By Jonah Bronstein
Niagara Gazette
PITTSFORD — Stroll through the parking lots at St. John Fisher College this month and you’ll see a dealership’s fleet of luxury SUVs with oversized chrome rims and other accoutrements.
In the shadows, there’s a well-traveled ‘99 Buick Century accessorized only by UB apparel.
“I’ve had it for a while,” the car’s owner, Naaman Roosevelt, said with a laugh. “It’s still got all my clothes from college in the trunk.”
As an undrafted rookie who received a signing bonus barely equal to the Cash for Clunkers rebate he’d get for his Buick, Roosevelt can’t afford to adopt an NFL player’s lifestyle until he solidifies his spot on an NFL roster.
But the former St. Joe’s and University at Buffalo star has caught the attention of his millionaire mates at Buffalo Bills training camp.
After Roosevelt continued his daily routine of catching every pass thrown his way at Monday’s morning practice, Cornell Green, the Bills’ new right tackle, slapped Roosevelt on the back and said, “Keep workin’ bro.”
Cornerback Leodis McKelvin also acknowledged Roosevelt on his way off the field, mixing encouragement with playful ribbing.
“You know what I like about Naaman, he’s having fun out here,” quarterback Trent Edwards said after getting in some extra work with Roosevelt on the second day of camp. “He’s a guy that always has a smile on his face. He makes his mistakes, but he makes big plays. It’s fun being around guys like that who enjoy playing football and it kind of rubs off on you. I enjoy throwing to him, I enjoy having him as a teammate and I’m hoping for big things out of him.”
Roosevelt has caught most of his passes from Ryan Fitzpatrick, Brian Brohm and Levi Brown, as he’s gotten reps with the second and third teams.
“He’s playing about three or four different positions because he’s smart,” receivers coach Stan Hixon said. “I tell the players, the more you know, the longer you stay.”
Roosevelt said he’s enjoying the chance to work out of the slot, which he only got to do in four-receiver alignments at UB.
“In this offense, the slot gets the ball a lot and gets to make plays,” he said.
UB’s all-time leading receiver is one of several young players trying to find a role in the team’s revamped receiving corps. Aside from unquestioned No. 1 Lee Evans, and veteran Roscoe Parrish, who has solidified his spot in the slot, nobody on the depth chart is established.
Third-year man Steve Johnson is currently penciled in as the other starter opposite Evans, and he’s having a solid camp so far. Because he’s a former second-round pick the team still has high hopes for, James Hardy also seems to have a roster spot locked up.
That leaves Roosevelt competing with fourth-round pick Marcus Easley, fellow rookies Donald Jones and David Nelson, second-year player Felton Huggins, and Chad Jackson, a former second-round pick cast off by New England, for one, maybe two, roster spots.
“I want to make sure I catch every ball, make plays and keep working hard,” Roosevelt said.
The last UB record-holding receiver to go to Bills camp, Drew Haddad, didn’t make the final roster despite a strong showing. But this is a new regime, and coach Chan Gailey has made a point to say the competition at receiver is more wide open than any other position.
“Naaman has excellent hands,” Hixon said. “If he continues to do what he’s doing, and do a good job on special teams, that’ll be his ticket.”
It’s very possible Roosevelt gets cut at the end of camp, then re-signed to the Bills practice squad. In that case, he’ll be paid about $5,000 a week, a solid sum, but over a full season, less than a third of what a rostered rookie is guaranteed to collect.
Either way, Roosevelt won’t be getting rid of his Buick.
“I might fix it up, do something nice to it,” he said. “But I’ll keep it. It’s been good to me for a while.”
Contact reporter Jonah Bronstein at 282-2311, ext. 2258.
