Steinberg’s MMQB: Ready to dominate again?

We’ve had a ton of quarterback news over the last number of weeks, which has started to clear up a somewhat clouded picture.

While not everything is set in stone, one thing is clear: there’s only one team remaining with a true vacancy at starting quarterback. The Toronto Argonauts could be getting a lot of calls with free agency set to begin later this month.

So let’s do a quick recap of what we’ve seen of late. After trading for him earlier this winter, the Ottawa REDBLACKS have signed Nick Arbuckle to a lucrative contract. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers made a big commitment, too, as they decided to reward Zach Collaros with a big deal after his stellar work late in 2019.

RELATED
» Bombers sign Collaros to two-year extension
» REDBLACKS finalize two-year deal with Nick Arbuckle
» Eskimos extend QB Trevor Harris through 2022
» Alouettes sign Vernon Adams Jr. through 2022

Slightly less surprising were a couple contract extensions. The Montreal Alouettes came first as they locked up Vernon Adams Jr. until the end of the 2022 season. A few days later, it was Edmonton did the same thing with Trevor Harris; the Eskimos now have their guy under contract for the next three years, too.

With that, we have a pretty good idea of what things are going to look like when training camp starts, at least under ideal circumstances.

There are a few caveats to what we are seeing above, starting with the status of Mitchell. The status of the 2018 Most Outstanding Player to start training camp isn’t 100 percent set in stone after a procedure on his shoulder early in January. And, in Winnipeg, Chris Streveler has now been released by the team in order to pursue opportunities down south.

Finally, the situation in Hamilton is an interesting one to watch. Both Evans and Masoli are under contract for 2020, which presents an interesting conversation once the latter is back to 100 percent. Masoli’s status to start the season is unknown, which means that conversation might not pop up until a few weeks in.

But there’s only one team without at least one easy choice to put on top of the depth chart: Toronto. Last year saw McLeod Bethel-Thompson and James Franklin both start games for the Argos, but is either guy in the conversation for this season? I liked a lot of what I saw from Bethel-Thompson in 2019, and he’s a really good story, but I’m not sure Toronto is ready to hand him the ball without exploring other options.

With the signing of Collaros, Winnipeg has released Matt Nichols, putting one of the league’s most steady and consistent pivots on the open market. Remember how good Nichols’s numbers were before sustaining his season-ending injury in Week 10.

In nine starts, Nichols had thrown for just under 2,000 yards, was clicking at over 71 per cent, and had given up just five interceptions against 15 touchdowns. He’ll be 33 to start the coming season, but you can’t tell me the Argos won’t have any interesting in a quarterback with Nichols’s resume.

Could Toronto take a run at Streveler in free agency? I don’t think it’s crazy if the Argonauts are willing to be patient as he continues to develop into a well-rounded pivot. Of course, Streveler has drawn NFL interest from a number of teams, so his future is very much up in the air.

There are other names out there that might want to hone in on a potential open spot in Toronto. Jonathan Jennings, Logan Kilgore, and Brandon Bridge are all free agents who could easily find their way into an open competition if the Argos don’t land a bigger fish.

Regardless of what direction new general manager Pinball Clemons and new head coach Ryan Dinwiddie decide to go, Toronto is number one quarterback watching spot in the CFL for the next number of weeks.

Ready to dominate again

I raised my eyebrows and was instantly intrigued when the Alouettes announced the signing of running back James Wilder Jr. last week. The combination of Montreal’s offence and a motivated Wilder has all the potential to be a match made in heaven.

Let’s start with Wilder who is looking to return to the dominant, dynamic back he was in 2017 and stretches of 2018. Knowing how things went last year, Wilder likely feels he has a lot to prove and should enter training camp with a chip on his shoulder. We saw Wilder’s role reduced with the Argos in 2019 and even saw him sit as a healthy scratch. That’s not the explosive guy we remember Wilder being not so long ago.

RELATED: Als sign Wilder Jr. to one-year contract

2017’s Most Outstanding Rookie is now a member of the Montreal Alouettes (The Canadian Press)

“I’m ready to get back to that, I can’t wait,” Wilder told me during Grey Cup week in Calgary. “It’s no secret, it was a little disconnect with the coaching staff and I this year. Getting the ball, getting more in the offence, getting benched, and you know, it was just a lot of stuff going on. It was a tough year, it really was a tough year mentally.”

A fired up Wilder seems like the perfect guy to drop into a Montreal offence primed for his type of player. William Stanback is no longer in the fold as he explores opportunity in the NFL, which means the top of the Als’ depth chart is very much up for grabs. If Wilder comes to play, this sets up very nicely.

Only Winnipeg averaged more rushing yards per game (147.9) than Montreal’s 124.2 last season, which shows you this is a team able and willing to run the ball. Stanback finished third in league rushing with 1,048 yards despite appearing in four fewer games than the two guys in front of him: Andrew Harris and William Powell. Finally, of all the league’s top tailbacks, no one had a better average than Stanback’s 6.2 per carry.

Montreal is looking to build on their resurgent 2019 by taking steps forward this season. In Vernon Adams Jr., they’ve got their franchise quarterback. The Alouettes have a dangerous group of receivers and playmakers defensively. With Stanback’s departure, the one glaring hole was at running back.

Wilder will step into that void as motivated as ever. Let’s see if he can get back to the heights we saw from him not that long ago.