FRENZY NEWS: Hellos and a Goodbye

[Flaxwless]

RB Alexander to Stay, Williams to Leave
Associated Press

In response to a suprising move by divisonal foe, Brain Dead Squirrel Chasers, who allowed their two starting backs, Ricky Williams and Shaun Alexander, to sign with the Insects, GM Frank Alonzo has announced the release of RB Ricky Williams. The move was largely predicated on the salary cap and Williams' desire to be a stater, something Coach Alonzo could not gurantee with 3rd year pro Clinton Portis and 5th year back Shaun Alexander on the roster. "I have great respect for Ricky, especially for his part in our championship season. Beacuse of that I allowed him to test the free agent market again, when I couldn't gurantee him starter minutes. I wish him the best of luck." Williams was traded with Jerry Rice midway through the 2002 season for a 1st Round pick (Kyle Boller), WR Koren Robinson, and RB Anthony Thomas.

Although play time and age may have been a factor in the release of Williams the greatest factor is the salary cap. With the acquisition of the two RBs the Insects found themselves 1420cb over the cap. By cutting Williams instead of Alexander they free up an extra 200cbs for a total of 980cbs under the salary cap. This move is stunning as it was rumoured that the Insects would try to keep both RBs by releasing players and making trades, one inside source claims the Insects had interest with the Swords' 1st overall pick and others for Clinton Portis. When asked about the rumours Frank said, "We had considered alot of options. Yes we had some talks with the Swords regarding the 1st overall choice, but that was it, just talks. We'd really have to be blown out of the water to trade Portis, and frankly the Swords offer was nowhere near that."

In retrospect the Insects have made the best decision regarding the cap problems caused by their agressive pursuit of RFA RBs. If they were to try and keep all three RBs until they could trade Williams or Alexander in inseason free agency, they would have to decimate their young roster. They also would have to make several trades in order to minimize the penalty for not carrying 13 players and 5 TE/DEF/K, which is $500 for each player below each limit. They also would run the risk of not reciving equal value for one of the RBs in a trade.

By signing and releasing Williams, the Insects are theoretically paying Shaun Alexander 3350cbs for 1 season, only 350 cbs over the 3000cb price tag of Williams' their intended target. This also allows the team to move on without dismantling their young and promising roster. "In all honesty we have Shaun Alexander rated higher than Ricky Williams, we had just expected Williams would be the one Joe would let go of easier. So the higher price tag is really not that big a deal to us. Shaun only has one less year of pro experience but he has less mileage as he practically watched his rookie season, so really he has two less years worth of wear."

So GM and Coach Frank ALonzo seems to be saying all the right things but what does he really think? "Seriously, I couldn't be happier. Sure we took a cap hit of 600cbs but I think it's well worth it. We have Portis and Alexander in the backfield. How can I not be happy? We'll be champions this year I gurantee it."