Ryan Rishaug: Mike Reilly Signs With BC Lions, 4 Year Deal

[EsksTMac]

From Twitter.

Justin Dunk has confirmed.

The Eskimos have some explaining to do, in my opinion. Having Rhodes gone puts a band-aid on things, but Reilly should have never come down to this.

I said a year ago, the option of trading Mike Reilly should have come up with James Franklin on the roster. You can't let a guy of Reilly's calibre walk for nothing. Eskimos need a rebound in a huge way tomorrow morning, but this will be a long process to get this organization to where it was years ago. The board has to make the correct hire.

[Smartie123]

Ryan Rishaug was the original tweet. Would trust him over Dunk anyday.

[Mr.Prez]

Goodbye and Good Luck!

[Beerfish]

Good luck Mike, I hope our dline and backers continue to make you prove you are the touhgest player in the league.

[budha]

Mike will be missed. I can not blame him for signing with the Lions given the fact that his off season home is in Washington St. and he has a young family. I just hope that he gets the same ovation that Ray got when he returns to Commonwealth on June 21st.

[Uncle Bobby]

Has a new CBA been signed?

So much for that pile of crap excuse for not signing earlier.

[eskfan152]

Has a new CBA been signed?

So much for that pile of crap excuse for not signing earlier.

I think those intentions were honest, but as crunch time hit, looking after his family for now and guaranteed in the future became more important. I can accept that.

[EsksTMac]

Has a new CBA been signed?

So much for that pile of crap excuse for not signing earlier.

Yeah, that's frustrating. Again, if I was Sunderland, I would have went to him last off-season and presented him with a contract extension. If he didn't sign it, you look to trade him. It's what teams in the NBA are doing now. If a guy doesn't want to stay, you can't lose him for nothing. That's crippling and that's exactly what happened here.

And for the record, I don't hold that against Reilly. If I'm him, I trust Hervey and the Lions to put together a winning team more than I do Brock Sunderland and who knows. Too many questions with this organization.

Absolutely massive loss.

[budha]

Has a new CBA been signed?

So much for that pile of crap excuse for not signing earlier.

Come on. He was a free agent and saw the chance to move to a good team close to home.

[Uncle Bobby]

If he didn't sign it, you look to trade him. It's what teams in the NBA are doing now. If a guy doesn't want to stay, you can't lose him for nothing.

Very few substantial trades in a league with short term and no guaranteed contracts.

[bone]

Wish him the best personally, but I’d be lying at this point if I didn’t say I’d love to see that entire group fail. They seem to think it is automatic that the cup will come to them forgetting that Jones and his dominant defense were the biggest reason they won. Can BC carry on from there. I’m not so confident of that knowing those key pieces are four years older with a rookie head coach.

[dealerd]

Has a new CBA been signed?

So much for that pile of crap excuse for not signing earlier.

I totally agree with you I said all along that Mike was just using that excuse to buy time to get to FA ,I HATE when someone has to lie to his faithful supporters ,it would be different if he just came out and said he wanted to at least weigh his options instead of saying he isn't signing until the new CBA is reached,very very disappointed in the whole situation.I also said last offseason we need to keep Franklin and trade Reilly and we could have had Franklin locked up long term.

[Uncle Bobby]

Come on. He was a free agent and saw the chance to move to a good team close to home.

I'm not blaming him for chasing the money. Good for him. But he had no intention of signing here since the beginning of last season. The whole let's wait and see was a con.

Move to a good team? The Lions tied us for last in the west in 2018. The only reason why they edged us out is because the Esks crapped the bed down the stretch in large part to poor play by Reilly!

[dealerd]

How is BC a good team ? They gotta pretty much rebuild their whole team now to fit Mikes 700,000 contract ,no idea how they won't go over the cap

[Uncle Bobby]

How is BC a good team ? They gotta pretty much rebuild their whole team now to fit Mikes 700,000 contract ,no idea how they won't go over the cap

If Hervey can do it, then he is the genius that everyone says he is. Will be a challenge for sure.

[bone]

I'm not blaming him for chasing the money. Good for him. But he had no intention of signing here since the beginning of last season. The whole let's wait and see was a con.

Move to a good team? The Lions tied us for last in the west in 2018. The only reason why they edged us out is because the Esks crapped the bed down the stretch in large part to poor play by Reilly!

Yeah, seeing it go down this fast, he conned us. Dont blame him with the Rhodes situation, but everyone thinking hes automatic to win there is ignoring that he wasnt exactly lights out during the limp to the end. The team faltered but last I checked he was the leader of said team.

[dealerd]

I will be totally pissed if we don't get a quality QB to replace Mike,and a lot of the blame MUST go to Rhodent .From Hervey to Reilly I am so glad that he is gone from our proud Eskimo franchise,thanks for destroying us by losing two HUGE pieces From Eskimo Pride

[Maas_12]

Goodluck over there Mike. Youre a consummate pro in how you carry yourself.

All speculation about the WHY? (closer to home for sure yes, etc etc)

Would Reilly have still left if its not Hervey at the helm in BC? but rather some rookie GM on his second season?

And he was still here to build that report to have re-signed most likely?

I dont think he leaves.

Hervey is not the only reason, neither is living closer to home. None sole reason.

