There can be life in the National Football League for young players released in the final cutdown to 47 men.
Just ask survivors such as Bears wide receiver Tom Waddle, who has been cut three times in his career.
Following the first two releases, he was re-signed to the Bears`
developmental squad.
Last year, the Bears re-signed him to the 47-man roster after he cleared waivers. He responded by catching 55 passes for 599 yards and three touchdowns.
For the fourth straight season, each NFL team may assemble a three-to-five-player practice squad once the players have cleared waivers.
As in the past, only rookies and first-year players (with no more than three games of NFL experience) are eligible for the practice squad. Their rights are not protected by the team; they may join another club if they are placed on that team`s 47-man roster.
Players cut Monday who are eligible for the practice squad are quarterback Paul Justin, linebacker Jim Schwantz, wide receiver Eric Wright and tight end Todd Harrison.
Justin, an alumnus of Schaumburg High School and Arizona State, said he isn`t interested in rejoining the practice squad, where he toiled last year.
”I met a lot of good people,” Justin said. ”The Bears are a good organization, a good team, a winning team. I had a good time. I tried to make the team and help the team out. It just didn`t work out.”
Justin said he wished the Bears had released him during the cutdown to 60 players (Aug. 25) so that he could have had a better chance to catch on elsewhere.
Through the lean years until he became a starter, Waddle has been very understanding. He knows waivers. He knows the practice squad. He knows Plan B. ”I think when it happens you understand that this is a business,”
Waddle said. ”This isn`t a high school sport anymore. It isn`t a college sport anymore. This is a big-time business.
”There are numbers games that are involved. You can only carry 47 guys. I think if you realize coming in that, even if you are released, you still have a chance to come back and contribute, it`s easier to swallow.
”Of course, it`s a shock to your pride, getting released and having someone tell you that you aren`t good enough to play out of the top 47. That is tough. Once you get over it and realize it`s nothing personal, then it`s a little easier to swallow.”
As insignificant as the preseason results are, the futures of young players are at stake.
”A lot of times there are guys out there who have just as much talent as those who make the 47-man roster,” Waddle said. ”I think making it in this league is getting the opportunity and then playing well.
”Some guys don`t ever get the opportunity to play. I`m not saying it`s the fault of any organization or any management or any coaching staff. That`s just the way it is. And that`s the worst part about this business.”
Meanwhile, Waddle has continued to impress the Bears. For the first time in three preseasons, a receiver has led the Bears in pass catching: Waddle, who grabbed 11 passes for 144 yards.
”I think I have gotten better at running routes,” he said. ”And I think staying consistent with my catching the ball is something I have done.” The risk involved trying to place a talented rookie on the developmental squad is he may be gobbled up by another club.
Rookie Louis Age, an 11th-round draft pick, may have been a practice squad candidate. But the Bears put the 6-foot-7-inch, 340-pound tackle on their 47-man roster.
”Louis Age is just a young guy,” coach Mike Ditka said. ”We like him. He isn`t ready to play right now. But some day he might be ready to play, and if he is, he`ll be a good football player.”
”What we have to do is get him in good shape. We`re going to turn him over to (fitness coach) Russ Riederer. His weight is going to continue to come down. If it doesn`t, he`ll be fined accordingly. And if that doesn`t work, he won`t be here.”
Schwantz, a free agent from Purdue, impressed coaches with his special-teams play and mobility but got caught in the numbers game along with second-year linebacker Michael Stonebreaker as the Bears kept only six linebackers. Last year, the Bears kept seven.
