By Marshall Ferguson

I have known Brandon Bridge since he was a senior at Mississauga’s St. Marcellinus high school in 2009 when we both attended the McMaster University Marauders high school football camp.

I grew up a relatively short, un-athletic, pocket dwelling Quarterback competing for playing time against Eastern Ontario quarterbacks of similar skill sets. When I met Bridge at that McMaster camp I realized the game had changed.

Brandon Bridge was a unicorn then as he is now. He was my wake up call to what a realistic threat to break down the national quarterback barrier in the Canadian Football League looked like. A sentiment clearly echoed by the Montreal Alouettes when they drafted the 6-foot-5, 230-pound quarterback 31st overall in 2015.

The 24-year-old Bridge earned his first career start in the season finale of last year going 21-30 for 220 yards. A stateliness which raised the question of whether or not he would be given a legitimate chance to rise in the depth chart for the 2016 season. The possibility of that realistically happening seemed to die a week before training camp could ever get started.

On May 20, 2016, Alouettes Head Coach and General Manager Jim Popp traded Montreal’s first round pick in the 2017 draft to the BC Lions for former Oregon Ducks quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. The move relegated Bridge to becoming a fourth string, short yardage QB, one who has not thrown a single pass through six weeks this season.

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Former Alouette Brandon Bridge, who has reportedly been released by the team (Jason Halstead/CFL.ca)

As a result, Bridge was asked to take a pay cut and a practice roster spot. Both of which he declined, so the Alouettes declined to continue developing him and released Bridge this week. The question now becomes where does the pivot nicknamed ‘Air Canada’ by some land?

To me there are two major questions being begged in this conversation.

First and foremost, will Bridge be given a true opportunity to play and develop as a quarterback? I am as tired as the next guy of tall, athletic, typically African-American quarterbacks being pushed towards playing receiver because “that’s where they are best suited.” That preconceived notion is a learned stereotype of long gone generations.

If short quarterbacks like Ron Lancaster (5-foot-5), Doug Flutie (5-foot-10), and Kevin Glenn (6-foot) can excel at this game, so too can quarterbacks of great length and athleticism.

The second question is who could Bridge beat out for playing time for all the right reasons? For that to happen it will likely take a management team and coaching staff who don’t deem his passport as an asset or a liability. If Bridge gets a chance to play quarterback in the CFL it will have to be with a team who simply sees him as a talented quarterback and wants the man for his upside, not his nationality. There is no more room for a Canadian quarterback press relations tour. Either you develop him because you believe in him or you don’t bother.

Understanding that in the middle of the season there is rarely a perfect suitor based on time required to learn a playbook and pre-planned depth charts fully loaded with personnel already familiar to the teams at hand, here are the possibilities and closed doors facing Bridge in his quest to find a CFL home:

YOW – Ottawa REDBLACKS

QB 1 – Henry Burris
QB 2 – Trevor Harris
QB 3 – Brock Jensen
QB 4 – Danny O’Brien

Burris and Harris have clearly shown to be more than capable of holding down the nation’s capital at quarterback. Harris is viewed as the pivot of the future once Henry hangs them up, which would leave Bridge to compete for a second or third string opportunity with Jensen and O’Brien.

Jensen looked like a world beater when he took the reigns in Regina when Harris was forced to leave the game. The team has trusted fourth stringer Danny O’Brien in the past and has Jensen listed ahead of him on the depth chart currently. That should tell you everything you need to know about Ottawa’s quarterback direction moving forward.

This is Danny O’Brien’s third year in Ottawa. He has been a serviceable backup since throwing five interceptions in 2014 (that’s 10.8 per cent of his attempts that season) and seems to be primed for several years of faithful backup service with the plaid party in Ottawa.

YYZ – Toronto Argonauts

QB 1 – Ricky Ray
QB 2 – Logan Kilgore
QB 3 – Cody Fajardo
QB 4 – Adrian McPherson

Logan Kilgore is off to a good start for the Argos, but is he their quarterback of the future? (Patrick Doyle/CFL.ca)

Ricky Ray can’t play forever. The Argos seem content to develop Logan Kilgore and Cody Fajardo but Bridge could bring something different to the table.

Both the Argos’ current backups have a solid understanding of the Canadian game – something Bridge will develop with time and concerted effort – but the sheer speed of Bridge would bring a whole new dynamic to an Argos offence reborn with dynamic drafted Canadian talent in Anthony Coombs and Brian Jones.

Adrian McPherson is a placeholder until a better option is found, and while Kilgore and Fajardo have performed admirably in limited action you have to wonder what a quarterback coach the likes of Scott Milanovich would be able to turn the soft buddy that is Brandon Bridge into.

YHM – Hamilton Tiger-Cats

QB 1 – Zach Collaros
QB 2 – Jeremiah Masoli
QB 3 – Jeff Mathews
QB 4 – Everett Golson

Simply put: No.

I just don’t see it. The organization has a superstar in Zach Collaros who plans on being the Tiger-Cats’ go-to man for quite some time, a solid proven (for now) backup in Jeremiah Masoli and Kent Austin’s supreme pet project Jeff Mathews in the third string position. Add in recently acquired Notre Dame standout Everett Golson and there becomes little to no room or interest in Tiger Town for a long term developmental quarterback.

YWG – Winnipeg Blue Bombers

QB 1 – Matt Nichols
QB 2 – Drew Willy
QB 3 – Dominique Davis
QB 4 – Bryan Bennett

Winnipeg is an interesting twist on the Bridge debate. Both Drew Willy and Matt Nichols have faltered enough in the past two years to be replaced (Willy) or traded (Nichols) for quarterbacks deemed to be a better fit.

