Quarterback Carousel Rumors Send Meyer, Michna Around Country
Adam Markowitz
Tuesday September 30, 2014
We're only a few days into the free agency period, and we have already seen some teams make some splashes. The San Jose SaberCats were one of the splashier teams in the opening days, signing both Virgil Gray and Eric Crocker to solidify their secondary. Could more changes be on the way in Silicon Valley?
The two big name quarterbacks who hit free agency this year were Erik Meyer from the Spokane Shock and Dan Raudabaugh of the Philadelphia Soul. Meyer, who is currently seventh all-time in AFL history in quarterback rating at 120.69, is considered a hot commodity, and a number of teams, including the Shock have been after his services.
Meyer is a native of La Mirada, a stone's throw from Los Angeles, so a return home to the Los Angeles KISS is definitely in the cards. It doesn't take watching 4th & Loud to know that the KISS badly need to fix their quarterback situation now that Aaron Garcia has become the head coach of the Las Vegas Outlaws, and multiple team officials expect that Meyer could be in the mix in Tinseltown.
The favorites to land Meyer though, are the SaberCats. Unhappy with anything less than a championship on an annual basis, the SaberCats are clearly looking to shuffle the deck this offseason, and that has already been made clear with the announcements that Gray and Crocker are coming to the defense. Meyer would be the top quarterback available, and this San Jose team isn't shy about swinging for the fences. Don't be stunned if a Meyer-to-San Jose announcement comes in the next few days, though nothing is official yet.
Of course, if Meyer does come to the SaberCats, that leaves Russ Michna out there for the taking. One team official told ArenaFan that if he is not brought back to San Jose, Michna isn't against coming back East, where a number of teams could be looking for quarterbacks. The Soul could be in play if they don't bring back Raudabaugh, but all signs are there that the gunslinger is going to stick with Clint Dolezel and the Soul.
A possibility for Michna is the Jacksonville Sharks. The Sharks, who won the Southern Division title in each of their first four seasons in existence, failed to make the playoffs after a disastrous 7-11 season, and the best thing they can do to get back to the top of the division is to sign a quarterback. Michna would immediately be the best quarterback in the Southern Division, and Jacksonville would promptly become the favorites to win the South once again.
The Orlando Predators and Tampa Bay Storm essentially made a quarterback flip in the last week, as Jason Boltus headed to the Storm, while Randy Hippeard shuffled up I-4 to Orlando. Many close to the situation think that Hippeard could ultimately start for the Preds this year, and if that's the case, Bernard Morris becomes expendable.
Morris could be a candidate to either be left unprotected by the Preds in the upcoming expansion draft for Las Vegas, or he could end up being trade bait when the chips settle down. Either way, it makes complete sense for Garcia to bring in someone who is familiar with an offense that he ran like Morris as his first signal caller in Sin City.