bigg jay

I think Walters may have set expectations higher than normal by saying they'd be more active this year. It hasn't really worked out that way - at least as far as big name FA's are concerned.

Hamilton has Lawler jerseys for sale already so I'm assuming that it's a done deal and just hasn't been officially announced.

They definitely did have issues for a long time over the Dr. Evil thing but yes they resolved that a few years ago after working together on a SuperBowl ad in 2021. https://www.audacy.com/national/music/dana-carvey-explains-strained-friendship-with-mike-myers

I don't care what team you root for, but if you haven't mocked Fajardo at some point in his career, you're not a real fan! 😂

Consistently bad seems to be the game plan.

Maybe the Seal is next?

Winnipeg isn't the only team to come into new money though. The other teams also have this extra money so why wouldn't they be willing to up their offers also?

I'm aware but he actually caught less than that. He was only targeted 21 times when he did play (about twice a game). When healthy, he was not a primary target in their offense.

https://3downnation.com/2025/02/06/calgary-stampeders-db-demerio-houston-charged-with-domestic-violence/

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/music-news/irv-gotti-murder-inc-founder-dies-1236128314/

If he stays in Hamilton, he's probably behind Woli on the depth chart. BOLO started 9 games last year on a team that loved to chuck the ball and he still only saw 21 passes go his way so he wasn't a main target for them anyway.

I can hear this post!

Yep, other teams have until the 9th to put forward their best offer. The Bombers would then have from the 9th to 11th to try to work out a better deal. That's assuming the other teams follow the rules but we know GM's are talking to players/agents when they aren't supposed to. The tampering window was supposed to get rid of that but it's just more of the same in the CFL.

Makes me wonder if they regret cutting Woli now? No getting him back since he wasn't a pending FA but that extra room could have made the difference in keeping him or letting him go (assuming salary was the reason for that move).

They have 2 hours to decide but otherwise that's correct. Free Agency Communication Window opens February 2 - CFL.ca

TSN: This tampering window really takes all the excitement out of Free Agent Frenzy CFL: Hold my beer!

There might be some truth to it. In their article, 3DN says: So depending on when teams were informed of the final numbers, some GM's may have been game planning around the lower number only to find out they had more money to play with later.

His tenure with the team is absolutely on Walters - it's not 100% because MOS has his input but at the end of the day, the buck stops at Walters for that. I don't even think keeping him around this long was the problem though, it's how he was used which is squarely on MOS or unless you think Walters meddles in the active roster. If they had kept him around in a lesser role or even just not played him when he was clearly injured, I don't think him being here this long would be an issue. We're hoping they do the same with Jake Thomas - clearly not a starter at this point in his career (and hasn't been for a while) but he can still fill a role if used properly.

That's also an active roster decision. MOS does get the blame for him being on the AR when he clearly had no business being on the field but Walters was the one who signed him in the first place so he's not totally blameless. They didn't bring him back for year two at least so we can give them some credit for cutting their losses.

2 separate issues. MOS (imo) gets the lion's share of the blame (or credit) when it comes down to the game day roster and how it's used. Walters is the one who is responsible for how it's built. I have no doubt that they work together or have input on the make-up of the roster but who sees the field and when is a HC duty, not a GM. Using the Biggie example - we hoped that Walters would move on from him (contract issue) but we wondered why MOS had him on the field sometimes like in GC 2023 (playtime issue). MOS deservedly got the blame for the playtime issue but if Walters had resigned him for 2025, we would have s**t all over him for that.

Agreed. Whether or not MOS was in agreement with the decision, it could have been simply that he had a good bond with Woli & wanted to be the one to break it to him.

How do you figure his contract gave him GM powers? HC is always under the GM in the power structure. I'm sure MOS had his opinion on it but at the end of the day that's the role of the GM, the same way signing new players is. Nobody is saying why didn't MOS sign **insert player here**, it's all about what Walters is doing and this is no different.

You're assuming it was MOS who made that call.

Not as emotional but here's Kenny's goodbye: 'Winnipeg is truly a special place': Kenny Lawler bids farewell to Blue Bombers - 3DownNation