While Dominique Davis has shown little, his skill set would be directly comparable to Bridge while Bennett looked exceptional in the pre-season but is discussed as a down the road option, not yet ready for showtime in the CFL.

As a result, the door would seem wide open with a Bombers organization which has little to lose in adding an exciting new quarterback. The fan base in Winnipeg is, generally speaking, displeased with the team’s performance, so why not bring in an exciting new option with great upside?

To answer, it’s simply because when a coach and his staff are grasping at straws to stay afloat and employed, the last thing they should want is a quarterback who will forcibly be ready to start in two to three years.

YQR – Saskatchewan Roughriders

QB 1 – Darian Durant
QB 2 – Mitchell Gale
QB 3 – G.J. Kinne
QB 4 – Vad Lee

Saskatchewan currently has half the province on its practice squad. Do the Riders really need another quarterback?

Probably not, but there is not a lot of great Canadian depth on their roster and Chris Jones has already made more than one quarterback transaction per week in 2016. Despite the fact that Bridge would clearly not impact the ratio unless starting he could add some excitement to the quick rebuild and an introduction to the Riders’ new home in 2017.

As I wrote in Berg Vs. Ferg last week, I believe the Riders are looking at finding a replacement for Darian Durant before long anyways — why not let a Canadian kid develop in the shadows for a year or two while Jones tears the Riders structure down to the studs?

The only problem I have with this scenario is I can never see Chris Jones starting or backing up a true project like Bridge for quite some time, and based on Jones’ track record, what’s to say he will be in Regina by the time Bridge would be ‘ready’?

YYC – Calgary Stampeders

QB 1 – Bo Levi Mitchell
QB 2 – Drew Tate
QB 3 – Andrew Buckley
QB 4 – None

You may have read some of my comments in this article and said, “no way, that’s crazy”. Well now I reach the point in this team-by-team analysis where I question myself as to whether John Hufnagel and Dave Dickenson are crazy enough to put two Canadian quarterbacks in a four man quarterback room.

Even I’m not that much of a dreamer.

The Stampeders were happy enough with Calgary Dinos graduate Andrew Buckley to keep him over Bryant Moniz in the pre-season and Dickenson seems to have no need to possess a fourth quarterback for developmental purposes. Don’t expect a horse on the side of Brandon Bridge’s next helmet.

YEG – Edmonton Eskimos

QB 1 – Mike Reilly
QB 2 – James Franklin
QB 3 – Jordan Lynch
QB 4 – None

Mike Reilly is the workhorse in Edmonton, we all know that.

James Franklin is a leftover commodity from the Chris Jones era in Edmonton but has shown the ability to be a solid starter in spot duty last season when Reilly was out with a knee injury. There are rumblings that Chris Jones would like to add Franklin to his rotation of arms in Rider green. If that happens perhaps it opens the door for Bridge.

Jordan Lynch was a Heisman Trophy nominee and is proficient at running the spread zone read offence which Bridge excelled at while attending South Alabama.

The only wiggle room I see Bridge being able to fit into with Edmonton would come with Franklin getting poached based on his 2015 season. Even then, Jason Maas’ offensive system is built on quick, accurate, timing throws of less than eight yards. This skill set is not the strength of Bridge’s game, which makes me doubt whether the interest would be mutual.

YVR – BC Lions

QB 1 – Jonathon Jennings
QB 2 – Travis Lulay
QB 3 – Keith Price
QB 4 – None

BC is a very real possibility but it all depends on the vision Wally Buono has for his squad. Should Buono decide to stay head coach for the next couple years I see no chance Bridge gets outfitted in orange. If a young up and coming coach arrives in Vancouver there is a better chance to see Bridge fly west.

Popular knowledge will tell you Jonathon Jennings is the future of the Lions. The same knowledge will tell you Buono trusts Lulay as much as any quarterback he’s ever had.

» THE WEEKLY SAY: Did the Als make the right move with Bridge?

After falling fourth on the depth chart, Bridge will look elsewhere for a chance to play QB (MontrealAlouettes.com)

With that said, the Lions quarterback depth chart is not exactly set in stone and despite a stellar senior season at Washington, third stringer Keith Price has been given little to no opportunity — not to mention the vacancy in the quarterback room left by the Vernon Adams Jr. trade.

The BC angle for Bridge all comes down to the direction of that franchise. Until the Lions find those answers for themselves they will have few for Bridge.

The Verdict

In summary, Bridge likely has better upside than most third and fourth string quarterbacks in the CFL if developed properly over time and put in the right locker room culture. The problem becomes that many teams in the league aren’t looking for a long term development project because contracts and positional coaching tenures in a given organization are comparatively short.

I believe if Bridge is going to get a checkmark from an organization based on the two questions laid out earlier — will he be given a chance to develop and what staff will accept him for what he is right now — it would have to be a homecoming.

The Argonauts are a team in transition whether they would like to admit it or not. Ricky Ray cannot play forever and putting a locally born young talent with unicorn levels of upside on a roster with QB czar Scott Milanovich would be good for a team attempting to grab the attention of a younger demographic and evolving fan base as they christen a new home.

Homecomings are all the rage these days. LeBron to Cleveland; Dwyane Wade to Chicago; every hockey player ever to Toronto. Why not add Brandon Bridge of Mississauga, Ont. to the list? Suit him up in double blue, give him a couple years to adapt to Milanovich’s system while Ricky Ray rounds out his incredible career and then take the reins off and see what he can do. If I were the Argos I would.