The Thrashers have won their second Football Mogul Super Bowl (2020, 2024) and made their fifth championship appearance in six seasons (2019, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024).

Since HoF Quarterback Timothy Thompson retired and subsequently acquired the team and moved the franchise to Little Rock, Arkansas, the team has done little wrong in the eyes of its fanbase and owner, only losing seven regular season games, making three playoff appearances, two conference championships, and one Football Mogul championship.

Offseason and Free Agency

Although no players retired this offseason, the franchise could not reach terms with longtime defensive tackle, Mason Saunders. In 7 seasons, Saunders collected 64 sacks, 13 forced fumbles, and 1 interception to go along with 5 Super Bowl appearances and 2 championships. Owner Thompson allowed Saunders to be traded, and the Colts offered a 2026 1st round pick and 2027 third round pick. No matter when Saunders retires, his jersey number will go up in the Thrasherdome Ring of Honor.

In addition, no big waves were made in free agency this offseason. Although the Thrashers have plenty of cap space, there were too many other big spenders willing to pay top dollar for talent. A record 10 contracts were rejected, while 4 players reached long term contract extensions. FB Mark Cruz was re-signed after testing free agency, and 4 others signed: MLB Charles Shephard, LDE Michael Schoolcraft, CB Nathan Phillips, and SLB Marvin Bell.

2025 Draft

After trading away two 1st round picks two seasons ago for stalwart RG Marcellus Wallace, the Thrashers had to begin this year's draft in the second round again, but after trading around the team found themselves with two 2nd round picks, two 3rd round picks, and one pick each in the 5th and 6th round. Without further ado, here is your 2025 Thrasher Rookie Class:

Vincent Hanna DT, Arizona State. 6'3" 284lbs.
Hanna is a high volatility players with some known off-field issues at Arizona State. He's had trouble with his weight at times, which makes his work ethic questionable. Even though, he's the Thrasher's first pick, he's not expected to be a starter. He's not the fastest nor the strongest, but his potential for pass-rushing and run-stopping is top notch, if he can survive camp.

Neal McCaulley SS, Other / Classified. 6' 203lbs.
McCaulley has an unusual backstory--in that, not much is known about him. His file says he [------redacted-------] and then went on to [-------redacted-----]. However, he appears to be a dependable pick in the secondary, in spite of the enigma. He's got average speed, but he's got Nickel Safety thumping power. His coverage skills could be world class. Also, shurikens and C4 explosives.

Chris Shiherlish RB/WR/KR, Tennessee. 6' 214 lbs.
Memphis-born Shiherlish made waves at Tennessee as a gadget man, and being right across the river, owner Timothy Thompson took notice. He's got above average speed and incredible strength. Shiherlish will make an immediate impact at KR and handle some back-up duties at RB and WR.

Roger Van Zant LB, Pittsburgh. 6'1" 243lbs.
Van Zant has the potential to be a sack machine and a decent coverage linebacker. He's got above average speed and good acceleration. His potential for pass rushing is top end. He's not the strongest LB, but he could be one of the most tenacious--a real honey badger type.

Michael Cherrito DE, Middle Tenn. 6'3" 267lbs
Cherrito has the raw goods here to be an impact player. He's long and rangy. He's got above average speed and great acceleration off the line. He's better at stopping the run, so if he can shed the initial block, runners in space will have trouble getting past him. He's not expected to be a starter, but could emerge as a rotational player if he has a good camp.

Donald Breedan FB, Indiana. 6'1" 233lbs.
Breedan is a deep project. He spent one year as a Hoosier starter blocking and catching occasionally out of the backfield, and he didn't set the world on fire. He lacked the size to be a great TE, and the opportunities weren't there at RB. If you look at his tape though, he has great speed, and the potential to be a great route runner. He can shed coverage surprisingly well, also. The administration wants to convert him to WR and trim him up to see if he can be an downfield threat.

Training Camp Recap

Booms:
N/A (Worst draft since taking the team over)

Busts:
Vincent Hanna (-23) The risks were evident from the beginning, but the franchise has never seen such a bust in seven seasons of operation. Hanna will ride the pine until it becomes economical to cut him.

Roger Van Zant (-5) Although Van Zant has decent speed and good B/R coverage, the rest of his game leaves a lot to be desired. He’ll spend time in rotational role, but will likely be dropped to waivers in two years.

Chris Shiherlish (-4) The gadget man from Memphis had a rough camp. The idea was that Shiherlish could take over return duties, and in spite of the speed, ball carrying, and kick catching skill, the kid has proved to be fumble prone and unable to break tackles. The likelihood that he is rostered next season is low, but not impossible.

Donald Breedan (already cut) The experiment didn’t work out as Breedan came in a little lighter than his 240 lbs FB frame, but regressed so significantly, it wasn’t worth the cap to keep him around.

Meh:
Michael Cherrito (+3) The small glimmer of hope has been this diamond in the rough defensive end taken in the 5th round. He’s quick and good top speed, and has proven to be a good run stopper all through camp. His game is far from complete though; he misses tackles and does not have the strength to push the line.

