Merged: TE/H-back depth chart

oh there is a h-back "positon" how can you say there isnt? ever heard of a tweener? lol

Way I see it is 4 HB slots 2FB slots and 3 TE slots, on a traditional roster. Thats 9 players altogether.

Definite keepers? Portis for sure. After that, I'd say Cartwright, Betts, Cooley, Rasby and Baxter.

HB - Portis, Betts & Cartwright.
FB/H-back - Cooley & Sellers
TE - Baxter & Rasby

That leaves 2 slots by my reckoning, not allowing for JG to keep an extra man and ignoring the practice squad. Way I see it, those 2 spots got to McCullough and Koslowski or Ware. May see Royal or Stephens on the PS unless they get picked up.

Of course all this assumes Canidate doesn't impress Gibbs. If he does, they may bump Sultan onto the PS again.

OK, so then, take the total number of slots available (what is it these days, Joe?). Then figure the 4 RB's (minimum) we are sure to keep, 3 QB's, probably 5 WR's, etc. Go through all positions, and you will see that it is virtually impossible to keep 6 or 7 TE's. I do not believe any team in the NFL has ever kept even 5 TE's on their active roster.The regular-season roster limit these days is 53. I'm not sure what the roster limit was during Gibbs' first run (I know roster limits have changed a few times, but not sure when and by how much), but there were several seasons where Gibbs kept 6 TEs on his roster. It was actually rare that he had as few as four TEs.

That being said, the Skins have a ton of depth at RB, WR and TE, and like you said, they can only keep so many. Gibbs will probably base his decision on which players have practice squad eligibility, and which players are most likely to contribute to the team on special teams and as reserves. When you consider the fact that guys like Sultan McCullough, Robert Royal, Kevin Ware and Leonard Stephens all should have one year of practice squad eligibility remaining, and combine that with the fact that the practice squad has been expanded to 8 players, it wouldn't surprise me to see up to 3 of those guys on the practice squad.

I think you're right about Gibbs keeping 4 RBs (Portis, Betts, Cartwright and Morton) and 5 WRs (Coles, Gardner, McCants, Thrash, Jacobs), but I think he'll keep at least 5 TEs-- Rasby, Cooley, Baxter, Sellers and Kozlowski-- with Ware or Royal as either a 6th TE, or on the practice squad... most likely the practice squad. The reason I say that, is Gibbs needs at least 3 TEs that he can put on the field at any one time. There are bound to be injuries, and he will also want to be able to rotate guys in and out frequently to keep them fresh. In that scenario, he'd need a minimum of 5 TEs, which he would probably keep on the active roster. The 6th guy he could keep on the practice squad, and activate him if injuries crop up.

I just scanned through the roster... I may be wrong... but if we did indeed sign Baxter, it looks like he'd be the only player on our roster with a Superbowl ring. I see this as a welcome attempt to change the culture of the team.

60 hours later...
This story hasn't shown up on any reliable internet news source. I'm thinking somebody at ESPN jumped the gun on the story.

I just scanned through the roster... I may be wrong... but if we did indeed sign Baxter, it looks like he'd be the only player on our roster with a Superbowl ring. I see this as a welcome attempt to change the culture of the team.

I think Tupa got a ring with the Bucs right?

Trung might have a ring.

Doh!

its cool, no worries. Perhaps everyone will have a ring on our team next year... :)

Per the WP:

According to two sources familiar with the situation, the Redskins will sign tight end Fred Baxter, a 12-year veteran, to provide depth at blocking tight end. Baxter, who played the previous two seasons with the Patriots, is expected to be officially acquired Thursday after signing a one-year contract for the league minimum. Walter Rasby is projected to start at blocking tight end.