Pete

right, what threw me off was not having Kolankowski or ELi listed, may not be our strongest national but we don't have much options.

and Olivera . not sure Wallace qualifies just yet though. Only other option is Kelly at safety

i'd have to agree, we lost three allstars, and picked up a number of middle of the pack players. What puts teams over the top is those make a difference type players and Walters is paying so much attention to the last year cap we've once again failed to attract those players

And so it continues ,,around 90 days til training camp you.say , so between Booch and Speedflex that should be about 300 Thomas posts.

Think he goes in the first two rounds Ly Benedet, Hergel both went and even Wiebe who wasn't available for 24 season went.

This Thomas obsession is really getting old.

They did get calgarys 2nd rnd pick which will be the ninth overall and the bonus 2nd rnd pick so its largely offset

the main thing that's changed is that with success players want to be rewarded (rightly so), and in order to retain core pieces that means that there is less available to attract free agents. While if it's a difference of 20k, culture , fans etc may be a deciding factor we haven't been able to come close to offering the "name" free agents what other teams do. With the relatively short careers players have to chase the $. Whether that's on Walters , or a lack of opportunity or on having so much tied into Collaros and Olivera I don't know. Ly we had to move a lot of depth to keep Schoen , Lawler and and Olivera. This year again in order to sign players that we think will help us along with retaining Holm we've again let go more depth such as Woli. Alexander etc.

Dickenson is making a lot of strange choices especially regarding his vets, it feels like he really wants to change up the core of a dressingroom thats had its issues. Rose, Vaughters, Awe, and now McEwen. Add that to how hard it is for them to attract agents given their nonplayoff chances, and the reputation the team now has for poor facilities, treatment, and poor attendance and its not pretty.

Its crazy how much the rider signings mirrored what a lot of us thought bombers should sign to replace players lost An oline upgrade 150k McEwen A cdn db Tevaun campbell 160 k Stud dlineman Rose 175k Backup cdn reciever 90k Total 575k Good job on riders part https://3downnation.com/2025/02/22/how-much-the-saskatchewan-roughriders-paid-their-top-2025-free-agent-signings/

Thats 10 exbombers that Hamilton had signed and only 4 from the rest of the league. Its almost embarrassing (in addition to Sayles and Legghio who they already had) Is Biggy all that's left?

of course certain gms overpay, especially those that are on losing teams.. "its not an overpay if the markets say.s" is a gross simplification. Its no coincidence that the gms doling out the biggest salaries are Hamilton and Edm. One gm does not determine the whole market> the playoff teams from ly are noticably absent in these signings. Or do you think Robbie Smith with 6 sacks deserves to be the highest paid defensive player in the cfl? (its not on the player its on the gm) I do agree that the Bombers need to be more aggressive esp when players like McEwen become available or Ceresna, Dobson not so much

Every team in the nfl/cfl gets the reports as part of their analysis. Its a tool like any other. Each one will put their own analysis along side of it. To dismiss it as otherwise because it doesnt agree with your view is myopic.

some can complain about how Walters has handled free agency this year but when you break down the signings they are all at or below perceived market value. Are any an overpay? VAUGHTERS 160 T .JONES 120 HAGGARTY 85 STERNS 85 MITCHELL 148 WHITE 90 LOGAN 108 HOLM 130 then you look at Lawler 275K, Ford 230K and Dobson 200k it would have been poor mgmt to match those or really any of the big names with the possible exception of Ceresna at 230

300k in new space doesnt go that far Vaughters +75k Holms +55k T Jones +30k Mitchel +60k white/sterns +30k plus additional increases for players like castillo and Tony Jones 25k min so far that totals 275k not a lot left over if your operating to ly , However I don't understand why we wouldn't exceed that given that we have the finances to do so especially this year,

When looking at our offseason , and assessing moves, it has to be taken in context of our injuries ly. Schoen, Lawton, Parker, and to a lesser extent Wilson missed most of last season.If any other team had signed players of that caliber it would be a good haul

Lawler left cause he wanted the money and we couldn't afford both him and Shoen so we kept the one thats the best value Of course llLawler wanted to stay ... At 275k

throw in likely another 150k for Metchie and thats more than our entire db core 5

According to 3 down Holm is at 135k while Kramdi ly was at 125-139 including 25k signing bonus)and depending on award bonuses (125 hard money then 14k on bonuses if he's named an allstar game or wins awards (ie Canadian/defensive/outstanding player in west and again for all canadian) so not quite as bad as that. Winnipeg Blue Bombers sign DB Evan Holm to one-year extension - 3DownNation

I'm not as concerned on our starting 4,, Jefferson, Woods, Lawton and Vaughters, but depth behind them is definitely a concern. Adams although athletic hasn't shown a lot. Smeckle and Thomas aren't cfl caliber dlinemen. At de we have only two rookie imports at camp Meanwhile in Edmonton their front four is now Barlow, Ceresna, Brinkman, and Robbie Smith. BC has added Betts, and Hendrix, Thank goodness for Calgary who in their wisdom cut Rose and Vaughters

Lawler continues to make out like a bandit, for a guy whose only hit 1000 yds once and then barely its crazy. It a recipe for failure because hes good they overpay him, then throw the ball his way 7-10 times a game 1/2 of which are contested and surprise hes hurt. https://3downnation.com/2025/02/16/hamilton-tiger-cats-make-kenny-lawler-cfls-highest-paid-non-quarterback/

It baffles me how players sign in free agency with gms like Hervey, they have to know that he'll drop them like a hot potato if he's at all unhappy with a player. But I guess their egos say it wouldn't happen to me.

Last year everyone had hamilton challenging in the east and bc winning the west esp when they had Rourke and Betts back.How did that turn out? It isn't always about the talent on paper. Free agency is way overhyped To me the best job by a gm has been mtrl and its not close.They have locked in a lot of key pieces for 2-3 yrs, signed a young qb for now and the future, and probably the least active in free agency - ( which is the farthest thing from free!)

<<<TONE DEAF