Charles Rogers hasn't had a great career in the NFL thusfar, and it may get a lot worse come Saturday afternoon. At 6:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, all 32 teams in the NFL are required to cut their rosters down to 53 players. Many have speculated that Charles Rogers will be one of the players that ends up getting let go, even though he was the number 2 overall pick in the 2003 draft.
In his rookie season, Rogers broke his collarbone and missed the entire year, causing a great talent to have to sit out and watch from the sidelines. His second season in the NFL was no different. Another broken collarbone left him injured again, and started a questioning of why Rogers was picked by the Lions in the first round of the '03 draft. Last season, Rogers violated the NFL's drug policy, and was suspended for 4 games, which brought on a lot of criticism from local fans and media.
All of Rogers' problems have led to one of the biggest questions coming out of the Lions preseason: Will Charles Rogers make the roster? Many don't think so since he hadn't seen much action so far during the first three preseason games. Also, it was originally thought that Rogers wouldn't even play tomorrow against Buffalo due to an injury. If that were the case, then I'd have to say that Rogers would be cut. Luckily, things have changed with the injury.
Charles Rogers rejoined practice on Monday and has been cleared to play tomorrow in the final game of the preseason. This is great news all-around because it'll give Rogers that one chance he needs to go out there and prove that he deserves to be on the team. Normally, in the final preseason game, the regular starters don't play much or at all, which gives all of the players fighting for those final spots to show off what they've got.
Rod Marinelli said this about the amount of playing time Rogers will receive during tomorrow's game:
When it comes down to whether Charles Rogers will make the cut, and end up on the 53-man roster, I think it'll depend on what Rogers shows tomorrow against Buffalo. He doesn't have to put up great numbers and have great statistics, because there's more to a good player than that. He just needs to go out there and play his own game.
Mike Williams will also see a substantial amount of playing time tomorrow, and he is also fighting for a roster spot. It could easily come down to the former first round picks when cutting down the roster, so both will have to give it all they've got.