Claude Wroten continues to flounder.

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Argos’ Claude Wroten gets cut as house cleaning starts

http://www.thestar.com/sports/football/ ... ing-starts

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With a new coaching staff, Toronto Argonauts GM Jim Barker says few jobs are safe and he drove that point home this weekend with the surprise release of last year’s starting defensive tackle Claude Wroten.

The 6-foot-2, 295 pound former third round pick of the NFL’s St. Louis Rams was given his walking players on Saturday before the team’s evening meeting.

Wroten, who signed as a free agent in April 2011, started all 18 games last season. He was pencilled in to start again this season. But he didn’t show enough at practice and Barker felt some of the other players deserved a shot over him.

“He’s a very talented athlete. But it comes down to the (fact) that the best players are going to make the team and he wasn’t a best player,” Barker said on Sunday after practice at the University of Toronto’s Mississauga campus.

Barker said Wroten’s play during training camp surprised him.

“You go on production. He hasn’t been productive,” Barker said. “He was a little bit nicked up and he didn’t play against Hamilton. So we had to evaluate him on practice.

“We have some young guys, who we really like. Ultimately it comes down on the field. When you evaluate players, you evaluate everything. You evaluate their body language, how good they get off the blocks, how well they rush the passer. The whole package goes into deciding who you are going to keep.”

Wroten, 28, was among eight cuts. Another 19 will be made after Tuesday’s final pre-season game against the Montreal Alouettes at the Rogers Centre.

Also cut from last year’s team were defensive back Nick Clement, who dressed for five games with two starts and offensive lineman Zackary Pollari, who dressed for three games with no starts. Rookies getting release were offensive lineman Jonathan Pierre-Etienne, running back Allen Ervin, defensive end Bernard Smith and wide receivers Correy Surrency and Demario Ballard.

. Barker said he believed Wroten was shocked by his release.

“It’s important that guys understand. They have to come out here and perform or they aren’t going to be here. It doesn’t matter what your name is or where you’re pencilled in,” Barker said.

“We’ve got some people, who know they’re in battles. The best players are going to play. Anytime you have a new coaching staff there are going to be turnovers. There are turnovers in the coaching staff, which means there are going to be turnovers in players.

“The best players for this system are going to make the football team. It came down to making a decision on his performance.”