Matt Roth isn’t officially holding out of training camp, but he technically kind of is. The 28 year old has spent the last two seasons with the Browns after playing his first five in Miami with the Dolphins, and he really emerged as a solid all around player over the last couple of years. Last year, Roth had 86 tackles and 3.5 sacks starting all 16 games.
Now, with the free agent market all but cooled off completely, Roth is apparently generating interest around the league. According to Jason La Canfora of the NFL Network, Roth is discussing his future with the New Orleans Saints, Denver Broncos, and Arizona Cardinals.
Roth really broke out in a 3-4 scheme, which is what the Cardinals run, but dating back to his Iowa days, the 6’4" 275 pound player has always been a solid strong side defensive end in the 4-3 alignment.
It’s interesting to me that La Canfora isn’t talking about the Browns as a possibility, as they could certainly use help at the defensive end position. Perhaps Roth has trimmed down a bit, and is looking into playing linebacker long term. We will see, but for right now, the pre-season is six days away and Roth doesn’t have a team.