Chargers rookie likely out for season

The comments at UT are funny and I'm hearing the bad excuses elsewhere too

People are saying it's brilliant because he won't take a roster spot, no one can steal him from the practice squad, and he'll get some good experience hanging out with the fellas. If only there were more injured players to draft!

There's also that familiar excuse we've grown accustomed to from all the past pick giveaways..."draft picks aren't worth anything anyways"

I took this from UT (is that Des???)

Todd Cantrell · Top Commenter · Vice President/CFO at Self Employed (Business)
The 5th round of any draft produces less then 10% starters in the NFL. So what difference would it make when he got hurt? Would everyone be happier if he were lost for the season in training camp? This kid would have at best been a back up or at worst cut from the team, but more then likely he would have gone on the PS.I doubt there would have been a true impact player for us in the 5th, and 5 months means September return, so if the kid is good he still will have 5 months to contribute to the team.
Reply · 4 · · 7 hours ago

Here is a list of undrafted OGs that the Chargers could have taken instead of injured Troutman:

James Brown, Troy, 3-3 306 (82.2 grade by NFL.com)
Luke Nix, Pitt, 6-5 317 (74.5)
Rishaw Johnson, California (PA.), 6-3 313 (66.7)
Quentin Sausberry, Miss. St., 6-2 304 (59.0)
Antoine McClain, Clemson, 6-6 329 (57.5)

I won't add anyone graded lower than injured Troutman's 54.5

Hopefully he'll be good to go next year...

Other o-line options not drafted who graded higher than injured Troutman's 54.5:

Garth Gerhart, Arizona St. C, 6-1 305 (71.5)
Dustin Waldron, Portland St. OT, 6-5 305 (66.5)
Matt Reynolds, BYU OT, 6-4 302 (64.0)
Michael Brewster, Ohio St. C, 6-2 312 (58.0)

I did not think much of the Troutman pick in the first place, but add the fact A) he has an injured pectoral muscle that required surgery, B) he has issues with his knees that may be more of a lingering problem than his torn pectoral, C) he will be out for the season, and D) we could have drafted just about anyone on planet earth to contribute more than this guy will this season, and I do not know how anyone can defend AJ Smith as the general manager.

And I'm not going to even bring up the DeCastro whiff!

AJ MUST GO!

Devo, those guys seem impressive but they probably weren't drafted because they were healthy. Where would the genius of that be? All the GMs who told AJ they were going to grab Troutman were crying so hard it almost seemed like they were laughing when AJ stole him

AND...

The Chargers are most likely going to be dealt some sort of punishment (fines, draft picks, both!) for negotiating contracts with undrafted rookies before the draft was even over!

Wow.....one player is gonna cause such an uproar. What if he went ahead and played, and got hurt in training camp?
Let's wait and see who steps up.

we wouldn't be having this conversation.

having a pick get injured is bad luck
taking a pick who is injured is not bad luck

If I buy a dinner plate, but it cracks or breaks on the way home, that's an accident and part of life.

If I buy a dinner plate that is already cracked and/or broken, I am an idiot.