The CFL could be better organized heading into the new year

So far so good. This means get used to a lot of players at the end of each CFL season determining their luck in the NFL. Some may make it, a fair number won’t.

So in an effort to address this, the new agreement will allow for American players who have been on a team for three years or in the CFL for four years to be classified as National Players. These players must be starters and can be replaced only by Canadians or Americans who have been designated as National starters.

The game day rostes will be 45 players, two of which must be quarterbacks and no more than 20 can be Americans. Those players designated as quarterbacks cannot play at another position and can sub in and out for each other. If a team dresses 20 Americans, four must be designated as special teams players who can only enter the game contingent on an American player leaving.

The third quarterback loophole may come in the CFL’s reserve roster designation where a player can get paid their full player salary and can attend practices and meetings but not get into games, unless they are activated at some point, which would allow for reacting to injuries to the quarterback position.

The CFL will be upping their allowance for global players to two from one for each team. The CFL has set a minimum salary for global players of $54,000 while for Canadian and American players, the minimum salary is $65,000.

What is interesting is the salary structure for draft picks. You may recall in previous years some agents liked to hold clubs out looking for the maximum deal for their clients. Players drafted in the first two rounds get $65,000 max the first two years, in addition will receive $7,500 in housing or signing bonus and $7,500 maximum in playing time bonuses. In the third year drafted players can get between $65,000-$71,500 with the same in housing and playing bonuses.

A player drafted in the third or fourth round will receive the $65,000 maximum salary, a $5,000 signing or housing bonus, and $7,500 in playing time bonuses. In the third year of their contract, a drafted player can make between $65,000-$71,500 with the same amounts in housing and playing bonuses.

Players drafted in the fifth round and under will receive a maximum $65,000 contract, with a $2,500 housing or signing bonus, and $7,500 in playing time bonuses. All global players will have to sign a two years plus one year option contract while Americans can sign a one year plus an option. There are no restrictions on bonuses for global or American players.

When it comes to quarterbacks, a Canadian quarterback will count towards his teams Canadian content as long as he is on the field. Quarterbacks can also punt, placekick, kick off or hold the ball on converts or field goals.

The CFl will have a salary cap of $5.25 million in 20219; $5.3 million in 2020; $5.35 in 2021.

If the CFL gets money from its international television agreements outside of the TSN agreement, 20 per cent of contracts will be paid out among the clubs.

It’s an interesting proposition opening up the roster to one more global, while designating players as National players if they have been on the team for three years or in the CFL for four years.There are all sorts of ways this can be manipulated by clubs looking to take advantage and you can expect howls to erupt from fans and teams throughout the season as we see who teams designate as national players from the ranks of American players.

The news of the NFL window has hit the Riders as they released linebacker Derrick Moncrief to try his NFL options. The Riders did get a break when cornerback Nick Marshall returned for 2020 after having one NFL tryout. Apparently both Cameron Judge and Shaq Evans have each had just one tryout south of the border, but with the NFL coaching and managing carousel not finished spinning yet, these players could still get an NFL nibble.

With free agency coming down on February 11 and with there being a period of time when players can shop around with other teams to check offers, teams like the Eskimos have inked running back Shaquille Cooper. Cooper is 26 and unless an NFL club was going to pay money up front, it made no sense for him to try south of the border.

The Eskimos also signed defensive back Brian Walker for three years. Walker, a former Blue Bomber, is well regarded for his versatility. In Calgary running back Ka’Deem Carey was signed to a two year extension . Carey is a three year vet from the Chicago Bears who likely having made the NFL pension threshold is probably more interested in playing and this gives Calgary a speed running back with the team looking for someone for that inside running game.

Calgary got some good news with Bo Levi Mitchell having surgery to remove a cyst from his shoulder which will help improve his performance from last year. However the Stamps lost receiver Reggie Begelton to the Green Bay Packers. Begelton was signed to a future/reserve contract which puts money on the table and makes it more than likely he will be with the Packers this fall.

Calagary also bit the bullet and let defensive back Tre Roberson head south. What makes this interesting is that Roberson is not a free agent so if he comes back to the CFL, he could sign with anyone since Calgary released him to pursue an NFL opportunity.

The trade of Nick Arbuckle to Ottawa for a third round pick, moving up to a first if Arbuckle signs with Ottawa, presents some interesting challenges for Calgary. With the surgery to Mitchell and the possibility he may miss some time at the start of the 2020 season, the Stamps may look at their quarterback depth or even look at free agency for a quarterback to nab to fill in until Mitchell returns.

