Maciocia, Alouettes looking to address defence in free agency

CFL.ca Staff

MONTREAL — Danny Maciocia is heading into his second off-season at the helm of the Montreal Alouettes.

His first year saw the general manager re-sign star pivot Vernon Adams Jr. while adding some local flare and secondary help in free agency.

With just a few days remaining until the opening of 2021 free agency, Maciocia and his staff are still weighing their options.

“I’m content with where we are. Are we going to be active? It’s hard for me to say how active,” Maciocia said on Tuesday. “…We’ll know during the next few days. I’m still trying to get a feel for the market, what other teams are doing out there and what are the player demands.

“Am I going to be able to fit a few of these players and get them under contract? Only time will tell. I’ll know here in the next few days.”

Montreal has done a good job holding onto some of their key pieces heading into 2021. They extended defensive back Monshadrik Hunter on Wednesday and have also inked Eugene Lewis, Naaman Roosevelt, B.J. Cunningham, Jake Wieneke, Trey Rutherford, Greg Reid, and Tyquwan Glass, to name a few.

However, the likes of John Bowman, Ciante Evans, Kevin Fogg, Taylor Loffler, and Adrian Tracy are still without new deals.

But the biggest piece still on the board for the Als is MIKE linebacker Henoc Muamba, who is still without a contract for 2021.

Linebacker Henoc Muamba is one of the biggest names on the board heading into free agency. (Dominick Gravel/Montreal Alouettes)

The 31-year-old has played a pivotal part in holding down the second level of the Alouettes’ defence in each of his past two seasons with the organization. He’s one of their most important leaders and someone who could be a difference-maker on any given snap.

“We did speak last week, and I’ve got a great relationship with Henoc,” Maciocia said. “When I took the job, we went out to lunch, I explained my vision and what he thought of it, and what he liked and didn’t like about his experience to date in Montreal and he was able to share some great thoughts with me.

“What I did do last week was grant him permission prior to the window opening to shop himself around the CFL, and let me know at some point in time when he did get an offer, to come back and say, ‘Hey listen Danny, this is what I’ve got on the table, can you match it or can you do better?’ I have not heard back from them. I’ve left the door open. He knows, his agent knows about the numbers that I’ve shared with them. But knowing full well that I can’t keep that offer on the table beyond the next little while.”

Muamba played in all but one game during the 2019 season, leading the team with 93 tackles to go along with a sack and two forced fumbles. He was named an East Division and CFL All-Star along with winning the Most Outstanding Canadian award.

When asked if Muamba was a player that the Als would want back, Maciocia was short.

“For the right price, we’d definitely consider him.”

With Patrick Levels and Chris Ackie departing last off-season, Muamba is a key piece for the Als to hold onto at linebacker if they want to be successful in 2021.

The team was already looking to address the defensive side a year ago after allowing a league-worst 319 passing yards per game while getting to the quarterback a league-low 27 times.

The secondary was addressed in 2020, but Maciocia wants to continue to revamp the unit if possible.

“I’d like to concentrate most of my efforts on the defensive side of the ball. There’s a few areas where I think we can either get better and even make sure that we are able to have some depth at positions. That’s where my focus is going to lie here in the next few days,” Maciocia said. “I’m working obviously in conjunction with our scouting staff and coaches to make sure that the players that we are so-called targeting are going to be the ones that fit the identity that we want to have on that side of the ball.

The Alouettes will certainly be one of the teams to keep a close eye on heading into free agency.

Maciocia and the rest of the Montreal staff are doing everything in their power to build a team that will appear in the playoffs once again and compete in what should be an improved East Division in 2021.

Follow CFL