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It was a strange week here in Reno. While we knew there were rumblings of the possibility that Dennis Collela could be traded before the deadline given the Wolfpack's abysmal start, nobody would have predicted that the Wolfpack would be buyer's only a week before the trading deadline.
We had heard there was interest in Vitale at the beginning of the season, but the 0-4 start had most of us thinking about next year real early. It was not until after the win at home against division rival Oakland that things started to heat up. After the Oakland game, Reno's Linebacking corps looked like a mash unit. Rookie Deron Sheldon has been plagued with arthritis since training camp, James Herzog was out leg issues, Steve Paine was day to day and Britt Duffy would be out for 7 weeks. The Wolfpack actually didn't have a Linebacker that they could start for Sunday against the Tigerhawks. That's when Argot started to reach out to Outlaws owner, David Ukpatfan.
The idea was to bring both Vitale and Martin to the team to meet huge needs. This team hasn't had an Offensive Tackle to brag about since...well never, and since the loss of Lawrence Maggard via free agency, this linebacking corps just isn't very good. The trade of Collela bought the Wolfpack a 2nd round pick and they decided to use that to get Martin, and would consider giving up their first rounder to get Vitale. Good first round tackles don't grow on trees and they often are gone if you are not in the top 10. With Reno's 1-4 start however, management was afraid to give up this year's pick for fear it might actually be top 10. The decision was to offer their first rounder in 2018, with the thought that next year they would be a better team, especially if they could pick up a CB or outside linebacker in this year's upcoming draft. But the Outlaws owner was savvy as Martin was demanding an additional 3rd rounder. In the end, the Wolfpack spreads the damage out over 3 years and gets two outstanding players that fill immediate needs. Now...will have they already put in their best year's or do they still have something to offer.
Time will tell.
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