Ranking the Best Roster Moves of NFL Training Camp Thus Far

As one NFL player packs his bags and turns in his playbook, another finds himself on the receiving end of a long-awaited call to report to camp and compete for the newly vacated spot. 

Signings, holdouts, position changes and depth-chart leaps (and tumbles) all surround us. The NFL preseason is in full swing.

Here we rank the best roster moves thus far in the 2012 NFL training camp period. 

10. Seahawks Sign Terrell Owens

Seahawks GM John Schneider came up through the ranks of the Packers organization and is considered one of Ted Thompson's most talented proteges. 

Schneider was quoted by Clare Farnsworth of Seahawks.com on Super Bowl Sunday following the Packers' 2011 victory as saying:

"

You have to have a very good pulse for your team, and constantly be evaluating your team and know who's going to fit and who's not going to fit. I would say one of Ted's biggest strengths and one of the biggest things I've learned from him - because he's a former player - is just the importance of the locker room and team chemistry.

"

Eighteen months later, enter Terrell Owens. 

In doing a report for The Austin Chronicle about T.O. standing up a hospital full of sick children, I spoke with members of the Allen Wranglers organization about the kind of chemistry that T.O. brought to their Indoor Football League locker room. 

Their description was reminiscent of the time, as a child, that I tried to microwave a Capri Sun pouch: a little bit of fun for a whole lot of mess. But that was the indoor league; he felt like he was better than everyone else.

Owens didn't even have to play in road games and was a part owner in the franchise. He wouldn't run crossing routes and actually put up numbers that one member of the staff told me were just below average for an IFL wide receiver.

This is the NFL, and he is playing for the veteran minimum on a one-year deal with the Seahawks. He is no longer better than everyone else.

As a matter of fact, he is now a punchline and a cautionary tale. He knows it. I've noticed T.O. is the type of enigmatic personality whose off-the-field and interpersonal issues are very likely rooted in fear.

Previously, it was the fear of not being recognized for his achievements and losing his place in the spotlight that led to him cause such distractions for his teams. It was a fear of being associated with a losing team that manifested itself in Owens distancing himself from those "losing" teammates via public tirades.   

I believe he has different fears now. Real-life fears. 

He has child support to pay. He has been toeing the line between broke and "just skating by" for almost two years now. If he acts like a diva, a bully or a distraction in the Seattle locker room, he knows that is it for his career.

He is likely also horrified of rubbing someone the wrong way and for the first time in his life being called a "has-been" or a "deadbeat" by a player who may never possess the talent he once had, but has the virtue of youth on their side to couple with their higher standing within the organization. 

He has no comeback to these sorts of allegations. 

Pete Carroll didn't just bring in T.O. without doing his research. ESPN reported Carroll reached out to Carson Palmer, who he coached at USC, to ask his opinion of Owens as a teammate. Those reports checked out. Add on a 4.4 40-yard dash at his private practice in Seattle, and you have a fit that seems likely to work out.  

Danny O'Neil of The Seattle Times reported T.O. doesn't even get to wear his signature No. 81 jersey he has always insisted on donning. He took No. 10 because it was available.

WR Sidney Rice is returning to practice this week in a limited role. Rice had two offseason shoulder surgeries, but the issue that draws more concern are the three concussions sustained within a one-year period from November 2010 to November 2011.

That is getting into Jahvid Best territory, and one more incident will most certainly shut Rice down for a matter of months, not weeks. 

Owens is still good and has drawn praise from seemingly every teammate who has been asked about him. The one thing we do know about Owens is that he has always been a workout warrior and an absolute model of work ethic on the practice field.

Let's face it. Starting WRs like Doug Baldwin, Ben Obomanu and Golden Tate are not exactly formidable, and the fact that the Seahawks brought in Braylon Edwards along with Owens just goes to show the staff believes this as well. 

9. Steelers Don't Give in to Mike Wallace's Demands

The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Rooney family did not build one of the NFL's most respected and historically prominent franchises by being held hostage. The inmates do not run the asylum in Pittsburgh.

There are certain situations in which they will simply not negotiate. 

Mr. Rooney, I would like to stand up and give you a long, slow golf clap. 

This situation is nothing new to the Steelers. We've seen it with Santonio Holmes and Plaxico Burress. They can get along fine without one unhappy malcontent at wide receiver. The quarterback play is always good, and they always play great defense.  

As far as the Steelers are concerned, Wallace is not even their best receiver. The team voted Antonio Brown as MVP for the 2011 season, and team brass took a not-so-subtle jab at Wallace when holding a press conference to announce Brown's new six-year, $42.5 million deal.  

Wallace wanted Larry Fitzgerald money, and that is ridiculous. As good as Mike Wallace has been, you don't look at the guy and see a piece who is critical to the future success of the Steelers. 

He is an impact player—a formidable one at that—but he doesn't belong in the same sentence as Fitzgerald.

Arizona without Fitzgerald is in worse trouble than they already are, if that is imaginable. Detroit without Calvin Johnson is not the same team that they are with him. 

