Johany Jutras/CFL.ca
The start of 2017 free agency has been about as eventful as we could have hoped for and makes it hard to believe we still have four months until the season gets started.
While seemingly every team has gotten in on the act in a big way, there’s one free agent signing that stands out above the rest for me and that’s how we’ll kick things off this week.
Striking fear
I was stopped in my tracks when I heard the BC Lions had signed Chris Williams. The Lions have been fairly busy in free agency thus far, specifically on the defensive side of the ball, but it’s their signing of Williams that leads the way for me.
So why was I so taken aback by the Williams news? Well, first of all, any time you can add a talent like Williams it’s going to make headlines. In our first edition of Berg vs. Ferg this season, Marshall Ferguson argued for Williams (and won) against Adarius Bowman as the best receiver in the league.
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I’m not trying to open the debate again, but am instead reiterating where Williams sits in the CFL’s receiver hierarchy. If you don’t think he’s THE best in the league you can’t argue he’s one of the two or three top receivers going right now. When you couple Williams’ breakaway speed with quarterback Jonathon Jennings’ ability to stretch the field, you can understand why many were intrigued with this signing.
But it goes beyond just that, because I didn’t think BC was going to make a huge impact at the position in free agency. When the Lions got Bryan Burnham locked up to a new deal prior to free agency opening, I thought their work was done at receiver. Instead, they’ve added to what was already one of the league’s most potent aerial attacks.
Burnham and Emmanuel Arceneaux made up the CFL’s second most productive receiving unit last season behind only the aforementioned Bowman and Derel Walker in Edmonton. With Burnham back in the fold, I was very interested to see what more he and Arceneaux had in store in 2017. And now they’ve added Williams.
Prior to his season-ending ACL injury late in the campaign, Williams was on pace for over 1,600 receiving yards, which would have put him number two in the league. As it stood, despite missing four games, Williams still finished sixth overall in the category; his 10 touchdown catches tied him for second in the league.
The addition of Chris Williams gives the Lions a dynamic trio at receiver(Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
We’ve seen some pretty potent groups of receivers in recent CFL memory, don’t get me wrong, but I can’t remember a trio with quite this much star power. This might even look more tantalizing on paper than the group Ottawa assembled the last two seasons, which of course included Williams.
Sure, there are questions that will need to be answered. Will Williams be the same after knee surgery? Will there be enough touches to spread around? I’m banking on the answer to both queries to be yes and that should be enough to terrify eight other secondaries around the league.
Taking care of business
I don’t think anyone is surprised to see the Calgary Stampeders remain relatively quiet in free agency. General Manager John Hufnagel has never really been a big player in February’s sweepstakes, instead opting to build from within, via trade, and through lesser-known additions. Just because that trend has continued, though, doesn’t mean the Stamps haven’t been busy.
Other than their Grey Cup opponent in the REDBLACKS, I don’t know if anyone had as large a laundry list of pending free agents as Calgary did. While there have been some notable departures, give the Stampeders credit, because they’ve still gotten a lot of in-house work done.
The two biggest signings for Calgary likely happened on the eve of free agency. Getting defensive lineman Micah Johnson and receiver Marquay McDaniel locked up prior to them hitting the open market was somewhat unexpected but crucial nonetheless.
Since joining the Stamps in 2013, Johnson has established himself as one of the league’s premier interior linemen and is coming off a banner 2016 season. Johnson recorded career highs with 36 defensive tackles and seven sacks and was an absolute beast in Calgary’s league-leading run defence.
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Recently extended Micah Johnson anchored the CFL’s top run defence of 2016 (Matt Smith/CFL.ca)
McDaniel, on the other hand, is thought by many to be the most important offensive player on the Stampeders not named Bo Levi Mitchell. He led the team in receiving yards last season and was instrumental on second down as part of Calgary’s meticulous, well-oiled machine of an offence.
McDaniel and Johnson aren’t the only big name players back in the fold for the Stamps this offseason. Calgary has also gotten key pieces like Charleston Hughes, Pierre Lavertu, Dan Federkeil, Cordarro Law, Rob Maver, and Rene Paredes signed to new deals at different times this off-season, too.
Have there been casualties in red and white? Sure there have been, as reigning Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman Derek Dennis has migrated east to Saskatchewan. Receiver Bakari Grant and linebacker Glenn Love have joined him in Regina, while defensive back Matt Bucknor has signed on with the Lions.
Obviously Dennis’ departure is the most significant, because he was stellar in 2016. The Riders are getting one heck of a player and yet, I don’t think Stamps fans should worry too much.
Calgary has had an incredible track record of targeting and integrating offensive lineman over the years, even while names like Stanley Bryant, Brent Jones and Ben Archibald have left. With Hufnagel and Offensive Line Coach Pat DelMonaco in the fold, I’m fairly confident the team’s offensive line will be just fine in 2017. Heck, Dennis was a practice roster player himself before getting his shot in 2015.
Steinberg believes the Stamps can overcome the departure of left tackle Derek Dennis (Walter Tychnowicz/CFL.ca)
For me, Johnson, Hughes and McDaniel had to be the top three priorities for the Stampeders and all three of them are coming back. Knowing how many big time free agents they had, and knowing who else is returning, I think you can say Calgary has done a pretty darn good job.
Not to be outdone
The Saskatchewan Roughriders have been understandably busy in free agency. Going into year two under Chris Jones, many thought the Riders would be aggressive this month and that’s exactly what we’ve seen.
Along with the additions of the aforementioned Dennis, Grant, and Love, Saskatchewan has also brought in a couple of impact Canadians in 2016 East Division All-Star Marc-Olivier Brouillette at linebacker and Eastern Final hero Kienan LaFrance at running back. While free agency is never a guarantee, it sure does look like the Riders have gotten significantly better in a very short period of time.
But Jones isn’t stopping at free agency in trying to overhaul his roster. Reports also surfaced this week that Saskatchewan is in negotiations with two-time NFL Pro Bowl quarterback Vince Young. It was a piece of news that reverberated on both sides of the border but, if you start to think about it, isn’t a totally shocking revelation.
RELATED: The latest from The Waggle
Episode 38 – All Things Free Agency
James and Davis give their team-by-team analysis of how every CFL club fared through the first few days of free agency. Later, James chats with a Grey Cup Champion defensive back who is taking his talents to Steeltown as Abdul Kanneh reflects on signing with the Ticats.
The Riders are in need of quarterback help after trading Darian Durant to Montreal earlier this off-season. While the team’s acquisition of Kevin Glenn is both smart and prudent, it also isn’t one that’s going to push them over the top. At this stage of the game, Glenn is who he is: he’s a great backup option who isn’t going to lose you games in starting situations.
But Saskatchewan wants to win in 2017 and, while I love Glenn, I don’t think he’s the guy to lead a resurgence. I’m not saying Young is either, because the track record of former NFL quarterbacks coming to this league isn’t overly strong. Instead, I just look at it as more work being done by Jones.
At this point, we’re not even sure if Young is going to sign with the Riders and, if he does, success is far from a guarantee. However, I sure do like the story and, more important than that, it shows Jones is willing to turn over any number of stones to find the right fit at quarterback.
I’m curious to see if this one even comes close to working out.