BUT, i honestly dont think he departs from Hervey to go sign in BC if Hervey was still here

[adb]

Good luck MR. Thanks for giving it your all when you wore the Green and Gold. This sucks it truly does. Just as bad as when we lost RR. Hopefully we land someone in FA that will give us a shot at the playoffs. After that anything can happen. BS will definitely be on the hot seat now.

[esks123]

This one hurts. It is so rare that a QB at the top of his game is lost for nothing in free agency. I appreciate what he did for the Esks, but in a sense, do feel betrayed.
He is the enemy now though and honestly after this, I dont feel ready to cheer for him anymore than our other ex QBs- Nichols or Masoli. He could have had a legacy here if he had won another cup. Ray sits ahead of him now in my books.

We are sitting on a land mine of cap space now though. If we don't sign a **** ton of high end free agents and a decent QB (BLM, Harris) or to a lesser extent Jennings or trade for Franklin the crowds will drop to below 20 thousand. The Esks can't throw an expired QB like Collaros, Lulay, or Glenn out as starter in week one and expect people to show up to games, can they?

[Maas_12]

Goodluck over there Mike. Youre a consummate pro in how you carry yourself.

All speculation about the WHY? (closer to home for sure yes, etc etc)

Would Reilly have still left if its not Hervey at the helm in BC? but rather some rookie GM on his second season?

And he was still here to build that report to have re-signed most likely?

I dont think he leaves.

Hervey is not the only reason, neither is living closer to home. None sole reason.

BUT, i honestly dont think he departs from Hervey to go sign in BC if Hervey was still here

im also going to laugh if we stink it up real good this year and either BS and in combo with unknowledgeable fans pick Maas as the fall guy, and then Maas heads to BC next year lol... although i guess Maas would be reverting to OC

[esks123]

I will be totally pissed if we don't get a quality QB to replace Mike,and a lot of the blame MUST go to Rhodent .From Hervey to Reilly I am so glad that he is gone from our proud Eskimo franchise,thanks for destroying us by losing two HUGE pieces From Eskimo Pride

Think of how quickly things have changed from 2015 to now. We have lost two top potential CFL GMs(Hervey and kones), lost 3 starting QBs (Franklin, Reilly, Nichols), and will have lost our top 3 receivers from the year prior (Mitchell, William's, Walker). It is very hard to be optimistic at this point in time.

[Hugoagogo]

If Hervey can do it, then he is the genius that everyone says he is. Will be a challenge for sure.

Well, if anyone can do it, I think Ed is the man.
Mike Reilly gave us everything he had while he was an Eskimo. He is the ultimate warrior.
Thanks Mike.

[esks123]

im also going to laugh if we stink it up real good this year and either BS and in combo with unknowledgeable fans pick Maas as the fall guy, and then Maas heads to BC next year lol... although i guess Maas would be reverting to OC

Maas is a good OC, but I think he has proven quite clearly that he is a mediocre head coach at best. Once we hire a new president and (likely) miss the playoffs this year I bet both BS and Maas will be gone. I don't see how one survives and not the other. BS hitched his wagon to Maas this year by not easily firing him after the 2018 season.

[Esks1975]

im also going to laugh if we stink it up real good this year and either BS and in combo with unknowledgeable fans pick Maas as the fall guy, and then Maas heads to BC next year lol... although i guess Maas would be reverting to OC

I'm going to laugh if we don't stink it up. Don't know why I would laugh if we do stink it up.

This situation is a result of our esteemed board of directors and their inability to know a con artist when they see one.

[bone]

This one hurts. It is so rare that a QB at the top of his game is lost for nothing in free agency. I appreciate what he did for the Esks, but in a sense, do feel betrayed.
He is the enemy now though and honestly after this, I dont feel ready to cheer for him anymore than our other ex QBs- Nichols or Masoli. He could have had a legacy here if he had won another cup. Ray sits ahead of him now in my books.

We are sitting on a land mine of cap space now though. If we don't sign a **** ton of high end free agents and a decent QB (BLM, Harris) or to a lesser extent Jennings or trade for Franklin the crowds will drop to below 20 thousand. The Esks can't throw an expired QB like Collaros, Lulay, or Glenn out as starter in week one and expect people to show up to games, can they?

Agree with bolded. I’d argue that Ray went through much more turbulent times with this team and never bailed. Say what you will about the Esks last year, but last years roster is still likely better than half the teams Ray played for.

[OK14]

The only reason why they edged us out is because the Esks crapped the bed down the stretch in large part to poor play by Reilly!

That was Maas' fault, don't you know?

On a more serious note, I will definitely miss Mike Reilly the person. Thank you for the Grey Cup win in 2015. It's a sorry shame we couldn't get you another one.

[Esks1975]

Ricky Ray has never bailed on his team has he? Certainly not in the CFL.

[EsksTMac]

Think of how quickly things have changed from 2015 to now. We have lost two top potential CFL GMs(Hervey and kones), lost 3 starting QBs (Franklin, Reilly, Nichols), and will have lost our top 3 receivers from the year prior (Mitchell, William's, Walker). It is very hard to be optimistic at this point in time.

It'll be a long time before this team gets remotely close to a Grey Cup again.

[Esks1975]

I wonder if the Eskimos could make one last push to bump Reilly's Lion contract.