SB Nation - Oliver Celestin

Bollinger, Celestin, Wiggins, and Schlegal to UFL

John B — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 13:18:51 -0000

The UFL would be wise to go after Favre.

Former Jets Brooks Bollinger, Jermaine Wiggins, and Anthony Schlegal were selected in the UFL Draft by Orlando, and Oliver Celestin went to New York. The UFL is an upstart football league set to debut this year.

I find myself really hoping this league can find a niche and stick around. With the declines of NFL Europe and the Arena Football League, there is no developmental league for under the radar players to improve and audition for NFL clubs in game conditions.

Bollinger has always been a favorite of mine. He came into an impossible situation in 2005 behind a ragtag offensive line and played better than people gave him credit for. He put together a few very nice games against San Diego, Miami, and New Orleans. It looks like he'll get the chance to start for Orlando since he was the only quarterback selected by them.

I still don't understand why this league will not court Brett Favre. It has millions of dollars in venture backing. It could give Favre a chance to fulfill his urge to compete while he dominates a lower level of competition at a lower pressure level. In exchange, the league gets instant buzz and credibility.

Look for the UFL to go hard after Michael Vick for similar reasons.

Former Cardinals Wendell Bryant, Oliver Celestin and Bo Schobel (Among Others) Find New Home in the UFL

Hawkwind — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:48:34 -0000

The upstart United Football League held it's innagural 'draft' last night and each of the four teams selected the rights to 24 players. Now this doesn't necessarily mean these guys have agreed or committed to playing in the league but it means that if they do decide to enter the UFL, the team that drafted them holds their rights. The league is contacting the players and hopes that they will be able to announce contract signings in the upcoming weeks.

The list of players that were drafted is littered with a handful of noticeable names like Adam Archuleta, Brooks Bollinger, Chris Perry, Jermaine Wiggins, LaBrandon Toefield, Cecil Sapp and Marcus Fitzgerald (Larry's younger brother). There were also several players with Cardinal ties including former first round bust Wendell Bryant, safety Oliver Celestin, defensive end Bo Schobel, linebacker Brandon Moore, quarterback Shane Boyd and I'm sure there are one or two others that I missed. Celestin and Schobel were with the Cardinals as recent as last year during training camp and Celestin actually played in two games with the team before being cut to make room for Stephen Spach. Overall the league didn't make any significant waves like drafting Michael Vick or some other troubled NFL star as many predicted. Former Cardinals receiver David Boston also didn't hear his name called even though he was on the initial list of 'draft hopefuls.' Each team already had 20 players "protected" (which is what likely became of Boston) before the draft so effectively each of the four teams (New York, Orlando, Las Vegas, and San Francisco) have 44 players assigned to them with an expectation that rosters will be set at 50 for the regular season (six games played over 8 weeks with the Championship Game played the Friday after Thanksgiving).

The league says that the rosters will be tweaked during July and August as players are cut from NFL training camps and they hope to kick off their regular season in October. Their games will be televised on the Versus network but at least former Cardinals coach Dennis Green won't be too far away in San Francisco.

Former Chiefs Surfacing in the UFL Draft

Chris Thorman — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:20:30 -0000

Primetime told us last night about former Kansas City Chief Gary Stills being drafted by the Las Vegas UFL team. That made me curious what other Chiefs were drafted by this upstart football league.

To get some background on this league, check out their Wiki page. Here is the full UFL draft list too.

Last night was the UFL draft. Here's how this league is filling out their rosters:

Each franchise selected 24 players and now owns the rights to those players if they choose to play in the United Football League. The UFL has already begun contacting the players listed below and expects to announce signings over the next few weeks. This list may be subject to change based on further player evaluations or additional player availability.

The remaining openings on each team's roster will be partially filled in July with players who coaches had previously identified and "reserved". The last invites for the 60-man opening camp rosters will go to players who have been released by the NFL during training camp; with divisional/regional preferences assigned to each of the inaugural four franchises.

The UFL has some big time coaching names associated with it's current four franchises, including Dennis Green, Jim Haslett and Jim Fassel.

So which former Chiefs were drafted last night?

DB Oliver Celestin

The 6th year player out of Texas Southern University was strictly a special teams player for the Chiefs in his only season last year with the team. Celestin is one of the three unrestricted free agents the Chiefs did not resign this off season.

