Ranking the top pending free agent quarterbacks

Marshall Ferguson

CFL.ca

@TSN_Marsh

Each year the CFL quarterback carousel takes a spin. Some years — like the spring of 2023 — see landmark shifts in the shape of the game caused by movement of its biggest stars.

Last winter Bo Levi Mitchell was traded from Hamilton to Calgary, a move that despite a years’ worth of separation and actually seeing Mitchell in Ticats colours still doesn’t seem to compute. We also had the farewell — for now — of McLeod Bethel-Thompson down south, allowing former SEC QB Chad Kelly to assume the reins in Toronto en route to his emotional Most Outstanding Player speech November in Niagara Falls, Ont.

This time around there might not be a Mitchell or MacBeth to grab your headline, but the options and their possibilities are no less intriguing.

Depth Options
Dominique Davis, Jake Dolegala, Mason Fine and Kai Locksley

I have great respect for the game of Davis and have been present multiple times during his journey through Montreal and Ottawa to see him tear apart defences, but the consistency just hasn’t been there. Until it is he will be battling uphill to climb out of this journeyman category.

Dolegala and Fine both showed flashes in 2023 but again when your best can’t always be relied upon it’s hard for any organization to open the wallet and hang its future on your game. Meanwhile Locksley had an adventurous season between an Edmonton exodus and carving out a role for himself in Hamilton. Locksley emerged as a hybrid weapon that could intrigue an outside-the-box thinker somewhere throughout the CFL if they could get Locksley on the same page with those around him.

Nick Arbuckle spent the 2023 season with the REDBLACKS, and could test free agency in February (Patrick Doyle/CFL.ca)

Wildcards
Nick Arbuckle and Dakota Prukop

This feels like a make or break year for everything around the Ottawa REDBLACKS, with Shawn Burke back as general manager and head coach Bob Dyce back in the fold as well. Offensive coordinator Khari Jones was let go after the REDBLACKS’ 4-14 finish and the quarterback situation hinges greatly on what deal Jeremiah Masoli is willing to take after another injury cut another season short for him.

Dustin Crum led the way home but will new OC Tommy Condell advocate to build around him or to bring in Dane Evans, who worked with Condell in Hamilton? All of this is to say, I have no idea where Arbuckle slots in much in the same vein that Prukop’s future is up in the air.

Every once in a while Prukop will show you an element of his game which makes you believe he’s destined for much more than his backup role in Winnipeg. The challenge comes in actually making that leap through perception or reality of fans and team decision makers.

Matthew Shiltz has served as a backup but has closed out the Eastern Semi-Final for the Ticats the last two years (Kevin Sousa/CFL.ca)

Starters
Dane Evans, Dru Brown and Matthew Shiltz

Evans is a starting quarterback in the CFL. I firmly believe that and want to see him get the chance somewhere after a year to gather his game and thoughts in Vancouver. Shiltz, Evans’ former teammate in Hamilton, has also earned the right to be viewed that way in my opinion. New Ticats’ head coach Scott Milanovich’s off-season assessments will play a larger role than any other in determining whether or not that is possible with the Ticats, as a decision needs to be made on Bo Levi Mitchell’s future before long.

With that we come to the largest question mark of the quarterback carousel: how will people view Brown after earning his stripes and the verbal support of Zach Collaros through his time in Winnipeg?

While much of this has to do with teams’ internal decisions (Hamilton, Saskatchewan, Ottawa) on their current perceived starters and overall plan at QB1, Brown’s ability and potential is obvious and should be viewed as a real threat to any quarterback in any situation who sees him sign on the dotted line of their current club.

Is Brown a legitimate CFL starter or simply the best of the unknown potential ‘next’ crop? Only time will tell but there’s no denying his game matches the style many teams have chosen to play around the CFL these days.

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