How long do you keep Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly if they don't produce?

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by Paintrain

Wow. Would you have cut Steve Smith after he got into a fight in the film room during his 2nd season? If so you would have cut one of the best WR in the league whose production hadn't yet emerged. Some of you guys really need to eat some reality soup and get a clue. It takes some guys time to develop and yes, to learn how to be a professional! My God, give people a chance to grow into their careers before talking about cutting them in the preseason. SMH.

Well, DT was never an established college talent, which is where he gets a different standard for us than Kelly, who had two great years at Oklahoma after contributing significantly as a freshman. Thomas never once entered a season as Michigan State's go to receiver. So there was no book on how he could deal with adversity -- he had never faced any.

So unlike Kelly, Thomas has to prove to US that he belongs in the NFL. His rookie year was more evidence to the contrary that he's likely not an NFL skilled receiver. Kelly on the other hand has to prove he can stay healthy. If he can do that for us, we appear more than willing to wait for his development.

It's conceivable that DT is simply not the player we thought we drafted AND that Malcolm Kelly's injury history is too much to overcome. That's a very real possibility for us. Fred Davis, though, seems to be well on his way to NFL competency with no real red flags.

I'm optimistic but realistic on Kelly. On Thomas, I'm just realistic.