Towards the end of July, Alan Robinson of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported that the amount Wallace was looking for was actually closer to the Vincent Jackson range, and the backpedal had started. 

I think Wallace will backpedal all the way to his $2.7 million salary for the 2012 season and play for a new contract just in time for the Steelers to threaten to slap a franchise tag on him in 2013 and make out like bandits in the trade market. 

No one works a roster like the Rooneys. 

8. Saints Find Ways to Get Travaris Cadet Involved

When you have three very good running backs on your roster and one mediocre back you are stuck with for another year, it is generally easy to let the player viewed as the "fifth option" at the position to slip through the cracks.

Especially when your offense is based upon an aerial attack that runs through a massive tight end.

The Saints are set at the running back position with Pierre Thomas, Darren Sproles and Mark Ingram. They have two other serviceable running backs on their roster.

One is Chris Ivory, who has one more year on his contract before hitting restricted free agency.

The other, better back is Travaris Cadet.

Brett Martel of the Associated Press (via Pro Football Weekly) quoted Joe Vitt regarding Cadet. Vitt said:

"

This is a kid who's really taken full advantage of the opportunity he has right now. He's shown us his versatility. He really is grasping the offense. You don't see the kid making a lot of mental mistakes. He gets lined up and plays at a high level. I guess he really can create some mismatches.

"

ESPN quoted similar praise from Vitt for Cadet:

"

He's a guy that can line up on the outside lanes, create mismatches against the linebacker, and potentially create mismatches against the safety. I know we saw some of his receiving skills coming out of the backfield. You couple that with the fact that he can be a factor in the return game and he's an interesting prospect.

"

The Saints are lining Cadet up almost everywhere. Split out wide, in the slot, in the screen game and in delayed-release flat routes. On top of all that, as shown in this video, he is looking electric returning both punts and kickoffs.  

When I saw Cadet for the first time in camp, it seemed that he was being used an awful lot like the Saints use Sproles, so it was a wonder if there was really any need for another "utility" back in the New Orleans system. 

What I soon noticed was the way the defense reacts to Cadet. He's not small like Sproles.

Cadet is 6'1" and 210 pounds with 4.55 speed and brutal cutting ability in open space. A defender must brace himself for impact with an explosive player of this size. Cadet may look like pure speed embodied, but he carries a load. 

Watch the first TD catch versus Arizona on the video linked above. The nasty move he put on the linebacker to get wide open is called a "shake" or a "freeze." Basically, it is an act by which one player puts another player's feet in cement. You make your initial move towards a player or open lane just long enough to get him to brace for possible impact, then use that leverage against him.

Defensive ends and outside linebackers make their livings with a good shake move, but it can be just as useful for an inside receiver that faces less athletic players in coverage. 

While Thomas, Ingram and Sproles are obviously dominating the majority of first-team reps in camp, Saints offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael is making sure that Cadet gets a fairly equal split with Ivory for the remaining scraps.

Moving Cadet out of the depths of obscurity and into the competition to be a playmaker on offense and special teams is a brilliant roster move.

7. Dolphins Cut Chad Johnson

The headaches aren't worth it.

Not for Chad Johnson. Not anymore. We heard all last season (and into the beginning of this season) that the reason which seemed so obvious in explaining Johnson's perfectly explainable drop-off (his age) was not the cause for his continuing digression as an NFL receiver.

He "had trouble with the playbook" or was not "utilized in the correct ways." No one was letting "Chad be Chad" any longer. Coming home to Miami, newly married and rejuvenated, was going to change that.

In front of Hard Knocks cameras once again, no less.  

Well, new Miami Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin is a no-nonsense man, and he thought that everything about Johnson was nonsense.

Johnson's act is stale in more ways than one. He looked terrible in camp. He looked terrible on tape in the exhibition game versus Tampa Bay. He dropped an easy 3rd-and-3 pass on a bad route and acted like this common occurrence was a complete anomaly. He could not help himself from using excessive profanity in press conferences. 

While his coaching staff was trying to implement a new philosophy and culture, Johnson was trying to increase his Twitter following in front of HBO cameras. 

Then came the domestic dispute arrest. I will leave the commenting to Philbin (via James Walker of ESPN):

"

When he came in on June 11, we sat down and we talked. I was very clear the expectations of the program, and it just didn’t work out. It’s more about the fit. In my gut, I didn’t feel the fit was going to be beneficial for either party in the short-term or long-term

"

6. Texans Get James Casey More Involved on Offense

No receiver was more targeted or caught more passes at Texans training camp on Thursday than TE James Casey.

They treated him like Aaron Hernandez out there, and Casey is athletic. He's the same H-Back type who we know is even capable of taking running back carries.

Casey was targeted and made receptions in routes run from the offset fullback position, the standard tight end position, the slot and split out wide. 

An incredibly athletic H-Back is a luxury many teams don't have. If the Texans believe they have the ability to develop one, I love the roster move to starting fullback and second TE.