T Ramiro Pruneda

Unless you're pretty hardcore into learning about practice squad guys (And you are if you read AP), you've probably never heard of Ramiro Pruneda. Way back in January 2007, Carl Peterson signed the "Pencil" out of Monterrey Tech in Monterrey, Mexico. I think this was supposed to be sort of a The Air Up There moment, with Carl Peterson playing the role of Kevin Bacon.

With a nickname like the Pencil, how didn't he succeed in the NFL?

Pruneda made it through training camp only to be cut on August 28th, 2007, right before the season started. He went to the Philadelphia Eagles' practice squad, then the 49ers before drifting off into oblivion and now the UFL.

FB Ronnie Cruz

Mr. Cruz was supposed to be the heir to Tony Richardson's full back thrown and fill in at backup for Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson when he was signed by the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2004. Richardson left for Minnesota before the 2006 season, making Cruz the Chiefs' #1 fullback.

Five weeks into the '06 season though, Ronnie Cruz blew out his knew and was put in IR for the rest of the season. He was let go before the start of the 2007 season.

And of course we have Gary Stills, who Primetime talked about last night. Note: I left out B.J. Sams. I don't really want to talk about him anyway.

Two former Chiefs who tried out for the UFL last weekend didn't get contracts. WR Bobby Sippio and QB Quinn Gray are still waiting on those UFL coaches to call.

The Universal Football League is Here. . .Feel the Excitement!

Gonzo — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:09:07 -0000

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, professional football's latest attempt to compete with the National Football League will be kicking off their season in October 2009, and they held their premiere draft for the league last night. Each of the four franchises (Las Vegas, Orlando, New York, San Francisco) selected 24 players to build their franchise around, and there are a few names on the list that should be fairly familiar to Vikings fans.

If you want to base your NFL cheering preferences on which team has the most former Vikings on the roster (at this point, anyway). . .it looks like the Orlando franchise is the one for you. Among their new additions are QB Brooks Bollinger, S Mike Doss, and TE Jermaine Wiggins. They aren't the only Viking alumni in the new league, however. Former Vikings' coach Denny Green will be the head coach of the San Francisco franchise, and former Vikings' defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell will be the head coach in Las Vegas (Jim Haslett and Jim Fassel will coach Orlando and Las Vegas, respectively).

The other former Vikings player in the UFL at this time is DB Oliver Celestin, who I know spent a season or two on the practice squad with the Vikings, but I'm not sure he ever made the big club. Marcus Fitzgerald, the younger brother of Larry that the Vikings took a look at after the draft, is a member of the San Francisco roster. With only about half of each team's 50-man roster filled out to this point, I'm sure we'll be seeing more Minnesota alumni popping up in the league as they progress towards their kickoff in October.

I'm not sure how wise an idea it is to try to go head-to-head with the NFL during their season, but the UFL might be worth a look. With only four teams for now, there won't be a lot of match-up variety or anything, but if they're successful in their first season, I'm sure there will be more to come. No other league has been successful in America, however (see also: the USFL, the XFL, the WLAF), and the odds are certainly against the UFL at the start.

Three of the Chiefs Unrestricted Free Agents Still Waiting for an NFL Team to Call

Chris Thorman — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 15:09:16 -0000

The Kansas City Chiefs entered free agency with nine players hitting the market, three restricted free agents and six unrestricted. For the difference between those two terms, check out this great read.

The restricted free agents were WR Jeff Webb, C Rudy Niswanger and S Jarrad Page. All three of those players signed their tenders over the last few months. Webb signed his tender back on April 20. Niswanger signed his just a few days later and Jarrad Page just signed his tender less than a week ago. All three of these players are assured of being Chiefs in 2009. Or at least making it to training camp to compete.

That leaves us with the six unrestricted free agents and only three of them have gotten new deals. None of our free agents were snatched up right away.

LB Pat Thomas - Signed a one year deal with the Buffalo Bills
S Oliver Celestin
DE Jason Babin
LB Rocky Boiman
S Jon McGraw - Signed contract with the Chiefs
G Adrian Jones - Signed by the Houston Texans

What's going on with the rest of these guys?

Oliver Celestin, who was signed by the Chiefs last November, is trying out for the United Football League this weekend. Celestin spent most of his time playing on special teams and I don't believe he made it into a game at the safety position.

Interestingly enough, former Chiefs QB Quinn Gray is also trying out for the UFL in Orlando. After QB Matt Cassel was signed, the Chiefs cut Gray back in mid-March.

