Reportedly, both Richard Huntley and Scott Shields have been told that their services are no longer required here.� That could not have surprised Shields.� Some say his days were numbered when Mike Logan signed on; I�d say his Stiller career came to a close late last season when Nakia Codie surpassed him on the depth chart.� Logan, Flowers, Alexander and Battles figure at safety next year; Codie or Bell has a shot if the Stillers keep (10) DB.� Shields constant refusal to tackle does suggest that this man is better suited for life as a decathlete than as an NFL defensive back.�

Huntley is a different matter.� While he did have fumble issues in �98 and was injured for much of �00, he has established as a quality 3^rd down back and IMO he is the only proven breakaway threat on the current Stiller roster.� He is an ST coverage ace; in fact, the backup RB were, with Fiala, the biggest hitters on the coverage units in 2000.� That is an indictment of the Stiller D-side backups but, since the Stillers added no useful D-side speed (other than Kendrell Bell) last weekend, the O-side will be called on to cover again this season.

It could be said that $1.6M is a lot of cash for a backup/ST player.� Maybe so but, on a unit basis, the Stillers can afford it.� Let�s do the numbers; note that the 2000 figures have long been available on this site, the 2001 figures are rounded up to cushion my considerable uncertainty factor.

I don�t have the 2001 numbers for Amoz or Kreider but I am willing to bet they won�t come to $2.28 M.� Note that the Bus, Hunt and Fu together hit the 2001 cap for less than did Bettis in 2000.� In sum, the Stillers have engineered a situation where they could maintain the best unit on the roster for less cash now than the year previous.� Why screw up a good thing?� If Huntley gets cut now, it will not be for any football reason.� If Huntley gets cut now, I can�t see the cap sense.

If Huntley gets cut now, the Stillers will have squandered their last best hope to trade out of their considerable depth at RB.� Reportedly, the FO has tried to accomplish this but failed to attract any offers.� No surprise, considering that this cut has been rumored constantly throughout the off-season.� That fact, along with the Witman signing, surely has driven down the market.� Now, since the bottom-feeders have first dibs on the waiver wire, we may see Huntley, at least twice a year, wearing orange and brown.

The market for Hunt, or Amoz, will rise when RB elsewhere start going down in camp, or in the exhibition season.� That is the time to make a move; this is not.� Hunt has attracted interest previously and, probably, will do so again.� This can�t be said for Jason Simmons, the diminutive �special teams ace� who signed his $512K RFA tender this week.� It baffles me that Simmons got any offer; I can�t guess why that remained on the table after the Logan signing. �Simmons is, at best, a dime back and now projects as a backup in that (backup) role.� He does remain the #4 CB (until Poteat beats him out) but, if this man ever plays CB in the base set, we�ll all be lifting our glasses to the memory of Alvoid Mayes and Harvey Clayton.�

Huntley is a quality backup who has played well in every role; the best that can be said of Simmons is that he managed to replace Lance Brown as a flyer on the punt teams.� The Stillers run the ball; if Hunt gets cut, they will enter �01 with a high mileage Bus and two backup RB who have not gotten 30 touches in a season.� �Maybe Fu holds up, maybe Amoz is the real deal, but this seems to be a large and unnecessary gamble.� The FO should keep Hunt unless a deal comes along; the FO should let Simmons go now, anoint Alex as the 5^th CB and Codie the 9^th DB.