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Kansas City Brigade Continues to Make Moves, Trade for Two More Players

March 22, 2006 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Kansas City Brigade News Release


The Kansas City Brigade continued its midseason moves with two more trades prior to Wednesday's 4 p.m. (CST) trade deadline. In a continued effort to add size and big-play ability to the offense and defensive lines, the Brigade acquired lineman Bryan Henderson from the Utah Blaze in exchange for linemen Aaron Hamilton and Matt Walls. The Brigade also traded WR/LB Chris Brown-recently acquired from Grand Rapids-to the Dallas Desperados for WR/LB Rob Johnson. The addition of Johnson adds to the roster another big-bodied receiver with speed and provides depth at the Jack linebacker.

Henderson, a four-year veteran out of Northwest Oklahoma State, is a key addition with a 6'5", 285 lbs. frame. He has played with two teams in the AFL, including the 2003 season with Arizona in which he was named to the Arena Football League All-Rookie Team. Henderson also spent a season with the Wichita Stealth of arenafootball2.

"He's an upgrade for this team," head coach Kevin Porter said. "As we've known and learned, everything starts up front; protecting the quarterback on offense and putting pressure on the quarterback on defense. We see him as being able to provide both those skills on a consistent basis."

Rob Johnson, at 6'2" and 210 lbs. out of Western Illinois, is a big, intelligent player who showed flashes of big-play ability in his AFL debut last season with the Desperados. His rookie season was cut short by a torn patellar tendon, but a successful surgery and an off-season of rehab has brought Johnson back to form. He previously played on the Carolina Panthers practice squad and in the CFL.

"Johnson is a young talent with the ability to become a playmaker," Porter said. "We're confident he can come in and work hard to develop his skills. We expect him to be able to contribute on both sides of the ball when he's asked to both in practice and in games."

The Brigade has made four trades in a 48-hour period and with the signing of kicker MacKenzie Hoambrecker, six new players have been added to the roster in a week. The changes highlight the ability of the Brigade coaching staff to continually evaluate the team as the season has progressed. Every player on the roster has had opportunities to perform in game situations so Porter and his staff could determine what kind of team they have and decide which changes needed to be made to improve each week. One also determining factor is to keep intact the wonderful team chemistry, so personality plays a strong role as well.



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from March 22, 2006


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