Jason Babin was signed by the Chiefs just after Celestin was in November 2008. The only hint of news about Babin was that he visited with the Bills shortly after becoming an UFA. Apparentely, a pregame ritual of eating an entire bucket of fried chicken (bones and everything) doesn't translate to on the field success. Babin was not signed by the Bills and remains a free agent today.

Finally, we have Rocky Boiman. He became a Chief back in October 2008 and was cut in late March. I can't find any updates on what's been going on with him. There appears to be no interest in Rocky Boiman around the NFL.

***

Don't expect any of these guys to make a big name for themselves in 2009. Like with the Chiefs, they are role/reserve/special teams players at best. For a list of all of the NFL's remaining UFAs, check out this link.

No Teams Make a Claim on the Chiefs Restricted Free Agents

Joel Thorman — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:30:10 -0000

Entering the 2009 offseason, the Kansas City Chiefs had three restricted free agents including C Rudy Niswanger, WR Jeff Webb, and S Jarrad Page to which they extended tenders.

Friday was the final day for teams to make a claim on restricted free agents. Basically, teams tendered players at the following levels

1st and 3rd round - $2.5 million
1st round - $2 million
2nd round - $1.5 million
Low round tender (equivalent to original draft position) - $1 million

*Note these amounts are approximates.

That means opposing teams can offer Webb a contract worth, let's say $10 million (Hey, we all have dreams), and the Chiefs can either match the offer and keep Webb or let him leave with a 6th round pick as compensation (since that's his original draft position).

Updates on the Chiefs restricted free agents is after the jump.

For the first time since 1993, no teams made a successful claim on a restricted free agent. Three teams sent a restricted free agent an offer sheet, which he signed in each instance, only to have it matched by the incumbent team.

Rudy Niswanger - 1 year, $1.5 million contract likely signed or to be signed

He was offered a second round tender which is equivalent to about $1.5 million ($1.417 in 2008) in salary in 2009. No teams made a claim on him meaning he'll be back with the Chiefs for at least one more season.

This is about a 300% increase in salary for the Chiefs' center and it still represents a great value for a player that will likely be a starter in '09 and has experience at multiple positions on the offensive line.

Jeff Webb - 1 year, $1.01 million contract signed

He was given the low round tender and signed it a couple days ago according to the Kansas City Star (H/T Vince D in the FanShots). So for now the Chiefs are committed to Webb for one more season at about a million bucks.

To those that ask why, I say why not? $1 million on a one year deal is peanuts compared to the approximately $30 million the Chiefs have under the cap. Haley has a background with wide receivers so I'm going to defer to him on this one.

Jarrad Page - Status unknown

He was also reportedly offered a tender but we're not sure which level, though it was presumably at a second round or low round. We know no teams went after him or offered the Chiefs compensation so the Chiefs still hold his rights.

Page has been a solid starter and represents an excellent value as a 7th round pick. He's started every game the last two seasons so I would imagine the Chiefs seriously consider giving him a long-term deal if he plays well in this prove it year.

Chiefs unrestricted free agents

The Chiefs also had six unrestricted free agents following the conclusion of the '08 season. They have only resigned one of these players and, frankly, I don't think there's much interest in any of the others from the new regime.

LB Pat Thomas - Signed a one year deal with the Buffalo Bills
S Oliver Celestin - No updates
DE Jason Babin - No updates
LB Rocky Boiman - No updates
S Jon McGraw - Signed contract with the Chiefs
G Adrian Jones - No updates

***

Previous updates to the Chiefs free agents

Chiefs have six UFAs; I say Babin, Boiman and McGraw should be retained.

Decision day looms for Chiefs and free agents

Mocking the Draft - Team Needs and Free Agency

Same Old Chiefs Defense

Joel Thorman — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 12:48:05 -0000

via www.chicagotribune.com

"Same Old Chiefs" was kind of the theme of last season between Chris and I. It seemed like we were blogging about the same thing over and over again, week after week, game after game. The season dragged on and the defense continued to do the same things over and over again to little avail. The team would play a decent first half, only to inevitably collapse in the 3rd and 4th quarters.

So what has really changed with the Chiefs' defense?

