Priorities in Free agnecy

[wildwest]

Hi everyone,

Would love to get some discussion going on Eskimo free agency.
I like the moves we have made lately and I accept that the other shoe is goin to drop as for every all star coming in, I am expecting 1 to leave in free agency (Rodgers, Ellingson).
I have gone through our roster of players signed already for the coming year, I see 7 remaining question marks that either need to be filled by resignings, free agents or star rookies. Here they are.

Backup QB - I would be happy resigning Pipkin or getting James Franklin
Starting Running back - This is a tough one. Would love Andrew Harris or Tyrell Sutton but more likely we resign Cooper and or Burks
Starting Full back - Nothing obvious out there. Maybe Patrick Lavoie
1 Offensive Guard - O'Donnell is key here. Otherwise, Korte, Revenburg, Filer andLauzon-Seguin are out there.
1 Defensive tackle - Want Sewell back. Moore and Ceresna will be good, but we need a true run stuffer. Nevis and Micah Johnson are probably the next best ones out there.
Middle linebacker - Tuggle is not my first choice as a resign. Wood love to get Muamba or Dean.
1 Defensive Halfback - We have good answers at 4 spots but could use 1 more good inside DB. I think you could target a Ciante Evans or you could use Walker at DB and target a deep crop of Quality WIL linebackers (Unamba, Levels, Ladler, Otha Foster or Ackie).


Love to hear your thoughts.

[Cerebral]

I'm honestly so lost as to who is still signed from last year and who has become a free agent. I'm excited by all the Canadian depth though, and I'm hoping Charles gets a shot to prove himself this year. Between him, Betts, and Boateng, we have a lot of ratio breaker depth at defensive line.

Edit: I didn't even realize Charles is a free agent. I'll be so frustrated if we lose him - we waited so long to see him in the CFL, and he might leave before even playing a game.

[Opus]

Most recent signings of Dennis, and bringing Walker back are very nice adds.

Admittedly with the whole covid, miss a year, and all....I am unsure now of the free agency world out there at the moment.

- - - Updated - - -

Seems I am in the same boat as Cerebral. ��

[56Parkies]

I'm wondering if we are looking at parting ways from Matt O'Donnell -- he is likely fairly pricey, if not the highest price Guard in the league. I could see us moving Kyle Saxelid there, and going with Derek Dennis and possibly SirVincent Rogers as our OT, and put all our $$ there, with an interior of Ruby, Beard, Saxelid. Backups could be Draheim at OT, Roy at C and Asare at G for now, or perhaps we sign or draft some more NI OL. Korte is a starting-quality LT, and with the signing of Derek Dennis for the salary he likely commands, there's so little a chance we look at making that spot an NI position.

I'm surprised we have not re-signed Tanner Green for the FB spot; he was touted by the coaches as the heir apparent to Calvin McCarty, so to see both as either off the roster or a pending free agent surprises me. Same for James Tuck, who was also a beast on ST. I'm thinking we may see one or both of them re-signed.

I'm guessing you meant SAM/Nickel instead of WIL linebacker above - it seems like we will go back to Vontae Diggs at WIL unless Santos-Knox can stay healthy and returns north, as he was a real difference maker when he did play the last 3 games of 2019. JSK did play the full 2018 season with Winnipeg, getting injured in the last regular season game there, so I'm not ready to pass him off as "injury prone", but after 2 years, he has to be back to 100% now, so we'll see if he makes it down south first.

I could see us going back to Shaq Cooper at RB, but he may be asking too much; he didn't start a lot of games last year, so hard to really justify giving him huge dollars for a second contract, but maybe a 1-year deal with incentives might be the answer.

Stefan Charles might be nice and all, but I'm wondering more about Mondo in that spot. We currently have two starting-quality DT in Mike Moore and Jake Ceresna... Personally, I believe that Mondo makes everyone at that other DT spot better, but with nearly 2 years since he last played and him turning 33 this Saturday, do they continue to make him the highest paid DT on the team? We have both Boateng and Mathieu Betts as starting grade NI DE. Can we afford to make both of them play or do we rotate Betts playing with two Imp DT and NI Evan Machibroda at DT with an American DE?

