Johany Jutras/CFL.ca
I know Darian Durant is coming off perhaps the most frustrating season of his professional career, but I still think the Winnipeg Blue Bombers made a good move by signing him on Sunday.
Durant’s one and only season in Montreal was a disappointing one, but there’s one main reason I think he’s in line for a bounce back campaign in 2018.
Motivated man
It all comes down to motivation, because I don’t know if there will be a more driven player in the league this season than Durant. Remember, we’re talking about a guy who’s sat atop depth charts for the better part of a decade and has two Grey Cup rings to his credit. Yeah, last year didn’t go as planned, but here’s a chance for him to prove there’s plenty still in the tank.
There’s no question Durant is a proud guy. That was demonstrated by how fired up he was in leading the Alouettes to a Week 1 win over his former team Saskatchewan. Well, for a second straight winter, he’s parted ways with a team, opting to go in a different direction. The motivation derived when someone doesn’t believe in you anymore might be the most powerful of all.
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And let’s not forget we’re not all that far removed from an effective Durant, either. Yes, last year was a struggle, but Durant was very good in 2016, despite being on a 5-13 Riders team. In 15 starts that year, Durant completed a career high 66.5 per cent of his passes and was good for 20 total touchdowns. Based on that, you can totally understand why Durant still believes he’s got a lot left to give.
Of course, there’s one other important factor to consider: a new role. Durant will enter this season with the Bombers number two on the depth chart, a position he hasn’t been in since the 2008 season when he took over as Saskatchewan’s starter. There’s no doubt Durant’s approach will have to change for this to be successful.
A former teammate of Durant’s provides a good template of how to make that happen. Durant and Kevin Glenn were both members of the 2015 edition of the Roughriders, and the latter has been in this scenario numerous times.
Glenn entered both the 2012 and 2013 seasons as a backup with the Calgary Stampeders, and yet ended up starting 28 regular season games while in red and white. Glenn’s opportunities with the Stamps came as a result of injuries to Drew Tate, but he was prepared and ready to take advantage when they arose.
I’m not saying Winnipeg’s incumbent is going to get injured, because Matt Nichols has been very durable since taking over. However, injuries happen and it has been proven in recent years how crucial good quarterback depth is.
If Durant comes to the Bombers with the right approach and attitude, he’ll be in a really good spot to take advantage of any playing opportunity that comes along. Winnipeg had a need for an experienced backup pivot, and I think a motivated Durant will be a really nice fit.
The forgotten man…again
CFL.ca ran a really interesting poll last week on the future of tailback John White. The question posed to you was pretty simple: would you risk it and bring White in as a starting option in 2018? It’s a fascinating question with a number of variables, but in the end, I end up in the minority, because my answer to that question is yes.
The debate on White surrounds his durability and, more importantly, his potential effectiveness after two catastrophic injuries in three seasons. White missed the entire 2015 season with an Achilles injury sustained in camp; a knee injury knocked him out for the rest of the 2017 season in Week 2.
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Signing White, a pending free agent, absolutely carries risk. I have no idea how he’s going to fare coming off a devastating knee injury and having been away for almost a year. What makes me think the risk is worth it, though, is how White responded following his first major injury setback.
Coming off a ruptured Achilles, White turned in an outstanding 2016 season with Edmonton. At 5.9 yards per carry, White led all starting running backs in that category and ended up fourth overall with 886 total yards, despite playing fewer games than the three players in front of him. Finally, White’s eight rushing touchdowns in 14 games put him third in the league.
I guess this all comes down to one question: why wouldn’t a team sign White? His time with the Eskimos is probably done after they re-signed C.J. Gable earlier this winter, and that makes sense. Gable was stellar for Edmonton upon his arrival late in the season and helped diversify their offence. But there are other realistic landing spots.
Neither Hamilton nor Saskatchewan has a clear-cut number one tailback entering 2018 and both would be great landing spots for White. I say that because neither team would be bringing him in with the sole expectation of him carrying the rushing load. Instead, White would almost certainly be one of a number of options fighting for the top spot, which automatically lowers the risk significantly.
Calgary is also an interesting possibility, as Jerome Messam’s future remains up in the air. If the Stamps don’t re-sign the pending free agent and 2016 rushing champ, White could be an interesting addition in a similar scenario as stated above. Additionally, knowing the risk factor, White would come in at a much lower price tag as Messam if Calgary was looking for a little cap relief.
As Steinberg writes, there are plenty of potential landing spots for Esks pending FA John White (Jimmy Jeong/CFL.ca)
Even a team with an established runner has very little to lose adding White to their backfield. You’re telling me he wouldn’t be a nice second option to guys like Tyrell Sutton, William Powell, or Andrew Harris? Especially because White is unlikely to break the bank, I can paint a realistic picture for nine landing spots, depending on what he’s looking for.
When weighing risk vs. reward in White’s case, here are a few things to consider: White doesn’t have a ton of leverage to demand a big money deal, contracts aren’t guaranteed and he’s going to be as motivated and fired up as ever. I’ll ask the question again: why not sign White?
Quick hits
As we expected, the Riders restructured Zach Collaros’s last week, clearing the final hurdle after their blockbuster acquisition early this month. Now we get to use the ‘M’ word once again: motivation. If you’re Collaros, the desire to prove the doubters wrong is just one of many reasons I’m expecting a significantly more successful 2018.
Finally, we’ll finish where we started this week: Winnipeg. The Bombers were busy last week in signing Durant and signing DB Chris Randle for two more years. But General Manager Kyle Walters is just starting to chip away at his off-season workload.
Winnipeg has a bevy of pending free agents to make decisions on, and you’d have to think fellow DB’s Maurice Leggett and T.J. Heath would be top priorities. The problem is, both guys are absolutely deserving of nice looking contracts, so Walters may have to get creative to bring both players back for 2018.
