If promising WR Bundy is released, who will be his replacement in camp?
With the recent arrest of promising receiver Marquis Bundy, it is unclear what the team will do in response to Bundy’s actions. Bundy, a 6’4″ target is the big-bodied pass-catcher that the Cardinals need, if he can step up and earn some playing time in the talented Cardinals WR corps.
Bundy was a practice squad player that finally made it onto the active roster in the month of November. Though on the active roster, he recorded no regular season playing time. If it were not for his recent arrest, that could have changed this coming NFL season.
If Bundy is eventually released, the Arizona Cardinals will likely look for a player of similar size to replace him in camp with a shot (most likely a small one) at making the game-day roster. Who could this replacement be?
Chaz Barnes, a former wide receiver from Lindsey Wilson College and most recently receiver for the Green Bay Blizzard of the IFL, has a similar size at 6’3″ and 195 pounds. According to Lindsey Wilson’s athletics page, Barnes did not play a senior season, but he was outstanding in the three years he did play.
In those three years, Barnes totaled 82 catches, 8 TDs, and 1,368 yards as well as being awarded First Team All Mid-South Conference. This is in comparison to Bundy’s college numbers of just 31 catches, 395 yards, and two scores.
Coming from a small college, Barnes was not invited to the NFL Combine. He did, however, held his own “NFL Combine” online and posted it to YouTube. In the video, Chaz Barnes is hand-timed running a 4.48 40-yard-dash and a 4.18 shuttle, astounding times for a 6’3″ target.
Although Bundy faced tougher competition, Barnes may be worth the look for Steve Keim and company. Small school prospect John Brown seems to have worked out well for the Cardinals, who’s to say Barnes cannot?