By Greg Urbanoski

Riderville

Let the Free Agent Games Begin!

Feb 3, 2020 | 11:00 AM

We are now officially into February and in the CFL, teams are looking at their rosters and figuring out who can fit under their salary cap and who has to go.

It’s all part of the run up to the February 11 free agency date when teams can sign new free agents and making this interesting is that on February 1, a fair number of players are owed bonus payments in theory. I say in theory because if teams cut players before the bonuses are paid, the teams don’t have to pay them. It’s a great game but a terrible business.

Some of the most interesting pre-free agency moves came from Montreal where new GM Danny Maccocia signedCanadian receiver Félix Faubert-Lussier to a new one-year-deal, national kicker Félix Brière to a two-year contract and American cornerback Najee Murray to a two-year deal. Briere is a name some in Rider Nation may remember from a stop here.

Then Montreal released receiver DeVier Posey and defensive back Tommie Campbell. Posey was the Grey Cup MVP for Toronto a few years ago and Campbell was a high profile free agent signing who had completed his second year in Montreal after starting in Calgary.

Campbell is 32, and maybe age was a factor but he seemed to do pretty well as a lock down corner with Montreal. Campbell could not be faulted for Montreal not generating any pass rush, and the release of these high profile and probably expensive veterans means Montreal is freeing up some money to go after some defensive line reinforcements in free agency.

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Montreal then sent the playing rights to linebacker Bo Lokomko to Toronto for a conditional eighth round draft pick. Montreal signed quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. to a contract extension and then released quarterback Antonio Pipkin after three years with the club and a few shots at the starting job.

That leaves Montreal with Matthew Shiltz and Canadian Hugo Richard on the roster as back-ups. To help keep Adams upright Montreal signed Canadian offensive linemen Kristian Matte and Sean Jamieson to new two-year deals. Montreal also signed American receiver and returner Mario Alford to a one-year deal.

Montreal extended receiver Eugene Lewis’ contract by a year and in a surprising development, signed former Toronto running back James Wilder Jr. to a one year contract. Toronto had released Wilder to presumably check out NFL opportunities and when none panned out, Toronto was not inclined to bring Wilder back so he signed with Montreal to replace William Stansback who signed with the Las Vegas Raiders.

Montreal also signed Canadian fullback Spencer Moore and Canadian offensive lineman Landon Rice to new two and one-year deals respectively. That’s good to hear for Moore who was great off the field for the Riders before going to Montreal. Rice is one of the legacies of the great Johnny Manziel trade.

Montreal also signed linebacker D.J. Lalama, defensive back Dominique Termansen and long snapper Mike Benson. Add to all of this was Montreal signing Tom Gamble as the assistant GM and former Rider GM Brendan Taman as senior player personnel executive. Gamble was an assistant GM with the San Francisco 49ers and will be scouting south of the border while Taman takes Canada or western Canada it seems.

Gamble is an interesting pick by Montreal and while Taman may not be fondly remembered in Riderville for how his tenure ended up, he did help construct a Grey Cup champion in 2013. He does have a pretty good eye for players and that will likely help Montreal.

In Ottawa, Nick Arbuckle signed with the Redblacks after being traded from Calgary to Ottawa and that means Calgary gets Ottawa first overall draft pick while Ottawa gets Arbuckle and Calgary’s first round pick, sixth overall. Arbuckle showed himself to be a capable game manager in Calgary when he stepped in for Bo Levi Mitchell who had a cyst on his throwing shoulder last season.

Ottawa also signed American defensive back Sherrod Baltimore and Canadian fullback Anthony Gosselin for 2020. Ottawa made a massive purge, releasing quarterbacks Jonathon Jennings and Will Arndt and running backs Mossis Madu and Greg Morris. The Redblacks also released receiver Seth Coate, defensive back Maurice Fleming, linebackers Jeff Knox Jr. and Nicolas Boulay, long snapper Mike Benson and defensive lineman Cameron Walker.

