Target Date for Free Agency Feb. 9th 12 noon ET - 11 am Winnipeg - 9 am Kelowna 

The Bombers will lead into the pre-draft weekend with a press conference tomorrow, February 5th, at 10:00am to discuss Free Agency as it pertains to the Blue Bombers.

Below is a list of the Bomber's free agents:

Capers, Selvish    OL    International    

Gibson, Thaddeus    DL    International    

Hajrullahu, Lirim    K    National    

Marshall, Cameron    RB    International    

Newman, Graig    DB     National  

Pontbriand, Michel-Pierre    FB     National    

Washington, Demond    DB    International

Moore, Nick    WR    International 

Shell, Lin-J    DB    International    

Walker, Chevon    RB    International    
 

Extended :

Daniels, Jace    OL     International    Extended (12/14/15)

Nichols, Matt    QB    International    Extended (01/05/16)

Richardson, Louie    DL    National    Extended (01/25/16)

 

We already know N. Moore won't be extended, and I've assumed Walker and Shell are gonzo, so that leaves 7 players, including 3 Non-imports. How many of these 7 guys will be announced as re-signed by Walters tomorrow?

Any guesses or half wishes, preferences?

Marshall? Hajrullahu? Pontbriand? Newman? What about Washington?

Edited February 9, 20169 yr by Mr Dee

7 hours ago, Bigblue204 said:

I know where he plays. And I understand that in that spot, you're going to get beat. I just don't think he's lived up to his potential. I don't think he's a shut down DB. I'd take him back, but I wouldn't mind moving on either.

I don't mind moving on because Washington can be a complete disaster capable of giving a game away all by his lonesome. As a DB he gets called for PI regularly, he plays off his man way too much and gets beat underneath regularly, and he gets rag-dolled by big receivers. As a kick returner I have zero confidence in his ability to cleanly field the ball and he loses the handle way too easily, sometimes with zero contact. Same thing returning the kicks, sure he's fast, but he often goes down with little to no contact and it's anyone's guess whether or not he'll hang on to the ball. As a blitzer he completely whiffed on a sure sack of Reilly last year that could have won us the game. Sure he's made some good plays too but he is way too much of a liability for my liking.

1 hour ago, J5V said:

I don't mind moving on because Washington can be a complete disaster capable of giving a game away all by his lonesome. As a DB he gets called for PI regularly, he plays off his man way too much and gets beat underneath regularly, and he gets rag-dolled by big receivers. As a kick returner I have zero confidence in his ability to cleanly field the ball and he loses the handle way too easily, sometimes with zero contact. Same thing returning the kicks, sure he's fast, but he often goes down with little to no contact and it's anyone's guess whether or not he'll hang on to the ball. As a blitzer he completely whiffed on a sure sack of Reilly last year that could have won us the game. Sure he's made some good plays too but he is way too much of a liability for my liking.

Last year you could always count on them opposition throwing into a third and long on Washington because he would ALWAYS get flagged. I lost count of how many times he kept the D on the field.

Yep, rather than do the smart thing and kick on third and long, opposing teams would ALWAYS throw on Washington...even when he was on the sidelines. It led to a lot of confusion..

3 hours ago, 17to85 said:

One play totally defines a guys career!

LOL on posting that clip!

One freaking play.

 

Edited February 6, 20169 yr by Mark F

Macho over Washington would represent an upgrade....

Excuse me.

Glug.. glug.. gulg... gulg.........

 

 

11 hours ago, AKAChip said:

I am almost certain if we don't sign Lirim, we will regret it for the next 20 years. How quickly we forget the dark years of kickers and the value of having a good Canadian one. Give him a chance to bounce back. 

Isn't Billy "Alphabet" Pavolopoulos still available?  

Lirim's attitude and mental toughness was definitely tested last year.  

17 minutes ago, ALuCsRED said:

Isn't Billy "Alphabet" Pavolopoulos still available?  

Lirim's attitude and mental toughness was definitely tested last year.  

Billy isn't a F.A., unfortunately he's already hiding out on the Bomber roster.

Face it, they got Macho because he probably came cheaper in the event they couldn't resign Washington.

Makes sense...oh wait...what's that again

8 hours ago, Throw Long Bannatyne said:

Billy isn't a F.A., unfortunately he's already hiding out on the Bomber roster.

So he's available, but only to us.

14 hours ago, Mr Dee said:

There now seems to be a lot of favourable comments about Washington...as it should be.

Makes me wonder why a Bomber fan? would post an unflattering video... After all, there is a video on Washington's incredible 96 yard kickoff return out there too.

So let me get this straight a guy who posts a video of Washington getting rag-dolled gets razzed for defining him with one play and you want to do the same thing? The guy was a bust. He extended drives with bad penalties. Penalties opposing teams came to expect. He fumbled more than he broke out a good punt return.  He couldn't cover short, slants, or posts.

He did make some good plays but far and away the guy was a liability.

But hey if you wanna continue your Washington love fest....

Demond (dead man walking) Washington ...

The people who don't think Washington was a good DB clearly have no clue about football. Here's my thoughts on the situation, Washington wants a big pay day and Walters figures he's got other options that won't cost as much and he's cheaping out. 

3 hours ago, Dragon37 said:

So let me get this straight a guy who posts a video of Washington getting rag-dolled gets razzed for defining him with one play and you want to do the same thing? The guy was a bust. He extended drives with bad penalties. Penalties opposing teams came to expect. He fumbled more than he broke out a good punt return.  He couldn't cover short, slants, or posts.

