wbbfan

I can’t even keep track lol. appreciate the break down. Guess we will wait for the 2025 article and hope for the best. Honestly that’s better transparency that we used to get from the league so I’ll take it. lol no kidding yikes Plan b, maybe even A should be bring back Dru brown next off season.

Did he get a raise this off season though? Pretty sure hes the 3rd highest with rourke now. The modern argos team has always been shrewd. They haven't chased guys who want top dollar. But this seems different. They're moving young guys who aren't crazy expensive. I think boochs' notion that they are reving up to hit one or a couple specific FAs hard is possible. Maybe the new owners have sent down a mandate to be as cheap as possible as well. Or maybe they have some other FA of their own they they plan to give kramdi esq money to. Idr ever seeing a team this active in trades in the whole of an off season. This is still weeks before free agency.

I think the potential article on the official site has his name on it too. Though that was entirely speculation as well. https://www.bluebombers.com/2024/12/05/buck-to-b-c-goveia-to-hamilton-whats-next-for-the-blue-bombers/ Was he ever a serious contender for the spot? We will never know, but I kind doubt it. If they wanted him, he'd be here, not a guy who loses opportunities on interviews either.

I think you can argue that the OG reilly deal set the market on fire. That dumpster fire only recently burned out with soo many WRs making 280k+ failing to meet expectations. Bc was really trying hard to match edmontons crazy too. The money they gave Stove, baron and others was nutty. They just ended up seeing a lot of those guys on the IR. Why are the argos having a fire sale?

Yep that is totally true. You do have to sub and protect them in certain passing situations though, even more so in our system. But no reason he can't be a big part of our front. Plus teams, hes really good on cover teams. Versatility on D especially was huge in our GC wins and modern success. Biggie being able to cover a moderate middle zone really well and play zone like a sam, willy being able to play inside out and the passing lanes, Nose tackles able to play two gaps, etc. I think you always look for that type of guy who can do things that are hard to game plan for in opposition. And who can allow other players to excel in more limited roles. But we aren't just gonna dig up the next HOF lbers real easy.

That is a good move for him, and UBC.

Thanks. It's strange, I thought I saw one that included KR but maybe they didn't do one last year.

With Ayers, Cole, and Jones I don't think we need to find a guy to fill a spot any more. We need to bring in guys to push those 3, make em fight for a job for sure. Gauthier is very good on teams though. That isn't extremely easy to replace. Hes the CFL equivalent of a AAAA player. He's better than just a teams/back up, but not starter quality. Obviously you'd love to have starter quality canadians on the bench, but that doesn't happen real often.

I doubt we will ever know what Kyrie signed for, but it won't be much. He's never broken into the top 15 lbers in the cfl in pay. (Not including sams) Biggie is the only Lber we've paid a decent bit to in the last while. We let JSK walk for like 100k iirc. I'd be we signed him for under 105k. My big concern with him isn't pay though, he will likely be on the 6 game 1-2 times this year. It's the reps he will see when he isn't able to perform, and the worry of us being married to the old guard.

It's not really. Wilson isn't old for the average age of our core. And he is an exceptional athlete. It isn't even just the injuries and the fact that in 7 seasons he's only played 11 games or more once (or on average since he became a start he plays half a season) The real problem is on top of his injuries, he doesn't come back ready to go. It takes him a couple of games to get back to form. That combined with the amount of games he plays is just too much. filling in for him for half a year we can do fine, we have the guys to do that. But then taking guys who will play better out for a couple games so he can get back up to a slightly higher level is a big hit. We walked away from Jackson Jeffcoat, with out a replacement, who was a year older, played a larger portion of the year, and was instantly an upgrade when he came back and was inserted into the line up. If he is the litmus test on when to walk away from veteran players, Kyrie has been well under that mark for a couple years. Even if the standard is Jamarcus hardrick, it's time to move on. He was certainly older, but he had more recently started struggling to stay healthy and continue to play at a high level ending the year. He was also better as soon as he was put back into the line up than our other options. Finally, Jones is not an outlier or young physical specimen. He's a Lunch box guy. He doesn't cover his area in pass D very well with speed, and doesn't make great decisions. He was frequently too shallow last year especially late and teams attacked his spot. Jones covers the gaps, scrapes to the ball, and tackles well. Biggie is the clearly the real problem in the Lber core. As long as he isn't back it's not too bad. Kyrie needs to have a short leash in camp, and likely should be limited in reps if he makes the AR. He shouldn't be an every down guy even in his best form.

RB, and DB are the two most replaceable positions in the CFL. Next up would be mac and wil imo. The hardest positions to replace are QB (ofc), T/OL, and DE/DL. Qbs, pass rushers and guys who stop the pass rush are the key stones to success in football at every level and league. Wrs tend to have a high replacement level, but elite wrs scale beyond their position. Where as Lbers have a high replacement level and IMO don't scale highly with elite play in the cfl. (not including sam.) DB is in the same boat as lber. The average maximum hard salary of Lbers in the cfl last year was 167k. For DB it was 147k, 232k for Wrs. And just 120k for Rbs, which includes brady doubling the 2nd highest paid rb, and beating out the 2nd+3rd highest handily. Just for fun, here is a break down of the other positions since I've come this far lol . OL 200k QB 490k (this includes Rourkes salary at this years rate) DL 200k I couldn't find the 2024 list for kickers/punters/special teams for some reason. But the 2022 list had an average of 120k for kickers and punters. Crazy that they get the same pay 2 seasons ago as rbs last season.

