Chicago Bears’ wide receiver Johnny Knox and Cincinnati Bengals running back Bernard Scott begin their fourth seasons in the league. Danieal Manning, safety for the Houston Texans, begins his seventh season, and first as a major free agent signee for Houston. All three also return kicks for their respective teams. Scott’s playing time was limited by a leg injury in the preseason, but he averaged 10.5 yards per carry.
Edmond “Clyde” Gates caught a 42-yard pass in the Miami Dolphins’ final preseason game last week. Gates, who helped lead the Wildcats to a 11-1 season in 2010, was a fourth-round draft choice this spring who has performed well in the preseason, and added some much-needed speed to his team.
Last week, former NCAA Division II 400-meter champion Raymond Radway, an undrafted rookie free agent wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys, was moments away from earning a roster spot on the team he grew up rooting for as a young boy in McKinney, Texas. What happened next was not the big break he’d been dreaming about, however. Radway, who had impressed teammates, coaches and owner Jerry Jones in training camp and preseason games, caught a pass with three seconds remaining in his team’s final preseason game against the Miami Dolphins, but broke the fibula and tibia bones in his left leg.
“He was legitimately in the mix, very much in the mix,” Cowboys’ owner and general manager Jerry Jones told ESPN. “After he caught the big pass over the middle, I said, ‘I don’t think we can take the chance [of cutting him].’ It’s really a shame that that happened. His career from a practical standpoint is not over, but what a disappointment for him.”
Before the injury, Radway had three catches for 62 yards against the Dolphins. He had surgery the next day and has been placed on the Cowboys’ injured reserve list.
Trevis Turner, a 6-7, 330-pound undrafted rookie free agent, will begin the season on the eight-man practice squad of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Should one of the nine offensive linemen on the team’s’ 53-man roster have injury problems, Turner could get a call to join the team’s active roster.
A seventh former Wildcat, offensive lineman Tony Washington, continues his fine play for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League. Washington – 6-7, 295 – was signed as a free agent early in the 2011 season and quickly worked his way into the starting lineup for a team that leads the West Division of the CFL with a 6-2 record.
Manning will square off with Gates when the Texans and Dolphins meet Sept. 18 in Miami. Gates will be in Dallas Nov. 24 when the Cowboys host the Dolphins in one of the NFL’s traditional Thanksgiving Day games, and will compete against former teammate Scott when the Dolphins and Bengals play Dec. 11 in Cincinnati.