The pro careers of former Missouri State Bears Dylan Cole and Riley Shantz officially began this past weekend.
Cole, a Logan-Rogersville grad, signed as an undrafted, free agent with the Houston Texans. Meanwhile, four-year letterman and Glendale grad Shantz received a mini camp invite from the Green Bay Packers.
The excitement of their careers starting made me wonder; ‘how are our other local NFL players fairing?’
My first search was an obvious one; Dorial Green-Beckham.
Numerous reports from Philadelphia believe DGB’s time with the Eagles is over. Bleacher Report went in depth listing six Eagles receivers over Green-Beckham. The report starts with Phily acquiring Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith to be Carson Wentz’s top, two-targets. Then there’s the young duo of Jordan Matthews and Nelson Agholor the team really likes. The article then throws in the pair of Eagles draft picks;
“UNC’s Mack Hollins should be molded into another good deep threat, while West Virginia draft pick Shelton Gibson possesses breakaway speed. Both picks indicate the team is ready to move on from Dorial Green-Beckham.” – Bleacher Report
It would be nice to see Dorial play in a system in back-to-back years. It’s been a difficult road for the Hillcrest grad since leaving Mizzou. After a year off, he had a a rookie quarterback in Tennessee in 2015, then another rookie quarterback and another offensive coordinator in Philadelphia in 2016.
DORIAL GREEN-BECKHAM CAREER STATS
|
Year
|
Team
|
REC
|
YDS
|
AVG
|
LNG
|
TD
|
YDS
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2016
|
36
|
392
|
10.9
|
26
|
2
|
0
|
|
|
2015
|
32
|
549
|
17.2
|
47
|
4
|
0
|
|
|
Career
|
68
|
941
|
13.8
|
47
|
6
|
0
|
|
Meanwhile, a former Mizzou teammate of Dorial is thriving in the NFL. Lebanon’s Justin Britt has been an asset to Pete Carroll’s team in Seattle.
Britt was the Seahawks starting the right tackle as a rookie in 2014 and moved to left guard in 2015. This past year, Carroll moved him to center. Quarterback Russell Wilson praised the job Britt has done, calling him a Pro-Bowler.
This past season, Britt missed the first game of his career and the Seahawks felt his absence. Wilson was sacked six times against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and finished with a passer rating of 38.8 – at the time, the Bucs were the league’s 26th ranked defense.
The most recent Missouri State Bear to make a plunge into the NFL was released this past Monday. Following their draft picks, the Jacksonville Jaguars parted ways with tight end Gannon Sinclair. In a numbers-game situation, the Jags signed 16 players and had to lose 11.
Sinclair played for MSU for two seasons; 2014 and ’15. The Minnesota native is second in school history for receiving touchdowns in season; seven in ’14. But his collegiate numbers have not been duplicated in the NFL. Sinclair has yet to play a down in a game. After signing with the Arizona Cardinals out of Missouri State, Sinclair was signed to the Chicago Bears practice squad, and then this past season to Jacksonville’s.
Another former Bear tight end hitting NFL free agency is Clay Harbor. Harbor played for the Bears from 2006 to ’09. He’s the all-time leader in career receptions with 150. Harbor’s arguably the most accomplished former Bear in the NFL since the Bengals Brad St. Louis.
Harbor played in three games for the Detroit Lions this past fall. In December, he was named a captain for a game against the New York Giants. Harbor was Detroit’s second leading receiver among tight ends; hauling in three passes. Behind Eric Ebron, the Lions rotated a lot of bodies at the tight end. With the team drafting Michael Roberts from Toledo in the fourth round, it appears Harbor’s time in Detroit might be done. Since being drafted in the fourth round by the Eagles in 2010, Harbor’s been with the Jaguars and New England Patriots as well.
CLAY HARBOR CAREER STATS
|
Year
|
Team
|
REC
|
YDS
|
AVG
|
LNG
|
TD
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2016
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
–
|
|
|
2016
|
3
|
19
|
6.3
|
9
|
0
|
|
|
2015
|
14
|
149
|
10.6
|
26
|
1
|
|
|
2014
|
26
|
289
|
11.1
|
59
|
1
|
|
|
2013
|
24
|
292
|
12.2
|
31
|
2
|
|
|
2012
|
25
|
186
|
7.4
|
19
|
2
|
|
|
2011
|
13
|
163
|
12.5
|
27
|
1
|
|
|
2010
|
9
|
72
|
8.0
|
24
|
1
|
|
|
Career
|
114
|
1,170
|
10.3
|
59
|
8
|
|
A third Bear released this past week was David Arkin by the Los Angeles Rams. The Bears three-time offensive lineman of the year, played at Missouri State from 2007 to ’10. Arkin was the fourth round pick by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2011 draft. The Wichita native moved from guard to center and back to right guard. During his career, he spent time on active rosters and practice squads with five teams.