The BC Lions unveiled their coaching staff under Rick Campbell which has an interesting Edmonton component. The offensive coordinator will be Jordan Maksymic, offensive line coach Kelly Bates, running backs coach Beau Walker, receivers coach Jason Tucker and offensive assistant Danny O’Brien.

On defence, defensive line coach Leroy Blugh, linebackers coach Travis Brown and Defensive backs coach Ryan Phillips with Campbell also serving as the defensive coordinator. Meanwhile, Don Yanowsky will be the special teams coordinator.

Other teams coaching staffs have not been filled as of yet as this is the busy season for coaches. With the end of the NFL regular season and US College season, this is when coaches move around and so there are job opportunities around, apparently also in Cleveland where the Browns released head coach Freddie Kitchens but apparently Chris Jones is still on the staff.

In Winnipeg defensive back Marcus Sayles was released to pursue NFL options. Winnipeg resigned kicker Justin Medlock and likely renegotiated his contract. Winnipeg also signed American receivers Travis Rudolph and Kayaune Ross, American defensive backs Malik Boynton and Clifton Duck, and American linebacker Otha Peters.

One question is whether Willie Jefferson goes. He is a free agent and had apparently a great tryout with Miami. Jefferson feels with his film and the tryout, that is all he wants or needs to do. If he does sign with Miami, it will be interesting because while Jefferson has the reach to create havoc as a pass rusher, does he have enough heft in his body to maintain through an NFL season?

In Montreal running back William Stanback was let go to pursue NFL options and signed a contract with the Las Vegas Raiders. Montreal also released president Patrick Boivin just before announcing the team had been sold to businessmen Sid Spiegel and Garty Stern who own steel factories in Quebec and Ontario.

The new ownership will pick up the search for a president who they want to speak French and also work on solidifying the general manager position. It’s a positive move for the league, and a bit out of left field considering the two did not get involved until a Grey Cup party. Makes me think if I had won the $70 million LottoMax, I could have bought Montreal.

Hamilton looks like it will go with both Jeremiah Masoli and Dane Evans competing for the quarterback spot. The rumour mill had Hamilton sending someone like Masoli off to Ottawa and going with the competent and lower cost Evabns, but Hamilton feels having two quarterbacks is better than one and why help Ottawa?

Hamilton was not immune to players looking to try their luck in the NFL, releasing receiver Bralon Addison.

In Toronto the news went from the silly with the discussiont that the Cleveland Browns were considering talking to Ryan Dinwiddie as a potential head coach. Which would be gold because Dinwiddie hasn’t coached a game as a head coach yet.

The trade of Arbuckle to Ottawa has left Toronto with a few, but not many options, especially at quarterback. The Argos could go back to McLeod Bethel Thompson who actually led the CFL in touchdown passes last year, but might be considered a bit too old to build a team around.

Which is kind of garbage because a leader is a leader. Bethel-Thompson is certainly a better option than James Franklin who was a nice pick-up by Toronto from Edmonton but then Franklin never did anything to show he belonged in the conversation as a quarterback starter.

Toronto could try to go with Bethel-Thompson or maybe try to snag someone who better fits the coaches idea of a long term investment in quarterback. One option Toronto may try is Zach Collaros who they traded to Winnipeg where he won a Grey Cup and indicated he could be pretty good if kept vertical. Toronto also has a coaching staff to fill out and it will be interesting to see what kind of teachers Dinwiddie brings to Toronto.

The Argos has signed wide receiver Kent Shelby, defensive lineman Ronald Ollie who apparently was in some TV series called Last Chance U about players trying to make it professionally. They also signed linebacker Jason Beck.

In Ottawa Paul La Police is planning to bring in Nick Arbuckle for a visit shortly in an effort to sign him before free agency. It was interesting that La Police went for Arbuckle as opposed to Matt Nichols or Chris Streveler.

Losing a first round to Calgary if they sign Arbuckle may seem to be a steep price, but Ottawa saw first hand how important a quarterback is when they blew their load on Dominique Davis and Jon Jennings after letting Trevor Harris walk to Edmonton.

Ottawa has been busy signing wide receiver Jovon Durante, defensive back Ironhead Gallon, defensive back David Jones.

And so that is the first week of 2020 – a collective bargaining agreement that has the potential to have a major impact on how teams operate in 2020, and perhaps not for the better. But this is where coaches and general managers earn their money – figuring out the rules and how to operate within them.

by Greg Urbanoski

The CFL could be better organized heading into the new year

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