December 4, 2016

Rounding up the Blue Bombers’ Free Agent situation

MontrealAlouettes.com

There are some meaty names on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers prospective free agent list – head coach Mike O’Shea and quarterback Matt Nichols topping it – but also some key cogs and important role players.

And so while the pain still lingers from Sunday’s 32-31 loss to the B.C. Lions in the West Semi-Final, Bombers GM Kyle Walters has some work in front of him when looking ahead to 2017.

Unofficially, the club has 19 players who would become Canadian Football League free agents when the market opens on February 14th. The league will implement a moratorium this Thursday on team announcements for the build-up to Grey Cup, but expect Walters to get busy locking up O’Shea to a new deal ASAP, while contract talks between Nichols and the club should also heat up further now that the season is done, especially after the QB spoke about his desire to return on Monday.

Now, one of the real strengths of this team this year, from all accounts, was its camaraderie. That’s a common statement when a team has success, but if you saw how many guys hang around the locker room just to be around each other, or the large packs that head out to dine together on the road, it’s clear that played a role in the 2016 turnaround.

Still, keeping a team intact in pro sports in the salary cap era is absolutely impossible.

“I feel good about this team and just the chemistry in this locker room,” said Bombers receiver Clarence Denmark, one of the prospective free agents. “I said it from Day 1 when I got back… I’ve seen it and I felt it. It just felt good to be around a bunch of guys you knew cared about the game and cared about going out and winning.”

Matt Smith/CFL.ca

MARKET WATCH: A FULL LIST OF CFL FREE AGENTS

And just to clear up some confusion, offensive lineman Sukh Chungh is under contract for one more year. The big right guard confirmed as much on Monday.

“I’m back next year,” he said. “We’re building something here with our O-line. It’s been a tight-knit group this year. We spend a lot of time in the meetings rooms together and you get to know these guys personally. That’s what is special about it.

“We want to continue growth from where we left off now and get better. I feel like with the O-line we already have, we’re all ready to make that commitment to get better.”