Pretty sure that was the expectation, that he would not be ready for tc and likely starts on the 6.

https://www.nfl.com/prospects/antonio-garcia/32004741-5205-4848-e617-bf53283cf166 Garcia is an interesting pick. 31 year old former 3rd round nfl pick. Had starter at LT potential, but was a guy who played light in the 270s and low 280 range. Weight was his biggest issue in the nfl. Got blood clots his rookie year and missed a bunch of time which lead to him dropping 40 lbs. after his return being too light the pats cut him. Kicked around a bit made the colts pr but was suspended for 4 games for peds. Sat the year but again didn’t play. Looks like he only played one game up here between the elk and riders.

Dare to dream

already had a year in the nfl and here before last year. Time adds up fast for guys going back n forth. Plus our system. Unless a team is playing fangio 6 a lot, (Vic fangio doesn’t even use it as base) he probably isn’t a fit as a cb. Very niche play style. Big calling card for us is he’s an elite athlete as a Canadian. For an imp db he’s above average to very good but not a crazy athlete by nfl standards. 27 and he’s not had a ton of experience. That said, he’s a guy I’d take a shot on. The flashes of dominance in making plays on the ball is really hard to come by. Leaves me torn on what to hope for tbh. I want him back. I don’t want to see us pay him some 200k deal. If he wasn’t a db he would be a 200k player as an ni in the cfl.

Avg per return isn’t a good metric for returners team to team. Too many attached variables. Lucky was fairly average in the league but realistically bottom tier. Edmonton had multiple back field carry guys, and most teams don’t carry and run the sweep package.

I think so too. Hope they both come back on reasonable deals.

I’m surprised. When’s the last time we made a fa add like this or one before free agency? I don’t think we’d be after fa WRs, aside from bringing back lawler we haven’t done it in a while. Love love love this move. Fill the need for a dynamic kr and a great wr to replace Wilson. Pure upgrade imo. I would love to see lawler and schoen back as well. But if this ends up being a replacement for one that is understandable. Honestly I do agree. Finding the right guy to fit our vets and staff is big. As long as it’s done before the tampering period.

Yep same. And that he could be more than an all star db, he could be a dynamic game changer as a ball hawk. Db is certainly one of the more replaceable spots in general but even more so for us. It’s a tough spot for Walters n co.

Yep, we are staying a 30 base.

He played all of 23. He missed one year, and that’s because he took a year to run his start up. He was a lot better than ok, he’s the Best Canadian run Stop and contain end in the league. Hes also excellent on teams, and can rotate at multiple positions playing starters reps. Hes in his prime about to turn 29 with relatively low miles and injury concerns the past few years. Yeah agree. My biggest concern with losing ford, aside from his upside is the ratio. We are just re building the ni depth and losing a starting ni would be hard. Probably trigger us to flip ratio at another spot and make our self much worse

Imo 125k max for holm. Pickett was 170, the next top tier was 140-50k. Even that is a push for holm for me. I’d prefer to let him walk unless under 120k. I’d want ford for 150-160k. Might go up to 170k for more than a year. That’s highest paid db range. Cus he’s young and Canadian with tons more upside still. I could see some one giving him 200k though. Maybe even more.

And hope he plays with a motor like he did in the grey cup. His signing this early tells me we probably still gave him elite de money. Wish it would be a more team friendly deal. But if he brings an elite motor elite pay would be ok.

I would guess about 0.000000000001% Kongbo returns to the cfl, but to Edmonton. Wish it would’ve been here. https://3downnation.com/2025/01/12/edmonton-elks-sign-refocused-canadian-dl-jonathan-kongbo/

I don’t want to lose those guys, that’s just who I think will have the greatest draw in free agency. And I think we will struggle to give them heavy raises. The chances we bring both back is slim imo. That’d be the most expensive secondary in the league with what we pay Kramdi, plus the vets. It will be interesting to see how our scouting changes. You can see the difference post ringmaiden leaving. Especially on the lines and at lber. I do think that db is a very deep position, and we have a great system for the right guys to succeed in. Plus tremendous coaching. I think fit in our system and growth mind set are the biggest factors in our db prospects. We don’t need to find stars like Hefney, we need guys who fit and can come up to make plays on the ball/carrier. With bonds, griffin, nichols and Kramdi we are in a strong spot, at worst needing to replace 1 starter and the dime/nickle. Then With ba/kelly/cole for we have lots of flexibility and not a great need at S. We also have bridges and the lotto ticket that is Parker as experienced guys who can step up and push younger guys in camp. Rogers and dandy are also guys who have one camp under their belt and some pr time. Considering our modp in ford is a fa, and could be nfl bound or get a massive pay day, and holm our multi year step up guy also a fa it’s as good a position as we can hope to be in. Best case scenario imo, ford comes back and Cole wins the job at S. Griffin takes a starting hb role, then one of Parker bridges dandy rogers and the new rookies steps up for the nickle and one for the dime. Thanks. That’s actually really strong value. Very team friendly deal. I feel like his fa market would be over 200.