I don’t think John Hufnagel could have ever imagined this in the winter and spring of 2012. It was in the first half of that year when the paths of Henry Burris and Bo Levi Mitchell took huge turns. Hufnagel, then head coach and general manager of the Calgary Stampeders, made a decision to move the former and, a few months later, sign the latter. To think we’re seeing the two quarterbacks go head-to-head four years later for the biggest prize of them all is a story no one saw being written.
When Hufnagel pulled the trigger on a Burris trade with Hamilton in January 2012, the narrative was pretty clear. Burris, then 36 years old, had been outstanding for the preceding seven seasons but it was time to move on. The Stamps needed to turn the chapter on a quarterback many felt only had one or two more years of productive football left in him. And, just as importantly, Calgary had a young, promising quarterback waiting in the wings.
Henry Burris during REDBLACKS practice on Wednesday in Toronto (Dave Chidley/CFL.ca)
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That quarterback wasn’t Mitchell, though. Instead, fans of the Red and White were ready for Drew Tate to take the reins with steady veteran Kevin Glenn, acquired in the deal with Hamilton, there to back him up. At this point, Mitchell was relatively unknown north of the border after coming off a stellar senior season at Eastern Washington. He wasn’t selected in the 2012 NFL Draft in late April, but two days after its conclusion, Mitchell got a career-changing knock on his door.
The Stamps had room for a quarterback after Burris’s departure and signed Mitchell on April 30. He entered his first professional camp fighting it out for third on the depth chart and started the season behind the aforementioned Tate and Glenn. I’m not sure anyone could have predicted the following months.
Tate couldn’t stay healthy and started just five games combined in 2012 and 2013. Glenn had his injury issues as well and, prior to the 2014 season, Hufnagel named Mitchell his starting quarterback. The rest, as they say, is history.
Meanwhile, things for Burris haven’t followed the expected script either. He made it back to the Grey Cup in 2013 only to be dealt from Hamilton to Ottawa for their inaugural campaign the following season. His three years with the REDBLACKS haven’t been what you’d call silent either.
Career by the Numbers: Henry Burris vs. Bo Levi Mitchell
| Bo Levi Mitchell | Henry Burris | |
| Record | 43-7-1 (.860) | 118-103-3 (.534) |
| Passing Yards | 14,649 | 63,227 |
| TD:INT | 92:34 | 372:227 |
We keep writing Burris off and he keeps telling us how wrong we are. After a really rough first year in Ottawa, he won the Most Outstanding Player award and led the team to a Grey Cup in year two of existence. Oh, and then there’s this year: Burris lost his job to Trevor Harris in the early stages of this season before reclaiming it late and never looking back. For a guy who was supposed to have only a year or two left after leaving Calgary, Burris has done pretty well.
One decision in early 2012 set off quite an unpredictable chain of events for a pair of players. Burris was traded and has defied the odds en route to a third Grey Cup appearance since leaving the Stampeders. That trade also paved the way for Mitchell’s arrival in Calgary and eventual rise to the top of the depth chart. Burris was the league’s MOP last year, Mitchell will win the same award this year, and now they meet in a Grey Cup for the first time ever. Just like we all envisioned, right?
