Darren fells

[Russ Smith]

I know Mitch has mentioned him a few times. It's an intriguing situation. Seattle liked him enough to give him a 3 year deal but then cut him after training camp.

The problem wtih him is he's already 27 almost 28 years old. The upside is obvious, he turned down scholarship offers in football from the whole Pac 10 to play college basketball at Irvine. 2 older brothers played football one TE in the NFL.

The question is when is too late to start, is 28 too late or can an athletic 28 year old make the switch and impact next year?

 

[Broseph]

28 is definitely not out of the range of being productive on the field. As long as you take care of your body you can still mash into your late 30's.

 

[Russ Smith]

28 is definitely not out of the range of being productive on the field. As long as you take care of your body you can still mash into your late 30's.

Yeah I'm not saying he's too old to play at 28, I'm saying is 28 too old to START the process of becoming an NFL player? This was basically his first year playing football since HS. He played basketball in college and then overseas so it's been about 9 years since he played in an organized football game.

There are several guys who've made the conversion from basketball to TE but most of them weren't 28, that far removed from playing football.

Gates was 22, Graham was 23.

 

[Jetstream Green]

I know Mitch has mentioned him a few times. It's an intriguing situation. Seattle liked him enough to give him a 3 year deal but then cut him after training camp.

The problem wtih him is he's already 27 almost 28 years old. The upside is obvious, he turned down scholarship offers in football from the whole Pac 10 to play college basketball at Irvine. 2 older brothers played football one TE in the NFL.

The question is when is too late to start, is 28 too late or can an athletic 28 year old make the switch and impact next year?

To me it might be possibly something other than football related if they cut a guy which they offered a 3 year contract to...

 

[john h]

I know Mitch has mentioned him a few times. It's an intriguing situation. Seattle liked him enough to give him a 3 year deal but then cut him after training camp.

The problem wtih him is he's already 27 almost 28 years old. The upside is obvious, he turned down scholarship offers in football from the whole Pac 10 to play college basketball at Irvine. 2 older brothers played football one TE in the NFL.

The question is when is too late to start, is 28 too late or can an athletic 28 year old make the switch and impact next year?

Some of the older guys we signed this past season help make this team what it was. I have no problem what so ever with signing an older guy. We are not rebuilding and can be in the hunt if we make some good moves and the ball bounces our way a few times. It seems our GM does not mind signing older players.

 

[Russ Smith]

Some of the older guys we signed this past season help make this team what it was. I have no problem what so ever with signing an older guy. We are not rebuilding and can be in the hunt if we make some good moves and the ball bounces our way a few times. It seems our GM does not mind signing older players.

How many of the older guys you're talking about never played a single game of college football and haven't played an organized game since HS 9 years ago?

that's my point on Fells, not that he's old, but that for guys who have become NFL players without really playing in college, like Gates and Graham, he's 5 years older than either of them were when they STARTED their NFL careers.

Maybe he really will be good, Seattle seemed to think so when they signed him.

But 28 is abnormal, very few guys wait that long to decide I really should try football again.

We've had guys like Swann do it with no college but he was 20 when he turned pro. We've had guys like Gates do it but he was 22-23 when he joined an NFL team.

 

[juza76]

yes is ridicolous they talk about him like he is a devolopment player and he is 28..when he finish his devoplement he will retire

 

[Reddog]

How many of the older guys you're talking about never played a single game of college football and haven't played an organized game since HS 9 years ago?

that's my point on Fells, not that he's old, but that for guys who have become NFL players without really playing in college, like Gates and Graham, he's 5 years older than either of them were when they STARTED their NFL careers.

Maybe he really will be good, Seattle seemed to think so when they signed him.

But 28 is abnormal, very few guys wait that long to decide I really should try football again.

We've had guys like Swann do it with no college but he was 20 when he turned pro. We've had guys like Gates do it but he was 22-23 when he joined an NFL team.

Agreed. I have to wonder about the hand eye coordination because an NFL QB puts serious velocity on their passes and a typical TE grows into that as he moves up through the ranks. I have a friend who was an olypic decathlete and they do say based on pure athletic ability the peak is at 28 years old but I am guessing that doesn't allow for a several year break in development.

 

[BW52]

Trying for lightning in a bottle.Why not sign real football players instead of longshots who have very little chance of being a productive player?How many basketball players have turned into Antonio Gates since Gates himself?

 

[Russ Smith]

Trying for lightning in a bottle.Why not sign real football players instead of longshots who have very little chance of being a productive player?How many basketball players have turned into Antonio Gates since Gates himself?

I have no problem with trying I'm just saying it seems more likely a 22-23 year old small PF will be more likely to make the transition than a 28 year old.

I think the thing that leaves me skeptical is Seattle releasing him so soon after offering him a 3 year contract.

 

[MigratingOsprey]

From what I recall his status pretty much required a 3 year contract for Seattle to sign him the way he did ....... had to deal with him more than the teams opinion of him

They then went on to cut and sign him many times

Overall I think he showed some good flashes as well as moments being completely lost - you definitely notice when he's on the field though

Even at 28 I think he's worth a try

 

[Russ Smith]

From what I recall his status pretty much required a 3 year contract for Seattle to sign him the way he did ....... had to deal with him more than the teams opinion of him

They then went on to cut and sign him many times

Overall I think he showed some good flashes as well as moments being completely lost - you definitely notice when he's on the field though

Even at 28 I think he's worth a try

I assume you mean preseason because NFL.com says he's never played in a regular season game?

In fact Seattle originally signed him then cut him before Rookie camp, then signed him again after cutting some backup QB who got a DUI.

He's 6'7" 280 so yeah he's big. I did find one reference on a Seattle site where someone claimed someone on the coaching staff said they saw Fells as a kid who might contribute in 2 years after spending a year on the practice squad so this was his year on the practice squad so will be interesting to follow.

I certainly hope he's a steal would be nice to get our own TE steal like that.

 

[MigratingOsprey]

Yeah .... definitely preseason

Seattle only went into the regular season with 2 TEs - Miller & Willson .... when they were hobbled they signed Kellen Davis - drove most of us nuts as we would have rather they just kept Sean McGrath who ended up with KC

I think Anthony McCoy is still under their control as well

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I wish he was still in Seattle's program .... all upside, a good worker and no cost ....... probably wont pan out since the odds are seriously stacked, but definitely worth the look and showed enough progress that he's worth the look

 

[8ndkorner]

yes is ridicolous they talk about him like he is a devolopment player and he is 28..when he finish his devoplement he will retire

developement