Johany Jutras/CFL.ca
WINNIPEG — The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have pulled the trigger on a pair of trades involving Drew Willy that are sure to send shockwaves through the entire Canadian Football League.
The moves see the Bombers dramatically alter their depth chart behind starting quarterback Matt Nichols, as Willy is shipped to the Toronto Argonauts while veteran Kevin Glenn returns to Manitoba from the Montreal Alouettes in a second deal.
And there’s more…
In addition to landing Glenn to serve as the No. 2 behind Nichols for a fourth round pick in 2017, the Bombers have acquired defensive back T.J. Heath from the Argos, Toronto’s first round draft pick in 2017, as well as a third rounder in 2018.
“This is a big deal,” Bombers GM Kyle Walters told bluebombers.com Sunday night after completing the paperwork on the trades. “It heated up once (Argos starting QB) Ricky Ray got hurt and then with Montreal going in a different direction with Kevin, it became a matter of trying to piece it all together.
“If we were going to move away from Drew Willy as our back-up, we wanted to get another experienced quarterback in here that’s won some football games in our league.
“There was a lot going on today and it didn’t get done quickly.”
Kyle Walters
The trade provides a number of benefits for the Bombers, both in the short and long term.
Short term, it ends the speculation surrounding Willy who – before his demotion in late July – was still the franchise quarterback. And if there were any remaining doubts, the moves clearly establish Nichols as the No. 1 gun.
“He’s 6-0 for us since taking over and those are the only numbers that matter,” said Walters. “He’s not making mistakes. The players are playing hard around him and he’s a leader.”
Walters admitted the deal also does provide the Bombers some salary cap relief for this season.
“For a bunch of reasons, salary cap, 2017 contracts and such we just felt it was time to make the move,” said Walters. “Could we have kept Drew on for the rest of this year as our No. 2? Certainly. But I think it would have been just delaying a very difficult decision moving into next year.”
Indeed, with Nichols 8-5 as a starter here dating back to last year, there was considerable doubt about Willy’s future role here in Winnipeg. Dealing him to the Argos, who started Dan LeFevour Sunday in their 33-21 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, removes that distraction even if Nichols had been praising Willy for his role in the club’s six-game win streak as recently as Friday.
And for Willy, the move allows him the opportunity to reclaim his career. Nichols seemed a better fit in Paul LaPolice’s offence dating back to training camp, but Argos head coach Scott Milanovich is said to have been a huge fan of Willy dating back to his first days in Winnipeg.
“It’s tough because Drew started with us… it started off well and we won some games,” Walters said. “But he’s been banged up and in the first couple of years it was whether we gave him enough support around him to win and did we do enough organizationally to help him win. That’s debatable. But he went out there and played hard and did everything we asked of him.
“We had a better supporting cast and brought Paul (LaPolice) back this year and expected better things. It just didn’t work out that way. And then Matt got an opportunity to go in there and he just clicked with Paul a little bit better with what they’re trying to get accomplished offensively. It just seemed a better match with Matt’s skillset.
“Now, I anticipate Drew going to Toronto and getting under Scott and it almost being like a breath of fresh air for him to be, truth be told, away from this media market and the scrutiny he was under. He took it pretty good in the media negatively and it might be good for him and his family to be in a market where he isn’t under the microscope like he was here.”
Bringing in Glenn while dealing Willy also means the Bombers don’t have a size-large question mark behind Nichols on their depth chart. Both Dominique Davis and Bryan Bennett are intriguing prospects, but Glenn is a proven commodity, even if he had lost his starting job in Montreal to Rakeem Cato. Glenn led the Bombers in passing for five straight seasons (2004-08), and in 2007 was the club’s Most Outstanding Player, the East Division’s Most Outstanding Player, and all-star QB.
Glenn, who ranks behind Dieter Brock and Khari Jones on the Bombers’ all-time passing yardage list, has thrown for 2,547 yards this year with 13 touchdowns against 11 interceptions, and is 94-96-1 in his career as a starter.
The other short-term benefit for the Bombers is Heath, who is an intriguing addition to a ball-hawking defence already flush with talent in the secondary. Heath turned 29 today, and after bouncing around the NFL – from Jacksonville, Cincinnati, Buffalo, Cleveland, Miami, Carolina, Atlanta and the New York Giants – signed with the Argos in May.
He started this afternoon for the Argos, his ninth start of the season, and picked off Zach Collaros twice to move into a tie for the league lead with the Bombers’ Maurice Leggett with five. He’s got good size at 6-0, 190 and his 37 defensive tackles ranks second on the Argos behind Cory Greenwood (40).
“T.J.’s a starting halfback in our league who is under contract for next year and is going to come in and provide much needed depth at that position for us.”
Kyle Walters
Long term, the deal is also a potential score for the Bombers as they deal one pick for Glenn, and land two in return – including a first rounder. That means Winnipeg will hold two first round selections in next spring’s draft and now has two third rounders in 2018, while surrendering its fourth rounder that year.
Those are important picks for a club that has completely turned around a horrible draft history from 2012-2013. Consider that four players from its 2016 draft class are on the roster in Trent Corney, Michael Couture, Taylor Loffler and Shayne Gauthier – with Loffler now the starting safety. The lineup also features eight selections from the 2014 and 2015 classes earning paycheques in starting centre Matthias Goossen (second overall, 2014), Jesse Briggs (second round, 2014), Derek Jones (third round, 2014) and starting right guard Sukh Chungh (first round, 2015), Addison Richards (second round, 2015), Brendan Morgan (second round, 2015), Chris Normand (fourth round, 2015) and Garrett Waggoner (supplemental draft, forfeiting 2016 first rounder).
“It’s always good to acquire draft picks because Canadian depth is paramount for success in our league,” said Walters. “
The new arrivals are expected to be en route to Winnipeg on Monday and the Bombers will be back on the practice field Tuesday in preparation for Saturday’s home date against… Willy and the Argos.
