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2020 Free Agency February 3, 2020

O’Leary: The five most impactful pre-free agency moves

The Canadian Press

Senior Writer
@olearychris

With the free agency bonanza of 2019 now almost a full year old, we can look back on it and admit that we were spoiled. Very, very spoiled.

Free agency rarely plays out the way that it did last year, even when the pieces are in place for a league-altering off-season. Most years, the biggest names that are headed to free agency are extended before we can even start to get into full, in-depth speculation on where they might land.

Even in this era of short-term contracts, you won’t often see the likes of Mike Reilly, Bo Levi Mitchell and Trevor Harris make it to market again, let alone see two of those three change teams.

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Zach Collaros is the new face of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (Matt Smith/CFL.ca)

This year — which has seen the vast majority of its quarterback movement take place before free agency’s Feb. 11, noon ET kickoff — has fallen to the traditional path that free agency takes. There are still questions to be answered and players to be signed that can have a significant impact on the 2020 season, but it feels like a lot of the major questions that we started thinking about after the Bombers lifted the Grey Cup at the end of November have been answered.

Let’s take a look at some of the most impactful signings that have already been made this off-season.

The champs are back 

The off-season picture came into focus over the past week for the Blue Bombers, as they zeroed in on Zach Collaros as their starting quarterback. GM Kyle Walters had three of his QBs — Collaros, Matt Nichols and Chris Streveler — on expiring deals and bringing that trio back would have been impossible, barring some massive pay cuts.

Streveler is reportedly set to sign with the Arizona Cardinals, while Nichols seems to be the prime candidate to take the starting role in Toronto.

Collaros will get a full season to play for coach Mike O’Shea and he’ll do so behind some of the best protection in the league. Over the last few weeks, the Bombers came to terms with o-linemen Jermarcus Hardrick, Stanley Bryant and Pat Neufeld, which helps both Collaros and running back Andrew Harris.

Willie Jefferson remains a pending free agent, but Walters said at Collaros’ press conference last week that he expects the reigning defensive player of the year to continue to explore NFL options. Jefferson would be a big loss for one of the league’s top defences, but on the offensive side of the ball the Bombers appear to be in great shape.

Capital gains in Ottawa 

We’ll start with the big signing in Ottawa, the one that the organization took a modest risk on and had it pay off, then rightfully plastered the fruits of its labour outside of TD Place for its fans to see. 2019 was a difficult season for the REDBLACKS. Signing Nick Arbuckle is the best news the team has seen in almost a full year.

Trading for Arbuckle’s expiring contract ultimately cost REDBLACKS GM Marcel Desjardins the first overall pick in the draft (Ottawa swaps picks with Calgary and now chooses sixth overall), but in the better part of eight games that we saw Arbuckle play this year, there’s reason to believe he’s worth it. The 26-year-old showed he’s capable of starting in this league. It’s a different thing to do it as a full-time starter with a new team, which could be why the team announced on Monday that it had hired Steve Walsh as its QBs coach. Should Arbuckle make that transition and get the right pieces in place around him, the REDBLACKS could have a franchise quarterback for the long-term future.

The other move the team made isn’t as flashy as landing a coveted young quarterback but it does have an immediate impact on the team’s week-by-week success. In making 69 consecutive field goals through the 2018 and 2019 seasons, Lewis Ward established himself as one of the top kickers in the league. Riding shotgun with him is Richie Leone, one of the league’s top punters. Leone averaged 48.4 yards on his punts last year and earned himself a spot on the CFL all-star team in the process.

Keeping that tandem together when other teams would have happily taken one or both of them in free agency was a big save for the REDBLACKS and one that should win them games in 2020.

Bringing it back in Tiger Town

After a bittersweet 2019, the challenge for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats would be to see how much of their talented team the organization could bring back for 2020. Co-GMs Shawn Burke and Drew Allemang have been busy doing just that.

Jeremiah Masoli was extended on New Year’s Eve, giving the team all of the quarterback stability it could need for 2020. Masoli is still recovering from his torn ACL and if he’s not ready for training camp or the start of the season there should be no worry that his backup can’t pick up the slack. Dane Evans stepped in for Masoli toward the middle of last season and looked like a poised veteran for the majority of the 14 games he played. The 26-year-old threw for 3,754 yards and had 21 touchdowns to 13 interceptions, leading Hamilton to its first Grey Cup appearance in five years. As things stand right now there is no more talented QB tandem in the league.

Nine days after Masoli was extended, Ted Laurent’s extension was announced. The national defensive tackle will return for his seventh season with the Ticats, after posting 16 tackles and five sacks last year. Getting d-lineman Ja’Gared Davis back in the fold should still be high on the Ticats’ list, but Laurent is a ratio-friendly tone-setter in the Ticats’ defence. Keeping him is big.

Judge rules, decides to stay in Riderville 

Cameron Judge enjoyed a breakout season in 2019 (Arthur Ward/CFL.ca)

Cameron Judge showed in 2019 that he’s full of the intangibles that help teams win in the CFL. As the Riders rolled to the top of the West Division standings for the first time in 10 years, Judge enjoyed a breakout season. The second overall pick in the 2017 CFL draft, Judge had career bests of 61 tackles, 11 on special teams, five sacks, two interceptions and a touchdown. The Montreal-born, California raised linebacker is only 25 and has his best football in front of him. He only signed a one-year deal, but the Riders can focus on free agency and this coming season knowing they have a young, talented player on the field for them.

Securing non-free agents

Stability at the most important position on the roster is everything. Two GMs got proactive recently, extending their starting QBs well before their contracts were set to expire. Danny Maciocia went first, getting Vernon Adams Jr. to put his name to a two-year extension on Jan. 28.

Edmonton GM Brock Sunderland was next, inking Trevor Harris to a three-year extension on Jan. 31.

There’s a trickle down effect that comes from moves like these ones. Offensive players that are heading into free agency this year now know who will be throwing the ball for the foreseeable future in each city, as will players that are a year or two away from free agency. It can make a top receiver or a highly valued o-lineman want to follow suit and take a contract extension to preserve good chemistry, or to help a team continue to win. Stability is everything and with those signings, Montreal and Edmonton have that right now.