We have many Imp DBs under contract -- Anthony Covington, Caleb Ham, Forrest Hightower, Robert Priester, Trumaine Washington among others. We'll see if the brass think that is enough with Rose and Mincy at the corner position. I'd rather see an upgrade at NI Safety personally, but Jermaine Gabriel can be that guy. Time will tell.

WR I think we are set for now. Ellingson is as good as gone.

QB I think we could be good with Harris and Pipkin, but we'll see if Milanovich thinks it's worth extending AP as he's slotted to be an FA in a few weeks.



A fun exercise, but with the general public not slotted to be allowed the COVID-19 vaccine until fall, will we even see a 2021 CFL season? That's got me far more worried than "who will we get at running back" right now...

[cmbuk]

I’d def like to see us keep pipkin at qb... the qb sneak alone is worth keeping.. such a ball ache at times our qb sneak..

We just re upped 6 including Collin kelly... which might mean sir v isn’t getting re uped now??

[bone]

I’d def like to see us keep pipkin at qb... the qb sneak alone is worth keeping.. such a ball ache at times our qb sneak..

We just re upped 6 including Collin kelly... which might mean sir v isn’t getting re uped now??

Interesting. I don't even remember us signing Pipkin.

[Jtuck09]

I’d def like to see us keep pipkin at qb... the qb sneak alone is worth keeping.. such a ball ache at times our qb sneak..

We just re upped 6 including Collin kelly... which might mean sir v isn’t getting re uped now??

They cut a bunch of guys the day before too so that freed up some money.

Dave Campbell seems to think we're still trying to keep SirV.

[cmbuk]

They cut a bunch of guys the day before too so that freed up some money.

Dave Campbell seems to think we're still trying to keep SirV.

True....

[popo]

They cut a bunch of guys the day before too so that freed up some money.

Dave Campbell seems to think we're still trying to keep SirV.

All the cuts were players heading into Free Agency Feb 1st. Just a way to say they are not in our plans for 2021. It did not free up any money.

Can't imagine SirVincent is in the plans. They've already have a number of veteran American tackles in place: Derrick Dennis, Tommy Draheim, Colin Kelly.
I guess a dark horse savings is if they move Dennis back to Guard to replace Matt O'Donnell. Assume Dennis would come with a much smaller cap hit. But would require a ratio shift somewhere else.

[wildwest]

I'm wondering if we are looking at parting ways from Matt O'Donnell -- he is likely fairly pricey, if not the highest price Guard in the league. I could see us moving Kyle Saxelid there, and going with Derek Dennis and possibly SirVincent Rogers as our OT, and put all our $$ there, with an interior of Ruby, Beard, Saxelid. Backups could be Draheim at OT, Roy at C and Asare at G for now, or perhaps we sign or draft some more NI OL. Korte is a starting-quality LT, and with the signing of Derek Dennis for the salary he likely commands, there's so little a chance we look at making that spot an NI position.

I'm surprised we have not re-signed Tanner Green for the FB spot; he was touted by the coaches as the heir apparent to Calvin McCarty, so to see both as either off the roster or a pending free agent surprises me. Same for James Tuck, who was also a beast on ST. I'm thinking we may see one or both of them re-signed.

I'm guessing you meant SAM/Nickel instead of WIL linebacker above - it seems like we will go back to Vontae Diggs at WIL unless Santos-Knox can stay healthy and returns north, as he was a real difference maker when he did play the last 3 games of 2019. JSK did play the full 2018 season with Winnipeg, getting injured in the last regular season game there, so I'm not ready to pass him off as "injury prone", but after 2 years, he has to be back to 100% now, so we'll see if he makes it down south first.

I could see us going back to Shaq Cooper at RB, but he may be asking too much; he didn't start a lot of games last year, so hard to really justify giving him huge dollars for a second contract, but maybe a 1-year deal with incentives might be the answer.