Players Lost	Players Gained
DE Jason Babin (UFA)	LB Mike Vrabel
LB Rocky Boiman (UFA)	LB Corey Mays
S Oliver Celestin (UFA)	CB Travis Daniels
LB Pat Thomas (UFA)	LB Monty Beisel
CB David Macklin (Released)
CB Patrick Surtain (Released)
LB Donnie Edwards (Released)

The Chiefs re-signed S Jon McGraw and tendered S Jarrad Page with a second round tender as a restricted free agent. I think most of us will agree that both these players warranted being re-signed (especially considering the poor state of the Chiefs defense).

So what have we really done? Are you telling me a semi-scheme change in the defense will be that much of a boost?

Sorry. I don't buy it.

Let's say the Chiefs ignore the offensive line and go defense with their first two picks in April's draft. Are these draft picks (only two of which can likely be depended upon to start) going to have a bigger impact than Jason Babin and Rocky Boiman and Donnie Edwards (when healthy) and Patrick Surtain (when healthy)?

As someone who's firmly entrenched in the mindset that it's easier to win consistently for years with a great defense and mediocre offense (vs. a great offense and mediocre defense) I'm coming to grips with the fact that the Chiefs defense has a very good chance of being almost as terrible as they were last year.

The acquisitions during free agency, while definitely upgrades in certain spots (Vrabel and Beisel), aren't nearly enough to warrant any game-changing predictions about the Chiefs defense.

With all that said, I know I'm being impatient. As Chris blogged in early March, the Chiefs shouldn't expect more than an 11 spot defensive ranking boost on average over the course of the next season. But, in most of those cases, the offseason acquisitions have been more than a 34 year old linebacker.

Only the Lions would do the same thing over and over again and expect different results.

Chiefs Free Agency Roster Moves Summary

Chris Thorman — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 15:31:37 -0000

Additions	Subtractions	UFA Re-signed	UFA not Re-Signed	Visited/ Interested
QB Matt Cassel	CB Pat Surtain	S Jon McGraw	LB Pat Thomas	SS Keith Davis
LB Mike Vrabel	LB Donnie Edwards		G Adrian Jones	WR Keary Colbert
WR C.J. Jones	QB Damon Huard		S Oliver Celestin	WR Bobby Engram
LB Darrell Robertson	TE Michael Merritt		LB Rocky Boiman	LB Clark Haggans
CB Travis Daniels			DE Jason Babin

Since not all of you get to obsessively check Arrowhead Pride for hours a day, here's a roster roundup to help people get caught up.

The Kansas City Chiefs have signed/traded for six players; cut four players; re-signed one unrestricted free agent; and had a number of players in for free agent visits.

The Chiefs have 68 players on the roster. And as of right now, we'll add six players through the draft (possibly more if you don't forget about compensatory picks, which I think we'll get at least one).

That leaves about a half dozen or so players that the Chiefs will add at some point this off season. The current roster is far from concrete. Players currently on the roster will be cut as others at their position become available or they've worn out their potential with Todd Haley.

I've linked back to our discussions about some of those players in case you want to catch up.

Catching up with the Chiefs in Free Agency

Joel Thorman — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 18:59:57 -0000

Will the Chiefs make a run at Igor Olshansky?

via www4.pictures.gi.zimbio.com

Here's a quick update on the free agents at positions of need for the Chiefs.

Defense

Chris Canty (DE - 6'7", 286 lbs - 26 years old) - Originally scheduled to visit with the Redskins but was later canceled because the Redskins were "running out of money" according to Executive VP of Football Operations Vinny Cerrato. Is still in New York following a visit with the Giants even though they recently signed defensive lineman Rocky Bernard from the Seahawks. Although no deal is imminent, Canty's agent said talks are continuing and the Giants do want to sign him. He's supposedly seeking $18 million guaranteed and $8 million per year. **SI.com says it's either the Giants or the Packers. ***Signs 6 year, $42 million deal with $17.5 million guaranteed with the New York Giants.
Antonio Smith (DE - 6'3", 274 lbs - 27 years old ) - Signed 5 year deal with the Texans.
Bart Scott (LB - 6'2", 235 lbs - 27 years old) - Signed 6 year, $48 million deal with the Jets.
Ray Lewis (LB - 6'1", 245 lbs - 33 years old) - Apparently the Cowboys aren't after him anymore. The Ravens are still trying to sign him after he reportedly turned down a 3 year, $24 million offer before free agency started. **The offer apparently remains on the table. It appears more and more likely he'll stay in Baltimore.
Angelo Crowell (LB - 6'1", 243 lbs - 27 years old) - The Redskins were interested in him but not after their spending spree. No visits scheduled.
Rosevelt Colvin (LB - 6'3", 250 lbs - 31 years old) - No sniffs from anyone after the Pats released him. He knows the 3-4 defense and represents a need but he's missed 17 games in two years.
Igor Olshansky (DE - 6'6", 309 lbs - 26 years old) - Haven't heard a word about him. No visits reported.

