Fatty Liver

Dave Dickenson saying Stamps will be more active in FA than they have in seasons past, so Dru Brown could be on their radar. “Everyone’s talking certain (positions), but we’re looking, we have to. Then we have to coach better and we have to find ways to keep improving because if we don’t, that’s not how you get back to playing the type of football that we want to play. We were 6-12 last year, so we need to we need to be a better team from top to bottom.” Normally smaller movers in the free agent market, Dickenson said that’s not necessarily going to be the case in 2024, as he shifts into his second season as the team’s GM. There’s still just over a month for teams to try to extend the contracts of their pending free agents, which makes for a cloudy picture of what the actual market might look like when it opens on Feb. 13. It’s something he and the Stamps are watching closely. “I think when you didn’t have your best year, I think you should be a little more active,” Dickenson said. “We’ll see how many of the guys that we’re targeting make it free agency and we’ll see if we can find a deal.”

I don't think Brown will wreck his career if he signs with Ottawa, especially if he only signs a 2 year contract. He's not a raw rookie and shouldn't be discouraged if he ends up with a sub .500 record on a poor or improving team. It's a learning experience and many mature QB's have been through multiple losing seasons and gone on to thrive afterward. It comes down to a QB having confidence in their abilities and eventually finding a team with the right players and coaching staff to play competitive football.

A purge of assholes!

Why would Stanley Bryant have to wait for the dominoes to fall? He negotiates his own contracts and it's not like he's inline for a raise. I guess if Walters wanted to chop his salary too much, he could always make more playing elsewhere.

Agree, it would be smart to trade Brown for Powell if the opportunity was there.

Trade his rights early for an Ottawa QB, they've got an excess and won't be able to keep them all. It's better than bringing in a CFL new comer for the #2 spot. Masoli, Adams, and Crum are all currently under contract through 2024, while Nick Arbuckle is a pending free agent. Tyrrell Pigrome and Jake Dunniway, both of whom filled depth roles last year, are also signed for the upcoming season. Bob Dyce has to think like Jones and make sure the RB's get off to a good start next season, if he can't show improvement there's a good chance he'll be fired by game 6. What better way to ensure a good start than committing to Brown and dumping Masoli's contract asap.

Trevor Harris restructures his contract to stay with the Riders, no details released but this makes one less landing spot for Dru Brown. https://3downnation.com/2024/01/09/qb-trevor-harris-restructures-contract-with-saskatchewan-roughriders/

Could be, Ottawa had a pretty mediocre receiving corps. last season, but inexpensive, their top 2 receiver salaries were Acklin and Behar at around $140k.

They may be pulling a Ti-Cat move, hired as a "consultant" he won't be listed as staff and won't count under the coaching cap.

Why do you think Mitchell signed as a backup? It clearly looks like he's the intended starter with Powell as his backup. Shiltz is going to receive a lot of attention in FA as one of the few experienced #2 QB's available, Arbuckle may prolong his career one more year by stepping into Dane Evans position as unwanted and unloved.

Have you forgotten how far Brown has progressed since he became a Bomber in 2021? Most fans wanted to kick his ass through the goalposts after his first year.

That's a bit dismissive, he was here for the extent of the 2022 TC and performed well in 2 pre-season games, unfortunately he had to compete against phenomenal rookie sensation Dalton Schoen who had the waggle down pat within days, that doesn't mean he was incapable of becoming a good receiver. He isn't the first talented player cut from TC due to numbers.

2022 training camp cut Lucky Jackson is now playing for the Vikes, if he hadn't run up against Schoen, he might be playing for the Bombers. New recruit Ontaria Wilson looks well worth developing.

Can't pin that on Exume, he was second to Hallett for ST tackles with 17.

Betcha Mike Miller steps into the role, he was all over it last season.

I'm a bit surprised how anxious Biggie is to come back for another season, but I suspect he probably likes his football job more than his other job. Could see him eventually going into coaching.

As it stands they still need 2 Natl. DT's to rotate, Lawson has probably moved ahead of Thomas as the starter and has already re-signed, it's what happens behind him that is in question. Don't agree Kyrie Wilson should be replaced by Cole, as I see Wilson as the eventual replacement for Bighill. Cole is better as a swiss army knife used in certain situations, Clements has a better handle on the WIL job and is an important player to re-sign.

I don't know how you determine average, but if you plugged Harris into the Bomber offence I think he would be effective and win as many games as Zach does, it may look more like Nichols, but it could still work. He reads defences well and moves the ball quickly with accuracy, it's up to management to put the right pieces in place to complement his skill set and protect him. If he'd stayed in Mtl. this past season, it could well have been him raising the Cup instead of Fajardo, who is also probably considered an "average" QB.

It's highly unlikely Walters is going to have the budget to go shopping in free agency to find seamless upgrades in many positions. The natural way to implement this is through recruitment and the draft, if solid replacements show they have the ability to progress, they move up to replace the established vets. For ex. Schmekel or Kornelson will replace Jake when they demonstrate they are better, or a cheaper alternative that will not detract from the D-lines overall effectiveness. O'Shea is not going to cut Thomas and plug in a deadbeat unless there is an advantage to be found.

Best game of his career was in 2022 when Ti-Cats laid a licking on the Bombers 48-31, wasted potential. With his aversion to pressure I don't think he'll rise to the top of the coaching world, he'll find a safe place down South and sit there. Doubt we ever hear from him again.

Wow, seems like a drastic course of action at age 30, figured he would eventually catch on as a #1 QB somewhere if he was patient.

You have to assume Walters is already spending to the limits of the cap, so any savings or diversion of funds to others has to come out of existing players pockets. The vets you mentioned may no longer be the highest paid at their position, but at one time a few of them set the higher end of the pay scale, so they ain't playing for bargain wages. The cap has barely increased over the past 4 years, so extra money gets spread thinly among vets. like B.A. , Bailey and Woli. who deserve a slight bump for sticking with the program. Walters won't be asking underpaid vets. to take a paycut to accommodate another player making bling at the top end of their positional payscale.

If it comes down to choosing between Brady and Schoen, I think management chooses Brady because he's going to cost less cap, provides them a ratio option, and has the hometown connection, which sells merchandise and tickets.

A lower salary ceiling on global players seems pretty discriminatory, surprised CFL lawyers would allow that to proceed.

Where would you suggest they start these rookies? The Bombers have largely avoided the scenario of starting rookies the past 4 seasons and have benefitted from that ability. Other than exceptional circumstances like Schoen and Jackson, rookies usually start their careers as backups and work their way onto the roster gradually. Starting numerous rookies in critical positions is trial by fire, and should be avoided whenever possible.