5. Packers Sign Cedric Benson

The Packers need a good running back, and James Starks does not count as "good."  

Benson has been a 1,000-yard rusher for three straight seasons and is going for a fourth in Green Bay.

James Starks is hurt and not a good NFL running back.

Benson is an establish-the-run, between-the-tackles back who seems to get better as he wears down a defense. That doesn't fit what Green Bay does exactly, but it makes sense. Benson can close on a defense and run the clock.

All of the slipping around we see James Starks do is usually in an attempt to run between the tackles. Benson provides a major upgrade. Huge roster move. 

If the Packers were looking for a system back, I think there is a running back looking for a job named Ryan Grant. Why didn't they call him? 

4. Patriots Replace Trevor Scott with Chandler Jones

It shouldn't be surprising that Chandler Jones came right into camp and snatched Trevor Scott's spot.

His brother is Jon Jones, an MMA star. His other brother plays for the Ravens. Maybe that is why his pass-rush moves look so professionally polished, yet so fresh and violent all at the same time.

What nobody could have expected is that Jones is even better against the run. 

Look at what he did against All-Pro Saints LT Jermon Bushrod. In the Pats' preseason opener, Jones gave Bushrod fits and single-handedly caused two straight holding penalties. This is a young man who will not be denied.

Jones not only got consistent pressure on Saints QB Drew Brees, he set the edge hard in the run game. He refused to get pushed back; he got extension with his signature long arms to get whoever he was facing off balance. He may already be the best player on that entire defense. 

The rich just got much richer in New England.  

3. Titans Name Jake Locker Starting QB

We know the following statements to be true:

1) Matt Hasselbeck is very old and very close to being done as an NFL quarterback. 

2) Hasselbeck is not completely done as an NFL quarterback, and his stat line from preseason Week 1 should have only read one interception. 

3) Jake Locker showed us last year that he was not then capable of throwing sideline routes.

4) Hasselbeck, in the preseason opener, threw interceptions into the areas where he is supposed to better than Locker, such as outside the hash marks to the intermediate left and deep right.  

5) Locker likes Kendall Wright, and Hasselbeck likes Nate Washington.

Give me the guy that likes Kendall Wright.   

I re-watched the Titans' preseason opener versus the Seahawks and noticed that Locker brings a different energy facing the same personnel that Hasselbeck faced in the series before he was pulled. He still doesn't look great with his delivery, but the fact is, Locker is improving.

If there's a chance that Hasselbeck may be digressing, you have to make your move sooner than later. Giving Locker the shot is a roster move I love.  

2. Lions Cut Aaron Berry

It was about time in Detroit.

Bears RB Matt Forte told CBSSports.com, " One of the big things is it can impact the team in a negative way if you have a lot of arrests. Some guys don't want to admit that but it's true."

Detroit Lions players accounted for seven arrests this offseason. Berry accounted for two of them in one month.

One was for being an irresponsible human being and driving under the influence.

The other was for being a worthless human being. Police told Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press that Barry was arrested and that there was a firearm involved in the incident. The charges ended up being three counts of brandishing a weapon, which means pointing a gun at three people. 

We know that Lions HC Jim Schwartz brings a bad-boy attitude to the Lions that has invigorated a long-dormant franchise.

Has this caused issues with players? Of course. Look at Handshake-gate. Like coach, like player.  

Schwartz and GM Martin Mayhew are not exactly "friends," from what Mayhew has told me in interviews, but they do see eye to eye on most subjects regarding the Lions' football operations.

This decision was simple and decisive. Enough is enough, and good riddance.  

1. Packers Move Charles Woodson to Safety

In 2002, when the Raiders went to the Super Bowl, they got off to a 4-0 start, then had a brutal 0-4 skid.

There were two home losses in overtime. One to a division rival in San Diego, one at the hands of Bay Area rival San Francisco.

At 4-4, the Raiders found themselves in a critical division game against Denver to either get their season back on track or let the wheels begin to start falling off. 

Veteran FS Rod Woodson saved the day with a huge pick as he patrolled the Oakland goal line. The rest was history.  

On that same defense was a (younger) cornerback with the same last name: Charles Woodson. Now, Charles finds himself in the same position as Rod—a former elite CB moved to the safety position in the twilight of his career.

It's an effort to maximize a future Hall of Famer's skill set within the context of their defense. 

This move allows Charles Woodson to still be one of Green Bay's best players on defense. He could almost be an Ed Reed as a safety. He is a ball hawk. He's a defensive leader and QB on that side of the ball.

You see the field differently from the safety position. You can get better reads. You're head-on with the offense, and a smart player like Woodson can put himself in position to make game-changing plays.  

Desmond Bishop has been lost for at least the beginning of the season, and while this was not a factor in the decision to move Woodson to safety, it seems very convenient now. Woodson is a great open-field tackler. He is not going to blow you up like an Adrian Wilson, but he is a tough, hard-nosed player who will get his head in there and make tackles.

Best roster move of the season so far.