Stefan Charles might be nice and all, but I'm wondering more about Mondo in that spot. We currently have two starting-quality DT in Mike Moore and Jake Ceresna... Personally, I believe that Mondo makes everyone at that other DT spot better, but with nearly 2 years since he last played and him turning 33 this Saturday, do they continue to make him the highest paid DT on the team? We have both Boateng and Mathieu Betts as starting grade NI DE. Can we afford to make both of them play or do we rotate Betts playing with two Imp DT and NI Evan Machibroda at DT with an American DE?

We have many Imp DBs under contract -- Anthony Covington, Caleb Ham, Forrest Hightower, Robert Priester, Trumaine Washington among others. We'll see if the brass think that is enough with Rose and Mincy at the corner position. I'd rather see an upgrade at NI Safety personally, but Jermaine Gabriel can be that guy. Time will tell.

WR I think we are set for now. Ellingson is as good as gone.

QB I think we could be good with Harris and Pipkin, but we'll see if Milanovich thinks it's worth extending AP as he's slotted to be an FA in a few weeks.



A fun exercise, but with the general public not slotted to be allowed the COVID-19 vaccine until fall, will we even see a 2021 CFL season? That's got me far more worried than "who will we get at running back" right now...

Thanks Parkie, there is a lot to unpack there.

A couple of points to add.
#1 - I did see in an earlier release that they did resign Tanner Green.
#2 - Another OL to consider in the mix is first round draft choice Tomas Jack- Kudyla who I think would be ahead of Asare.
#3 - I wouldn't read to much negative into any signing as I don't think (except with the highest profile guys) there are any signing bonuses so I don't think signing Kelly has any impact on what happens with SirVincent.
#4 - You are correct that I mixed up SAM and WIL.
#5 - I agree with you about resigning Sewell. I feel like both Moore and Ceresna are better rushers than stuffers and I feel that Moore can also bring in some insurance at the end spot. I do think they are looking at going all Canadian at the end with recent acquisitions and drafts.

[Jtuck09]

All the cuts were players heading into Free Agency Feb 1st. Just a way to say they are not in our plans for 2021. It did not free up any money.

Can't imagine SirVincent is in the plans. They've already have a number of veteran American tackles in place: Derrick Dennis, Tommy Draheim, Colin Kelly.
I guess a dark horse savings is if they move Dennis back to Guard to replace Matt O'Donnell. Assume Dennis would come with a much smaller cap hit. But would require a ratio shift somewhere else.

No, a couple of those guys weren't free agents. Shaw, Charette and Blair Smith were but the rest were under contract.

CFL.ca is behind in their free agent updates. Sean Whyte and Tevaun Smith were re-signed. Nice to see that site keep up on things

[56Parkies]

Thanks Parkie, there is a lot to unpack there.

A couple of points to add.
#1 - I did see in an earlier release that they did resign Tanner Green.
#2 - Another OL to consider in the mix is first round draft choice Tomas Jack- Kudyla who I think would be ahead of Asare.
#3 - I wouldn't read to much negative into any signing as I don't think (except with the highest profile guys) there are any signing bonuses so I don't think signing Kelly has any impact on what happens with SirVincent.
#4 - You are correct that I mixed up SAM and WIL.
#5 - I agree with you about resigning Sewell. I feel like both Moore and Ceresna are better rushers than stuffers and I feel that Moore can also bring in some insurance at the end spot. I do think they are looking at going all Canadian at the end with recent acquisitions and drafts.

Tanner Green is still listed as being a Free Agent in February:
https://www.cfl.ca/fa21/#EDM

Jack-Kudlya isn't on the team's roster page, so I assume he isn't signed yet; if he does get signed, I'd be interested in seeing him get some reps for sure. Until then, we have only 5 NI offensive linemen signed beyond February currently (Ruby, Beard, Saxelid, Roy, Asare), and we need to see a lot more of them going into camp, IMO.

