A Solid Prospect Walks Out the Door

Good luck, hope to see you around the league

Marcus Mason did not make the last cut to the final roster, the team let him go and he was not signed to the practice squad. I find it odd that after a preseason of rave reviews by coach Jim Zorn and the media and the steadily solidifying conventional wisdom that the team had found a guy they were going to have to keep even if it created a glitch in the matrix for the 2008 roster suddenly fell on his face in the final preseason game and was deemed expendable, Jim Zorn per David Elfin at the Washington Times' Redskins 360 blog:

But apparently the Redskins weren't holding their final practice squad spot open to re-sign Mason, whom they cut on Saturday. A team source re-iterated coach Zorn's comments that Mason had made some mental errors in the preseason finale against Jacksonville. The team source said that Mason couldn't master Zorn's offense and wasn't a good enough special teams player to stick around for a second year on Washington's practice squad.

Why does it always have to end with turning on a guy on his way out the door? Marcus' line in the Jaguars preseason game: 17 carries for 74 yards (3.75 yards per carry), 3 catches for 27 yards. For the preseason Marcus was the league leading rusher, 66 carries for 317 yards (4.8 ypc), 8 catches for 56 yards.

So it was not about his ability to carry or catch the ball, the decision factor must have come down to backfield blocking and special teams play.

It is done, I think it was a bad idea and I will enjoy following Marcus through the league, Marcus was quickly signed by the Baltimore Ravens and put on their practice squad, Marcus will be right up the road, with rookie Ray Rice and oft injured Willis McGahee the only tailbacks on the Ravens roster Marcus has a shorter path to live action in Baltimore than in Washington. The lol is that Marcus' signing with the Ravens was a bigger story in Washington than it was in Baltimore (see here and here).

Thanks Marcus, good luck and I know we will see you around the league.



Marcus Mason: Don Wright / redskins.com from here.