MMQB: Revving the Free Agency engine

Pat Steinberg

CFL.ca

@Fan960Steinberg

My head is spinning with all the news, speculation, and rumoured signings we’ve been wading through in the week that the CFL’s negotiation window was open. With 2023 Free Agency officially set to open tomorrow, here are a few (of the many) stories that have caught my interest so far.

Back to the ‘Peg

It was hard not to be floored when talk of a Kenny Lawler return to Winnipeg started swirling. That’d be the Bombers adding a bona fide No. 1 receiver to a roster that already boasts a…bona fide No. 1 receiver. Assuming he doesn’t end up in the NFL, it’s hard not to be excited at the prospect of Dalton Schoen and Lawler on the same team with Zach Collaros, the league’s best quarterback, at the helm.

Lawler led the CFL with 1,014 receiving yards in 2021 while with Winnipeg before signing a huge free agent contract in Edmonton last year. After a reported trade deadline deal to bring Lawler back to the Bombers didn’t come to fruition last year, Lawler has now decided to re-join an offence that also boasts newly re-signed Nic Demski. Look out.

The dynamic duo

It’s awesome to see Andrew Harris reportedly back for another season with the Argos. I mean, if you’re him, this whole winning championships thing is starting to become old hat. What’s the harm in trying to make it four straight seasons with a Grey Cup win? Harris is one of the greatest running backs in league history and is still playing at a high level. If he’s still up for the rigors of a professional football season, his Hall of Fame induction can wait another year.

Right back with him in Toronto is fellow tailback A.J. Ouellette, who burst onto the CFL scene last season while Harris was sidelined with a torn pectoral muscle. He then cemented his impact with a pair of bruising touchdown runs in the 109th Grey Cup. With Ouellette and Harris under contract for 2023, the Argos will have intriguing options in deploying two strong, but different, rushers.

Trading places

After a disappointing second half last season, it’s clear Saskatchewan is keen on making significant changes. That starts at quarterback as TSN’s Farhan Lalji reports the Riders and Trevor Harris have agreed to terms on a two-year deal. A proven and consistent pivot, Harris joins a team that will have a drastically different group of receivers compared to last season.

Harris would leave Montreal after spending parts of two seasons there, including a 2022 campaign that helped get his career back on track. After things went south in his tenure in Edmonton, Harris took over as the full-time starter for the Alouettes early last season and never looked back, en route to throwing for 4,157 yards and 20 touchdowns.

Of course, Saskatchewan’s courting of Harris means the end of Cody Fajardo’s tenure in green. But, also according to Lalji, it looks like Fajardo is going to land on his feet in Harris’s vacated spot in Montreal. There’s no doubt Fajardo struggled in his final season with the Riders, but he’s not far removed at all from being an effective CFL starter. We’ll see if a change of scenery can get things back on track for him.

More big splashes

After two straight Grey Cup appearances, I don’t think Hamilton was very happy with the way 2022 played out. Last year’s frustrating regular season and early exit from the playoffs has had the Tiger-Cats busy and aggressive so far this winter. They’ve already acquired and signed quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell, which was only the beginning apparently.

3DownNationa’s Justin Dunk has reported that linebacker Jameer Thurman has agreed to terms with Hamilton. One of the most athletic and versatile players at his position, Thurman’s loss would be felt in Calgary after he and Cameron Judge formed a devastating duo in 2022. Mr. Lalji also reports defensive end Ja’Gared Davis could be poised to return to Hamilton, where he racked up 19 sacks in two seasons prior to joining Toronto last season.

Air Edmonton

The Elks are starting to put together one heck of a receiving corps. The latest member of the group could very well be Eugene Lewis, as TSN’s Lalji believes all signs point to him signing in Edmonton. CFL.ca’s No. 2 free agent seemed keen to return to Montreal for a sixth season until things started to turn over the last number of weeks. Now, if all plays out as suggested, the Elks would be adding one of the CFL’s truly elite playmakers.

Lewis, who finished 2022 with 1,303 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns, is joining a group that already includes returnees Manny Arceneaux and the emerging Dillon Mitchell. But Lewis isn’t the only new addition. Edmonton has also reportedly agreed to deals with Steven Dunbar Jr. and Kyran Moore.

Dunbar is coming off a breakout season with Hamilton where he racked up 1,000 yards and six touchdowns. Moore, on the other hand, was plagued with injuries in Saskatchewan last year. But Moore is only a few years removed from his breakout 2019 campaign, his only full CFL season to date. That year Moore went for 996 yards and six touchdowns. Suddenly, quarterback Taylor Cornelius has one of the most talented receiving groups in the league.

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