He did make some good plays but far and away the guy was a liability.

But hey if you wanna continue your Washington love fest....

Makes me wonder why a Bomber fan? would want to keep players around that were liabilities... After all, there are certainly lots of videos and news reports of Washington's blunders and misadventures than his "incredible" 96 yard kickoff return.

 

 

Washington was a good player for us for a number of years. He has his flaws but played an exceptionally tough position. Definitely underrated for having the thankless job of going up against usually the other team's best slotback. He usually acquitted himself rather well. 

I have little to no faith Walters can recruit a replacement so my hope is we sign Emmanuel Davis because he seems to be a very underrated gem in this free agent class. 

5 hours ago, Dragon37 said:

So let me get this straight a guy who posts a video of Washington getting rag-dolled gets razzed for defining him with one play and you want to do the same thing? The guy was a bust. He extended drives with bad penalties. Penalties opposing teams came to expect. He fumbled more than he broke out a good punt return.  He couldn't cover short, slants, or posts.

He did make some good plays but far and away the guy was a liability.

But hey if you wanna continue your Washington love fest....

No, that's why I didn't post the video, but I digress. The 'guy' wasn't a bust, and you will see him get snapped pretty fast in FA. Just because you didn't appreciate Washington..doesn't mean many other didn't.

Edited February 6, 20169 yr by Mr Dee

Sign Grymes.

And while waiting...things are heating up around the league.

According to Lawless, and this makes sense, Ted Laurent, and where he goes, will have a huge impact across the league. And this will affect the Bombers, whether they sign him or not. For instance, if Hamilton manages to re-sign Laurent, that frees up a lot of money, for other teams, to go after differ not players. If they don't re-sign Laurent (more likely) then Hamilton will have maybe, enough money to re-sign Bulcke and....Justin Medlock. And there goes our kicker.

That asking price for Laurent is scary.

At this point I'm kind of leaning more towards signing Laing or Capicotti so we can still go after Smith or Messam.

On 2/5/2016 at 10:29 AM, Bomberfan85 said:

To be fair, the only guy he said they're straight up "moving on from" is Pontbriand. He just said Lirim and Demond are going to free agency.

And we did offer lirim a contract as of last week so yea, saying "moving on " is a bit of an embellishment..  He's in negotiations and will be hitting FA.. If he doesn't get any bites, I'd expect him to sign here at a reduced rate.

2 hours ago, SPuDS said:

2 hours ago, Mr Dee said:

 

 

 

CFL News ‏@CFL_News

Expect very few free agents 2 B rewarded & most of their counterparts to be scrambling to find roster/financial fits. - @HolderGord #CFL

 

If this turns out to be true, it will make next week very interesting.  Any extra money added to the pot is migrating to the top of the food chain and that leaves many hopeful free agents having no choice but to sign similar or lower contracts than they left behind in stable employment.  In a worst case scenario many could find themselves on the outskirts of a football career.   For well established players like Washington this is a big gamble as they have to uproot their lives and try to win favour with a new coaching staff and fit into roles that they may be unfamiliar with for little or no extra money.

Once the dust settles I think the CFLPA  is going to have to seriously rethink their strategy in order to benefit more of their members and promote continuity within the league.  I'd be surprised if next season doesn't see a drastic reduction in the number of players headed to the open market to discover their true valuation.

Edited February 6, 20169 yr by Throw Long Bannatyne

Doom and gloom, yawn...no way a player like Washington is unemployed next year.

Interesting read in the CFL blog Gazing into the Crystal Ball .

In this CFL blog, the writer takes a look at the STs area, the LB area, DBs and the DLine, all with the possible destinations of the selected Free Agents. 

In it the Bombers are expected to go hard after Justin Medlock,

THEN, compete on the D-line for: Keith Shologan, Bryan Hall, and DE, Tristan Okpalaugo. All would be solid additions. There is no mention of players at LB, nor DBs, as those areas aren't as much of a concern. 

https://canadianfootballblog.wordpress.com/2016/02/02/gazing-in-to-the-crystal-ball-top-10-cfl-free-agency-16-dls/

Offensive info:

https://canadianfootballblog.wordpress.com/2016/01/31/gazing-in-to-the-crystal-ball-top-10-cfl-free-agency-16-wrs/

https://canadianfootballblog.wordpress.com/2016/02/01/gazing-into-the-crystal-ball-top-5-cfl-free-agency-16-ols/

Edited February 7, 20169 yr by Mr Dee
Additional info

I really don't see the Bombers going hard after more than one of the DL early, and most likely NI.

Laurent and Laing are probably targets, but I don't think Shologan will get what he's looking for.  He'd be a guy who signs a bit later.  I'd rather go after guys like Oramasionwu or Dylan Ainsworth if they don't land one of the big fish on the DL.  Solid role players who won't be overpaid, fit well with what we have on D in Westerman and Thomas.  If we got two guys like that and found a good pass rusher down south we'd be set.

I think in terms of both imports and non-imports we're looking at adding a running back of each designation, a couple receivers,  a couple DL and a couple NI DB/LB types.  There's not much out there OL-wise. 

I'd be thrilled with any of Laurent, Laing or Capicotti. 

 

Apologies if there are any mistakes in there, mostly using the CFL FA tracker for info.  I just think it's a little more readable when listed grouped by position rather than team