I didn't mention Colin Kelly; I'm not a huge fan, but clearly multiple coaches seem to see value in him, though I'm not a coach so I can't see what it is. SirV is reportedly still negotiating with the team, so there's still a possibility we could have Dennis and Rogers at Tackle. I can't see having two American backups on the 46, and we currently have Dennis, Draheim, Lofton, Kelly, Darrell Brown, and Tristan Nickelson all under contract, so will be interesting to see if any of them stick on the PR or get stashed on the IR if we do sign SirV.

again, I do hope we get to have this discussion in May-June or even July, but I'm not sold on it yet. I still haven't seen a plan from the league on HOW they are going to hold a season given the timelines the government have set for vaccines, let alone what to do if people refuse to get the vaccine....

[pete]

Tanner Green is still listed as being a Free Agent in February:
https://www.cfl.ca/fa21/#EDM

Jack-Kudlya isn't on the team's roster page, so I assume he isn't signed yet; if he does get signed, I'd be interested in seeing him get some reps for sure. Until then, we have only 5 NI offensive linemen signed beyond February currently (Ruby, Beard, Saxelid, Roy, Asare), and we need to see a lot more of them going into camp, IMO.

I didn't mention Colin Kelly; I'm not a huge fan, but clearly multiple coaches seem to see value in him, though I'm not a coach so I can't see what it is. SirV is reportedly still negotiating with the team, so there's still a possibility we could have Dennis and Rogers at Tackle. I can't see having two American backups on the 46, and we currently have Dennis, Draheim, Lofton, Kelly, Darrell Brown, and Tristan Nickelson all under contract, so will be interesting to see if any of them stick on the PR or get stashed on the IR if we do sign SirV.

again, I do hope we get to have this discussion in May-June or even July, but I'm not sold on it yet. I still haven't seen a plan from the league on HOW they are going to hold a season given the timelines the government have set for vaccines, let alone what to do if people refuse to get the vaccine....

Rather than multiple coaches it could be 1 GM? OT play is pretty easy to evaluate. Especially pass blocking where he isn't a star.... He's been on the replace list for what 3 years?

I'm actually glad they've doubled or tripled the number of American OT, because none of the top end talent are spring chickens. I can see a practise roster stash in our future.

[Esks4ever]

again, I do hope we get to have this discussion in May-June or even July, but I'm not sold on it yet. I still haven't seen a plan from the league on HOW they are going to hold a season given the timelines the government have set for vaccines, let alone what to do if people refuse to get the vaccine....

big surprise. Useless Commish

[adb]

Tanner Green is still listed as being a Free Agent in February:
https://www.cfl.ca/fa21/#EDM

Jack-Kudlya isn't on the team's roster page, so I assume he isn't signed yet; if he does get signed, I'd be interested in seeing him get some reps for sure. Until then, we have only 5 NI offensive linemen signed beyond February currently (Ruby, Beard, Saxelid, Roy, Asare), and we need to see a lot more of them going into camp, IMO.

I didn't mention Colin Kelly; I'm not a huge fan, but clearly multiple coaches seem to see value in him, though I'm not a coach so I can't see what it is. SirV is reportedly still negotiating with the team, so there's still a possibility we could have Dennis and Rogers at Tackle. I can't see having two American backups on the 46, and we currently have Dennis, Draheim, Lofton, Kelly, Darrell Brown, and Tristan Nickelson all under contract, so will be interesting to see if any of them stick on the PR or get stashed on the IR if we do sign SirV.

again, I do hope we get to have this discussion in May-June or even July, but I'm not sold on it yet. I still haven't seen a plan from the league on HOW they are going to hold a season given the timelines the government have set for vaccines, let alone what to do if people refuse to get the vaccine....

Looks like they are still in wait and see/pray mode...https://3downnation.com/2021/01/13/c...r-2021-season/

[Jtuck09]

Looks like they are still in wait and see/pray mode...https://3downnation.com/2021/01/13/c...r-2021-season/

Except the NHL waited until just recently to get government approval. Why should the CFL ask NOW when who knows what's going to happen 4 months from now? It's an unfair article if you ask me.

And who's to say the CFL ISN'T thinking of what-if scenario's. Why release their plan only to have it kyboshed in two months?