Neal McCauley (-2) McCauley will most likely be a career back-up at Safety, but he is serviceable in a pinch.

Preseason News
On the even of the 4th preseason game, Owner/GM Thompson has declared that sophomore QB John Spartan will take the helm this season. After being selected in the third round last season, Spartan has developed behind Charles Reese to be a confident play caller who should be the face of the franchise for 10 seasons or more. Spartan is still developing his accuracy, but the other facets of his game are a considerable improvement.

The Thrashers were also fortunate enough to acquire DT Matthew Doe from the waiver wire after he was released from Boston. Doe was widely considered a first round bust after camp, but the truth is that he doesn’t need to be a first round talent for the Thrashers; he needs to be a decent pass rusher in a situational role, and for that, Doe was a great pick up for the team.

After a rocky start to the 2025 season losing the first two games, the Thrashers have now won 5 games in a row including a revenge match against division rival, Boston Teabag Party.

Injuries on both lines have put the team at odds in spite of the winning record as RT anchor, Greg Regalado will miss the remainder of the regular season and star DE Max Dicken has missed all but two games and could miss another month of playing time.

The truth is that this is not championship team from a season ago. The Defense is softer, and the linebacking corps has been problematic. CB Rocky Balboa checks off all the right boxes for coverage, but misses tackles too often when a pass does connect.

On the offensive side of the ball, QB John Spartan was benched for Game 2, but has turned it around after throwing 6 Interceptions the first three games. Spartan is definitely the franchise of the future, but his accuracy is still not evolving as quickly as expected. Sorensen continues to be a star, leading the Moguls in all purpose scrimmage yards and may eclipse 14,000 scrimmage yards for his career this season.

Right now, the Thrashers are focused on traveling to the Giants of New York City for an out of conference battle with the #1 ranked team in the league.

End of Regular Season Update:

The Thrashers finish 11-5, losing the most regular season games since making the move to the Natural State, and missing out on winning the division by half a game with the surge of the Boston Teabag Party this season. This is the first time since 2019 that the Thrashers haven’t won the division.

QB John Spartan started 15 of 16 games (sitting out only Game 2 after a putrid first game start). He finished with a 90.97 QB rating (7th) over 4,000 yards passing (6th) and 34 TDs (4th) and 18 INTs. Not too bad for a first year starting QB with gains to make in accuracy. Spartan signed a six year extension this season and is the future face of this franchise.

RB Clarence Sorensen repeated for another 2,000+ scrimmage yard season and lacks 400 yards from hitting 15,000 total yards in a stellar career and will turn 30 in the offseason. Sorensen is signed on with the Thrashers through the 2028 season and currently shows no sign of slowing.

In other news, the game focus has shifted in the last two seasons from a billy ball style of deep passing to a more balanced possession style offense, and as a result big time receivers haven’t been utilized in the Thrasher offense. Robert Gutierrez and Norman Fleming have been stalwart WRs on the team since the early days of the Football Moguls. After much debate, neither receiver will be extended and both will be allowed to test free agency in the offseason. Gutierrez has frequently mentioned retirement in press conferences, but a final decision has not been made. In either case, Gutierrez is amongst the All American Foootball Conference Team for maintaining over 8,000 yards receiving and 79 TDs. Fleming has 6,500 yards and 52 TDs, in addition.

Shifting gears to the defense, Rookies Michael Cherrito and Michael Doe combined for a total of 12 sacks, both leading the teams. CB Elliot Spencer snagged a team-high 4 Interceptions, including one for a pick 6.

The team had the worst Turnover margin in franchise history at -6 (24th), which ultimately accounts for some of this season’s missteps.

The Thrashers will take on old rivals, the Indianapolis Colts in the Wild Card Round next week and push for another playoff run.

Playoff Edition
The Thrashers handily took down the Indianapolis Colts and division rivals, Boston Tea Bag Party, but fell just short of the Terre Haute Terrors in the conference championship. Clarence Sorensen amassed 400 yards rushing throughout the playoffs, a clip of 7.7 ypc and caught 18 passes for 200 yards as well. QB John Spartan played the best ball of his career in the playoffs, maintaining 123.72 QB rating by throwing almost 70% completions with 9 TDs and 0 INT throughout.

Owner Timothy Thompson had mostly good things to say in spite of the loss. "Every year, we aim to win a championship, and this year wasn't our year. We're already looking to the future. John had a great year and is only going to get better. He is advancing well going into his third season. Clarence is a future hall of famer, and we're excited to see him push his limits into his 30s. We also had a lot of young talent on the defense step up and fill in the gaps, so we're excited to see what they can do next year as well, so yeah, it's tough, but we're moving on."

The team will look to revamp some areas in the off-season, particularly at receiver. As Norman Fleming prepares to hit free agency in the spring, the team will only carry three receivers into the next season (one of which is Robert Gutierrez who could retire any day). The linebacker corps is not particularly deep, and the strong side remains an area of weakness. In addition, the offensive line is beginning to get a long in the tooth (average starter age is 28), especially with recent declines this year from RT Regalado and LG Wilson (both 31).