would have to be agreeable to restructuring his contract and Powell would have to come to terms with the Elks before FA. Hervey pulled off a backup QB trade just last season where this exact scenario applied as Fajardo had to agree to restructure his contract (foregoing the 200K bonus he was due on January 15th) and MBT was a pending free agent who had to come to terms with the Als before the swap could take place. This would be the second best scenario that could occur as far as I'm concerned. The first would be where Tre would be willing to restructure and stay here.

[Looner]

Pure speculation on my part but would a trade between the Ticats and us make sense where we trade away Ford for Powell. Such a trade would have to involve input from the player agents as Ford would have to be agreeable to restructuring his contract and Powell would have to come to terms with the Elks before FA. Hervey pulled off a backup QB trade just last season where this exact scenario applied as Fajardo had to agree to restructure his contract (foregoing the 200K bonus he was due on January 15th) and MBT was a pending free agent who had to come to terms with the Als before the swap could take place. This would be the second best scenario that could occur as far as I'm concerned. The first would be where Tre would be willing to restructure and stay here.

I could see that being on the table

[cmbuk]

Pure speculation on my part but would a trade between the Ticats and us make sense where we trade away Ford for Powell. Such a trade would have to involve input from the player agents as Ford would have to be agreeable to restructuring his contract and Powell would have to come to terms with the Elks before FA. Hervey pulled off a backup QB trade just last season where this exact scenario applied as Fajardo had to agree to restructure his contract (foregoing the 200K bonus he was due on January 15th) and MBT was a pending free agent who had to come to terms with the Als before the swap could take place. This would be the second best scenario that could occur as far as I'm concerned. The first would be where Tre would be willing to restructure and stay here.

I just can’t see the love in for Powell a lot of people have .. I just can’t

[cmbuk]

I'm always curious when Hervey signs a receiver as he's brought some great ones to the league. We recently signed Kisean Johnson (not the riders one).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rzwasz2l5Tk&t=2s

Who he is (quick profile)

• Position: Outside wide receiver
• Size: Listed around 6’1”, 216 lbs
• College: Western Kentucky
• Big college year: In 2024, he started 14/14 games and led WKU with 75 catches, 925 yards, 7 TD.

Recent pro path (before the Elks)

• Signed with the Cleveland Browns as a UDFA (May 12, 2025).
• Appeared in preseason action with Cleveland (e.g., box scores show him in the receiving totals).
• Then landed with the Green Bay Packers practice squad on Jan 6, 2026 (Packers roster page / transaction trackers).

What the Elks are likely getting


Based on his college usage and production, he profiles as:

• Boundary/outside target with enough size to work contested catches.
• A guy who can step into “X” receiver reps (outside the numbers) rather than being only a gadget/slot type.

highlights look good… Ed has signed a lot of WRs makes me think we prob won’t be in on those high price free agent WRs now

[ben_the_eskimo]

I just can’t see the love in for Powell a lot of people have .. I just can’t

Same here. Kinda shows how weak the current class of up backups ready to take the next step is when Powell is th headliner.

That’s why I think we’re better off restructuring Ford and running him under Cody for a year or two.

[Looner]

Same here. Kinda shows how weak the current class of up backups ready to take the next step is when Powell is th headliner.

That’s why I think we’re better off restructuring Ford and running him under Cody for a year or two.

not a huge Powel fan either. Comparing his stats to Fords:

• Completion percentage of 69% compared to 67% for Ford
• Yards per completion is 11.3 compared to 13.0 for Ford
• If you take his TD to INT ratio and give him the same amount of attempts as Ford, he's thrown 352 balls to Fords 534. Powel would have 18 TDs (29 for Ford) and 13.7 INT's (19 for Ford)
• Yards per carry is 7.4 compared to Fords 9.1.

They are both 27 years old so neither gets the edge there.

[cmbuk]

Same here. Kinda shows how weak the current class of up backups ready to take the next step is when Powell is th headliner.

That’s why I think we’re better off restructuring Ford and running him under Cody for a year or two.

If Ford can swallow pride..and restructure… I fully agree

[cmbuk]

not a huge Powel fan either. Comparing his stats to Fords:

• Completion percentage of 69% compared to 67% for Ford
• Yards per completion is 11.3 compared to 13.0 for Ford
• If you take his TD to INT ratio and give him the same amount of attempts as Ford, he's thrown 352 balls to Fords 534. Powel would have 18 TDs (29 for Ford) and 13.7 INT's (19 for Ford)
• Yards per carry is 7.4 compared to Fords 9.1.

They are both 27 years old so neither gets the edge there.

I REALLY like the 3 guys we have as our current projects .. really like em… time needs to be invested in keeping and developing them imho

[adb]

I just can’t see the love in for Powell a lot of people have .. I just can’t

For me its about the alternatives available for your second string QB position. I feel that you need some experience in the backup spot. You can't just roll with someone with no experience. What happens if Fajardo gets a major injury game 1 and you have to go with Zebrowski for the rest of the season. IMO if that were to happen I think you would be in for a pretty brutal year and I for one wouldn't be able to stomach another what would it be like sixth consecutive season in the toilet. Guys that are experienced options that I would be okay with seeing in the back up role would be Ford, Powell, Crum, and Evans in that order. MBT and Maier are veterans that might be available but I would want someone that could have a chance to be the longtime starter and I don't believe in either one of those guys filling that role. It's not that I love Powell its that he's the best option who currently has some experience who might actually turn out to be a starter in the long run. You can look at his current statistics up to now and say that they aren't great but you can't say for sure he won't eventually pan out. If you look at Fajardo's first 3 years in the league you could argue that they're even worse. Zebrowski can be properly developed from the number 3 spot just like Davis Alexander was. My 2 cents.