Rider fans may remember Greg Morris who showed up in the early years of the Chris Jones era and did some time at running back and running back kicks but had problems handling the ball. Jeff Knox Jr. is also a former Rider but you have to wonder at this stage in his career if Knox’s career in the CFL is over.

Jennings is following the footsteps of former BC Lion quarterback Casey Printers who burned bright when he first came into the league but soon faded away. A couple of years ago BC GM Ed Hervey threw shade at Jennings implying he did not have the work ethic needed to be a great quarterback like say, Mike Reilly.

Former Ottawa back-up QB Will Arndt followed his former head coach Rick Campbell to BC and signed as a back up QB there. Interestingly enough, BC also signed Vinnie Testeverde Jr., son of the former NFL quarterback, to a contract as well.

I don’t think Mike Reilly is in much danger of being unseated, but after the beating he took last year, BC should be thinking about how they can better protect Reilly and get the offense rolling. As part of that effort, BC extended offensive lineman Hunter Steward to a two year contract in addition to extending offensive lineman Peter Godber contract by another year.

The BC Lions have added three players, signing nationals Adrian Clarke (LB) and Ben Minaker (DB) and American defensive end Nordly Capi. Clarke might ring a bell considering he played in four games with the Riders in 2018 after being a Lions draft pick in 2015.

BC made sure a crucial part of their defense was in place with Aaron Grymes re-signing through to 2021. Grymes is coming off an ACL tear last season but expects to be ready for kick off and rejoins his old high school team mate TJ Lee in the Lions defensive backfield.

Edmonton has been interesting with the Eskimos swining a trade with Winnipeg for American running back Jordan Robinson in exchange for a player off of Edmonton’s neg list. Edmonton also signed pending free agent Christion Jones who tore up a knee last season but who impressed when with the Riders.

The Esks signed defensive back Eric Blake, receiver Hunter Karl and defensive lineman Evan Machibroda to contracts. All three were 2019 draft picks. The Esks then welcomed back receiver Kenny Stafford who returned to the Eskimos after spending last year on the Rider roster, mostly on the practice roster.

Stafford’s move to Edmonton may mean the Riders will sign Shaq Evans and/or Naaman Roosevelt, making it tough for Stafford to crack the starting lineup. Edmonton worked to solidfy their Canadian content by signed offensive lineman David Beard to a contract extension that will see him stick with the Green and Gold through the 2022 season.

Edmonton also signed Canadian defensive back Jordan Hoover to a two year extension and most importantly of all extended Trevor Harris through 2022. If Scott Milanovich is going to recreate his magic in Edmonton, he needs a quality quarterback and while Harris is streaky, he does provide something to build upon for the Eskimos.

The Eskimos are a team that are built on their offensive and defensive lines and Edmonton extended defensive lineman Mike Moore through 2021 and offensive lineman Jacob Ruby also through 2021. The Eskimos also signed a pair of national free agents, in fullback Alex Dupuis and d-lineman Tariq LaChance.

However the Eskimos also released National receiver Natey Adjei, who was signed with the team through the 2020 season and defensive back Anthony Orange who had been in the CFL since 2015, starting off in Toronto before ending up in Edmonton after a pit stop in Ottawa. The releases were intended no doubt to free up some cap room since Edmonton is facing the potential loss of their linebacking corps in free agency.

In Calgary defensive lineman Mike Rose agreed to a two year extension and re-signed American offensive lineman Nila Kasitati. Calgary did pick up the top draft pick from Ottawa in the Arbuckle trade and while Tre Roberson signed with Chicago, it might be for the better considering the way he forced Calgary’s hand in releasing him to try NFL opportunities.

In Winnipeg the defending champions went bold and released quarterback Matt Nichols who had held the team together after the Drew Willy experience only to lose his job to injury and Zach Collaros who was brought in as insurance at the end of last year and ended up leading Winnipeg to the Grey Cup.

Nichols could begrudge the lack of loyalty from Winnipeg and perhaps rue his status as a “game manager”, but the release points to a big question mark of the nature of Nichols’ shoulder injury and the possibility he might not return from it.