Offense

Laveranues Coles (WR - 5'11", 193 lbs - 31 years old) - Whittled his choices down to the Buffalo Bills or the Miami Dolphins and the New York Daily News speculates the smart money is on the Dolphins. Who doesn't want to sign in Miami this year it seems? **Dolphins aren't likely to pursue Coles.
T.J. Houshmandzadeh (WR - 6'1", 197 lbs - 31 years old) - After a visit with the Seahawks and the Vikings, he is still in Minnesota. It's believed that they're talking money at this point. However, ESPN's Michael Smith reports that he will also make visits to the Bucs (who just re-signed WR Michael Clayton) and the Eagles.
Stacy Andrews (RT/RG - 6'7", 342 lbs - 28 years old) - Signed 6 year deal with the Eagles.
Jeff Saturday (C - 6'2", 292 lbs - 33 years old) - Signed 3 year deal with the Colts.
Khalif Barnes (LT - 6'6", 305 lbs - 26 years old) - The Raiders have "toyed" with the idea of taking a harder look at him. Meanwhile, Barnes canceled a visit with the Saints after they resigned Jon Stinchcomb.

Chiefs Unrestricted Free Agents

Jason Babin, Oliver Celestin, Jon McGraw, Adrian Jones, Rocky Boiman and Pat Thomas - Haven't heard a peep about any of these guys.

Chiefs Restricted Free Agents

Jarrad Page, Jeff Webb and Rudy Niswanger - They were all tendered so I don't expect any team to be willing to part ways with the compensation packages assigned to each of them.

With the exception of a couple of names, these players are beginning to represent the second wave of free agency. The signing bonuses are dwindling so the Chiefs should take a hard look at a few of these value players.

As always, post any updates to free agency signings in the comments or the FanShots (Free agency is an important time to install the FanShot bookmark so you can post to AP from any webpage).

Any other possible free agent signings out there?

Chiefs Facing Decisions with Nine Free Agents

Joel Thorman — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 22:22:33 -0000

The Chiefs will have six players who will become unrestricted free agents at midnight.

	DE Jason Babin	LB Rocky Boiman	S Oliver Celestin	G Adrian Jones	S Jon McGraw	LB Pat Thomas
Age	28	29	28	27	29	26
Height	6'4"	6'4"	6'0"	6'4"	6'3"	6'2"
Weight	285 lbs	236 lbs	207 lbs	296 lbs	206 lbs	243 lbs

Back in January when we originally touched on our UFAs, I wanted to Babin, Boiman and McGraw retained. That hasn't really changed but I'm more than willing to part ways with Boiman.

Out of this list, now I'd like to see Jason Babin and Jon McGraw retained. Babin appears to be a serviceable reserve while McGraw has worked his butt off, was a captain last season and would be an asset as a reserve in the secondary and/or on special teams.

(NOTE: ALRIGHT KNUCKLEHEADS, LET'S KEEP THE JON MCGRAW BASHING TO A MINIMUM. YOU ALL KNOW HE'S A FIRST COUSIN OF MINE AND THE BEST GROCERY BAGGER AT MY LOCAL MARKET.)

The cost for resigning any of these players isn't an issue because A)they're cheap and B) we have a lot of money to spend.

Restricted Free Agents

The Chiefs have offered Rudy Niswanger a second round tender, which is $1.417 million. In a nutshell, this means that Niswanger has until April 21st to negotiate an offer from another team. The Chiefs have the right to match any offer. If they don't match the offer, the Chiefs would be eligible to receive compensatory draft picks in return.

Jarrad Page is another player that could be tendered as a restricted free agent. Since Page was a 7th round pick, the compensatory pick we would receive in the event that he was tendered then offered by another team would be a 7th rounder. At this point, there's no question Page is worth more than a 7th rounder to the Cheifs.

Jeff Webb is another restricted free agent although I don't expect the Chiefs to extend a qualifying offer to him. He hasn't done much on the field to warrant any protection from the Chiefs.

Which of these unrestricted and restricted free agents do you think the Chiefs will retain?