[Hammer24]

Except the NHL waited until just recently to get government approval. Why should the CFL ask NOW when who knows what's going to happen 4 months from now? It's an unfair article if you ask me.

And who's to say the CFL ISN'T thinking of what-if scenario's. Why release their plan only to have it kyboshed in two months?

Agreed. How can the CFL submit a plan today for play in June when the government health authorities can't even tell them what the Covid landscape they'd have to operate under would be next month much less 5 months from now. There's no doubt the CFL is playing out the what-if scenarios. I don't think they've stopped that since they started doing so last spring. For now to put out a plan would be akin to submitting a building permit application with blueprints without knowing what building codes and rules will have to be followed until the excavator is on site to dig the foundation.

[wildwest]

The CFL.ca website missed a Eskimo release from December 31 which listed 5 resignings.

Below is the most accurate list I have of who is resigned, added (I have only included CFL veteran signings) and released.

DRAHEIM, Tommie A OL San Diego State Extended (12/30/20)
LOFTON, Eric A OL Temple Extended (12/30/20)
ROY, Jean-Simon N OL Laval Extended (12/30/20)
WASHINGTON, Trumaine A DB Louisville Extended (12/30/20)
WILLIAMS, Terry A RB Kutztown Extended (12/30/20)
BOATENG , Kwaku N DL Wilfrid Laurier Extended (12/26/20)
GABRIEL, Jermaine N DB Bishop’s Extended (12/26/20)
PITTMAN, Brandon A LB North Carolina State Extended (12/26/20)
RALPH , Jimmy N WR Alberta Extended (12/26/20)
ROUYER , Maxime G LB McGill Extended (12/26/20)
RYAN, Shakeir A WR Northwestern State Extended (12/26/20)
SMITH, Rodney A WR Florida State Extended (12/26/20)
STANGBY, Joshua A WR Ottawa (Kansas) Extended (12/26/20)
VANDERVOORT , Daniel N WR McMaster Extended (12/26/20)
ELLIOTT, Kevin A WR Florida A&M Extended (01/11/21)
KELLY, Colin A OL Oregon State Extended (01/11/21)
MCMASTER, Harry N WR Western University Extended (01/11/21)
PARKER, Anthony N WR Calgary Extended (01/11/21)
TUCK, James N FB York Extended (01/11/21)
DIGGS, Vontae A LB Connecticut Extended (12/31/20)
GREEN, Tanner N RB Concordia Extended (12/31/20)
HUTTER, Scott N DB Wilfrid Laurier Extended (12/31/20)
SMITH , Tevaun N WR Iowa Extended (12/31/20)
WHYTE, Sean N K South Fraser Rams Jr. Extended (12/31/20)
WALKER, Derel A OL ADDED
DENNIS, Derek A WR ADDED
ANDERSON, Nate N DE ADDED
JONES, Mike N WR ADDED
ROSE, Johnahan A DB ADDED
JONES, Korey A LB Wyoming Retired
CHARETTE , Alexander N WR Guelph Released
RENFROW, Justin A OL Miami Released
SHAW, Kenny A WR Florida State Released
SMITH , Blair N LB Angelo State Released
WILLIAMS, Troy A QB Utah Released
BEAULIEU, Jordan N DB Western University
BURKS, Brandon A RB Troy
CHARLES, Stefan N DL Regina
COOPER, Shaquille A RB Fort Hays State
DUPUIS, Alexandre N FB Montreal
ELLINGSON, Greg A WR Florida International
KILGORE, Logan A QB Middle Tennessee State
MARSHALL, Korliss A RB Eastern Illinois
O’DONNELL, Matthew N OL Queen’s
O’NEILL, Hugh N P Alberta
ONYEKA, Godfrey N DB Wilfrid Laurier
PIPKIN, Antonio A QB Tiffin
ROGERS, SirVincent A OL Houston
ROSS, Shai N WR Manitoba
SANTOS-KNOX, Jovan A LB Massachusetts
SEWELL, Almondo A DL Akron
TAYLOR, Alex N RB Western University
TUGGLE, Justin A DL Kansas State
WALTON, Jonathan A LB South Carolina