When we last left the Albany Empire, they were left looking at the Washington Valor celebrating a shocking playoff series victory at the Times Union Center last July. Despite a successful inaugural season in Albany that saw the team clinch the number-one overall seed in the playoffs with numerous individual award winners, it was a disappointing ending.

So, what will Season Two bring to the Empire? In a word, change – and lots of it.

With the addition of two teams being to the league, the Albany Empire knew they were going to lose some faces from last season’s roster, but they gained some faces in return that might help the Empire win their first ArenaBowl championship.

Key Players Returning: QB Tommy Grady; RB Mykel Benson; WRs Malachi Jones, and Collin Taylor; OLs Ryan Cave, Hayworth Hicks and Mo Ruffins; DLs Joe Sykes and Brandon Sesay; LB Terence Moore; DB Terrance Smith.

Five individual award winners from 2018 (Grady, Jones, Hicks, Sykes, Moore) return to the Empire for 2019. Grady will look to return to the form that won him league MVP. After joining the Empire in the final four games of 2018, Benson will look to take the running load off of Malachi Jones. Cave, Ruffins, and Hicks bolster a line that allowed single-digit sacks during all of 2018. Jones rejoins the team after stints in the NFL and the ill-fated AAF. Williams handled kickoff coverage last season, but has game-breaking speed. Taylor will return in his role as a slot receiver.

On defense, Sykes and Sesay return to a squad that led the league in sacks in 2018. Sykes individually lead the league in both sacks and forced fumbles and Sesay was one of numerous defensive players who notched a forced fumble in 2018. Moore arguably had his best Arena season as he reunited with coach Rob Keefe and won Defensive MVP with six interceptions and 68.5 tackles. Smith only played a handful of games as a member of the Empire, but returns to the lineup to give a wealth of experience to a defensive back corps that will feature numerous rookies.

Espinosa is new to the AFL, but has played three seasons of indoor football, including the last two with Columbus of the NAL. Trevino is a kicking veteran who spent the last two seasons with Philadelphia and is one of the best barball specialists in the league. Richardson has spent two of the last three seasons in Philadelphia and was the league leader in rushing touchdowns by a running back. Sims, Stephens, and Fritz all played on Baltimore last season; Sims finished third on the Brigade with 56 receptions, but lead the team with 15 receiving touchdowns. Stephens is another Arena veteran who had nine receptions and two touchdowns with Baltimore in 2018. Mudge is a league veteran and joins the team after playing in Washington last season. Fritz is a veteran who has playoff experience, appearing in two of the last three ArenaBowls.

Some might say that Hills is the biggest loss to the team, but I would contest that that losing three of your four starting defensive backs from last season’s roster is the biggest loss. This leaves the Empire to test rookies who have little to no Arena experience. Four players (Sonie, Stephens, Summers, and Seither) signed with Columbus. Dunmore and Norman signed with Washington and Hobbs and Mauia went to Atlantic City. Spencer signed with Philadelphia and Cato-Bishop with Baltimore. Fafaul signed with Jacksonville of the NAL. Phillips, Carr, Love, and Piekarski remain unsigned free agents as of this writing.

Outlook: The Empire have had their share of turnover during free agency. The team has acquired several players with a lot of experience, but also bring in eight rookies, some with no Arena experience. This might worry some fans, but coach Keefe has a staff with years upon years of Arena experience that players can glean from. With six teams vying for four playoff spots this season, the competition level will increase. But with memories of last season’s upset in their minds, the Empire will be determined to not only return to the playoffs, but win the ArenaBowl. Any other result would be a disappointment.

Ryan McCarthy has been an on-and-off Internet columnist and blogger since 1997. He has been an avid follower of Arena Football since 1990 when the Albany Firebirds were established. Ryan currently attends Regent University, where he is pursuing his Bachelors degree in Communications with a Journalism concentration. He anticipates graduating toward the end of 2019. You can follow Ryan on Twitter at @rwhoisryanmcc