Kats resign three
October 11, 2005 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Nashville Kats News Release
NASHVILLE (Oct. 11, 2005) - The Nashville Kats have re-signed three players from the 2005 squad who had been free agents, head coach Pat Sperduto announced on Tuesday. Nashville agreed to terms with WR/LB Jermaine Lewis, OL/DL Ryan Roth and OL/DL Wes Stephens, all of whom played with the team last season.
Lewis (6-3, 210) played in four games last season, catching eight passes for 68 yards and a touchdown as a rookie. The former two-way star at Western Michigan battled injuries in his first season, but Kats coaches look for him to blossom in his second year, taking advantage of his size, speed and experience on both sides of the ball.
Roth (6-3, 275) had three tackles and a sack in four games of action as both a lineman and a fullback/linebacker. He also carried the ball three times for seven yards. Roth played his college ball at Southeast Missouri, and he will compete for a roster spot at both positions when training camp opens in January.
Stephens (6-4, 265) is a two-year AFL veteran who missed all but five games last year due to injury. He finished the season with 3.5 tackles and a batted down pass, while also catching one pass for eight yards. The Middle Tennessee State alum will once again compete for time on the Kats' line.
"We're very happy to have these guys back on board for next season," said Sperduto, who has also announced the signing of All-Arena FB/LB Frank Carter and the trade for All-Rookie QB Clint Stoerner in the last week. "All three of these guys are young players that we value very much and that we have high hopes for next season and down the road. They fit into the mold of what we are trying to put together here and they raise the level of competition at their positions."
In addition to re-signing those three players, Sperduto also announced that second-team All-Arena defensive specialist Khalil Carter has been placed on the exempt list after signing with the Canadian Football League's Toronto Argonauts. Carter, who led the Kats with seven interceptions and 15 pass breakups in 2005, is expected to play the final five games of the year with Toronto and return to Nashville for the 2006 AFL season.
The transactions take the team's active roster to 23 players. Each AFL squad can have as many as 37 players on their offseason roster, and the Kats plan to sign several more free agents in the coming days. There are still 11 players who played last season with the Kats that are currently free agents, and Sperduto indicated that some of those are still likely to be re-signed in the near future.
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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from October 11, 2005
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