The signing of Arbuckle in Ottawa effectively limits Nichols potential starting spots to just Toronto, who seem to be taking their time in evaluating what they have and who they want to go for in free agency. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Nichols signing in Toronto, but this guy has had tough luck from being a starter once upon a time in Edmonton until in a preseason game he injured his ACL chasing down a Rider interception and losing his job to Mike Reilly.

Collaros signed a two year contract with Winnipeg, and Winnipeg responded by signing pending free agent receiver/returner Charles Nelson to a two-year extension, offensive lineman Stanley Bryant, extended the contract (one year) of national defensive tackle Jake Thomas. Winnipeg’s priority offensively will be ensuring Collaros stays upright which means Andrew Harris may see the ball even more as Winnipeg looks to bring in an offense that can move the ball deep as well as on the ground – something that seemed to elude Nichols and Chris Streveler who is trying out in the NFL.

If Streveler leaves, the Bombers will be looking for a new back up, preferably someone who might be able to step in at a moments’ notice. In that respect, I would not be surprised to see Jon Jennings show up in Winnipeg after being let go by Ottawa.

Winnipeg’s new offensive coordinator is Buck Pierce and Jennings is a Pierce-styled scrambling quarterback that maybe Pierce can mold into a serviceable quarterback. If Pierce can show Jennings how to adapt his game to stay in the CFL, then maybe if Collaros goes down, Winnipeg doesn’t miss out on too many steps as they seek to defend their Grey Cup title.

In Hamilton the Tiger-Cats signed a two-year extension with offensive lineman Kay Okafor and extended QB David Watford, Watford, the former Rider third string, will play the role of third down specialist for Hamilton considering they have both Dane Evans and Jeremiah Masoli under centre.

Hamilton also signed American defensive back Jumal Rolle to a two-year contract and signed national offensive lineman Mike Filer. The big question in Hamilton is where Ja’Gared Davis stands out as a pending free agent on the Hamilton defensive line and where he ends up.

It’s too early to tell what will happen as we are now in the CFL tampering window where free agents can meet with other teams to solicit offers, but nothing is on the books until Feb. 11. So teams can match offers made to free agents if they so choose which makes things interesting.

In Riderville, it seems Charleston Hughes is back with the Riders, along with AC Leonard, with the status of Micah Johnson seemingly up in the air. Johnson was the highest paid defensive player in the CFL last year and you have to wonder if that was money well spent.

The problem is that defensive tackle is not a glamour position and what Johnson does very well is get double and even triple teamed by offensive linemen which frees up people like Hughes and Leonard. Add to this the Riders not really having a defensive line coach and the Riders did well enough last year, but could get better on the d-line, although their priority will be filling out their linebacker corps which saw Derek Moncrief leave for Las Vegas and Solomon Elimiminan and Cameron Judge are free agents.

The Riders did sign fullback Albert Awachie to a two year extension and Awachie is invaluable as a blocking fullback. The Riders did also fill out their coaching staff – with the exception of their defensive line coach – Receivers coach Travis Moore, offensive line coach Stephen Sorrells and defensive backs coach Richard Kent will all be returning to the team in their regular roles. Kent Maugeri will make the move from running backs coach to special teams coach for 2020.

The Green and White have also added Tim Prinsen as the running backs coach, Deion Melvin as the linebackers coach and Josh Lambert as an offensive assistant. In addition to head coaching duties, Dickenson will remain as the Roughriders Special Teams Coordinator.

Jason Maas is the offensive coordinator and Jason Shivers is the defensive coordinator.

So batten down the hatches, this is the first time we get to see what kind of look the CFL will have and keep something in mind. Edmonton and BC were thought to be the big winners in free agency last year. The Riders finished above both teams.

So while free agency is important, it’s just a piece of the puzzle and how the Riders and the rest of the CFL handle this latest puzzle will say quite a bit about who will be hoisting the Grey Cup in Regina this year.