Jimmy Jeong/CFL.ca
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats enter 2017 free agency in search of answers to the question of how to get better. The Ticats could be aggressive in free agency and overspend in order to get over the hump, but I doubt they will.
The team could make a splash or two but I believe General Manager Eric Tillman and Head Coach Kent Austin will primarily focus on maintaining the talent they have in house and count on a fully healthy season from their starting quarterback to advance past the Eastern Semi-Final, where they crashed out of the playoffs in 2016.
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Emanuel Davis could still be one of the Ticats’ top priorities in free agency (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
For the second year in a row, I believe the most important free agent the Black and Gold would like to keep in house is a defender. In 2016, Ted Laurent was the prettiest girl at the dance and decided to dance with the one who brought him to prominence.
In 2017, Emanuel Davis will receive plenty of attention after two stellar seasons starting in Hamilton — including this past season which saw him battle through injury for most of the season en route to becoming the one constant in a battered Ticats secondary.
Offensive tackle was a concern for Hamilton until the team traded for Xavier Fulton late last season from Saskatchewan and re-signed him just days ago to a two-year contract. Factor that with the expected return of offensive tackle Jake Olson from a lower body injury, which saw him miss all of 2016, and you would have to think outside of adding depth, the Ticats will already have addressed their edge protection.
The one position I find intriguing is that of Andy Fantuz’s field slotback position. Fantuz is in for a long recovery from ACL knee surgery and while his national status is unquestionably important, I wonder if Hamilton would entertain finding a productive external solution and find a national starter somewhere else in the lineup.
If the Ticats decided to look around — knowing that Fantuz could miss the majority or entirety of the season — the home run shot would be former Tiger-Cats slotback Greg Ellingson.
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Terrence Toliver is the second-ranked Ticat pending free agency on Feb. 14 (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
Ellingson enjoyed his time in Hamilton and left for Ottawa at the urging of then newly acquired REDBLACKS quarterback Henry Burris. Getting Ellingson back next to a healthy Luke Tasker could be dynamic. If the team loses Terrence Toliver, there will be work to do in finding a replacement for his explosiveness but finding a talented tall, lanky, international boundary wide receiver is not impossible.
The Tiger-Cats don’t need to do anything crazy in free agency 2017. They have solid Canadian depth, including a returning free safety in Craig Butler; a pair of great linebackers in Larry Dean and Simoni Lawrence; a veteran left tackle; a cohesive national interior offensive line; and most importantly, their starting quarterback.
The secondary could use a revamp and there are always good ways to spend money to improve a football team, but it all starts by maintaining in house developed talent.
The Tiger-Cats decision makers know that.
