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You are here: Home / Archives for CFL Free Agency

BC Lions Day 1 Free Agency Recap

February 12, 2019 By Brian Wawryshyn

Mike Reilly - BCLions.com
Mike Reilly: Photo BCLions.com

The worst kept secret in the CFL was finally unveiled by the BC Lions shortly after the opening of CFL Free agency. Ed Hervey got his man, and could barely wipe the smile off of his face.

Mike Reilly is back with the BC Lions, where he said he intends to play until he’s at least 40. His current deal will take him to the age of 37.

A four year deal worth $2.9 million is what it took to get the man many consider to be the premier quarterback in the CFL. That and the vision of Ed Hervey, who Reilly has complete confidence in to build the Lions into a contender for years to come. The added bonus of having his family near by was the clincher.

The deal set off a chain reaction through the league, as the Eskimos immediately shifted gears, successfully targeting Trevor Harris in Ottawa. Bo Levi Mitchell put a scare into Stampeders fans by listening to the Argos and Riders, but in the end chose to stick with the familiarity of Calgary, inking a deal similar to Reilly’s at four years, $2.8 million.

Judging by reaction on my Twitter feed, the signing of Reilly has fans excited about Lions football again, and don’t think that didn’t factor into the signing as well. The market here needed a shakeup, and this should provide it. Reilly is a proven winner, a consistent performer, and durable. He’ll also have no problem getting out in the community to be the face of the franchise. The club wasted little time getting Reilly’s face out there.

He's back.#CFLFA @Rikester13 @CFL pic.twitter.com/wxLXJ1YToC

— BC LIONS (@BCLions) February 12, 2019

“This is a historic day for our organization and for fans of the B.C. Lions,” said Lions general manager Ed Hervey. “Acquiring one of the CFL’s elite quarterbacks is an extremely rare opportunity and we’re thrilled to welcome Mike home to the Lions.”

Reilly seemed extremely confident and excited to be joining Ed Hervey in BC.

“It’s an amazing feeling for me, my wife and our extended families to know I am back with the Lions,” said Reilly. “I am grateful for my time in Edmonton and it will always hold a very special place in my heart, but the opportunity to rejoin Ed and return to Vancouver to be part of what he is building was too good to pass up at this point in my career.”

Mike Reilly can’t win games on his own, and the Lions added some pieces today that will help with that. Let’s break down day one of free agency in the Lions Den.

Additions

Mike ReillyInternationalQB(EDM)
Sukh ChunghNationalOG(WPG)
Lemar DurantNationalWR(CGY)
Aaron GymesInternationalDB(EDM)
Duron Carter (Unofficial)InternationalWR(TOR)
Chris EdwardsInternationalDB(EDM)
Josh StanfordNationalWR(MTL)
Josh WoodmanNationalDB(EDM)

Obviously when you’re looking to protect your new shiny quarterback, you’re going to need to make sure he’s protected. The Lions took steps towards doing that by re-upping Hunter Steward the day before free agency and added some nasty to the interior of the line by plucking Sukh Chungh out of Winnipeg and inking him to a 3-year deal at a reported $250,000/year.

Chungh is exactly what Hervey is looking for.; an extremely physical presence on the interior of the offensive line. Still to be decided is the spot at centre and right tackle, where I’ve been told the Lions will audition for the position, moving on from Jovan Olafioye.

Many feel that national receiver Lemar Durant started to break out in Calgary last season. Like Chungh, the BC player comes home to play for the Lions, and will likely slot in for Shaq Johnson, who I’ve been told the Lions may move on from.

To help stretch the field the Lions went out and have reportedly signed the colourful and controversial Duron Carter. Carter spoke with the Lions last year after being released by the Lions. Hervey made overtures that it might be something he would look at in the future, and he’s done just that.

Carter is of course a risky signing. For whatever reason, he hasn’t been able to find a place to call home, but Hervey is gambling that BC will be the place. He definitely fits into that image Hervey is moulding for the Leos. He wants them to have swagger, and Carter fits that bill, and oh yeah, he’s a pretty good player as well.

It’s hard to imagine DeVone Claybrooks or Mike Reilly putting up with any nonsense in their locker room, so maybe this will be a good fit for Carter to buckle down and play some football.

Aaron Grymes is one of the best cover DB’s in the Canadian Football League and he’s now a BC Lion. Another former Hevery employee from Edmonton, Grymes brings a physicality that will be exciting for Lions fans to watch.

The club re-signed TJ Lee prior to free agency, but lost Anthony Orange to the Eskimos. They were rumoured to be in on Taylor Loffler, but he ended up with the Alouettes. Hervey went back to Edmonton to sign DB’s Chris Edwards and Josh Woodman. Anthony Thompson, Otha Foster, Winston Rose and Garry Peters remain unsigned.

Rounding out the signings was the addition of national reciever Josh Stanford (MTL) who adds national depth at the position for the Lions, and who very well could cost 3rd year Danny Vandervoort, who hasn’t seen a lot of playing time, a roster spot.

Departures

Boseko LokomboNationalLB(MTL)
Anthony OrangeInternationalDB(EDM)
Ricky Collins Jr.InternationalWR(EDM)
Chris RaineyInternationalKR/RB(TOR)
Dyshawn DavisInternationalLB(SSK)
Devier PoseyInternationalWR(MTL)

The biggest surprise for me here was Bo Lokombo, who really started to show signs last year that he’s ready for a full time starting role. He’s a special teams demon, a local guy as well and the Lions lost a good one here. But as was the case with Adam Bighill, linebacker isn’t a position where Hervey likes to spend a lot of money and Montreal was happy to snap him up.

Chris Rainey was no surprise, after seeming to fall out of favour in the second half of last season, even being taken out of the lineup a couple of times. He’s still a legitimate threat and a fresh start in Toronto might do him good.

Lots Of Work To Do

Hervey got a lot done today, but what you didn’t see was any guys on the current roster who are now free agents, re-signed except for running back Brandon Rutley. The Lions GM dished out some strong hints that Lions fans are going to be saying goodbye to some familiar faces. In his words, “You have to rob from Peter to pay Mike”.

Names like Manny Arceneaux, Jovan Olafioye, Travis Lulay, Jonathan Jennings, Shawn Lemon etc. are likely gone. Other have likely been offered deals and now have to decide whther they want to be part of things going forward.

It’s a new era of BC Lions football, and it’s only just beginning.

More:

  • Episode 148: BC Lions Co-GM Neil McEvoy
  • Episode 147: Jordan Williams & Farhan Lalji
  • Episode 146: A Chat With CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie
  • Episode 145: Rick Campbell, Justin Renfrow
  • Episode 144: Farhan Lalji (TSN)

Filed Under: BC Lions Den, Blog Posts, Featured, Free Agency Tagged With: BC Lions, CFL, CFL Free Agency, Duron Carter, Ed Hervey, Lemar Durant, Mike Reilly, Sukh Chungh

CFL Free Agency: By the Numbers

February 14, 2016 By Brian Wawryshyn

The flurry of activity we saw in the first 48 hours of free agency was certainly entertaining for CFL fans. Some teams went all in to take advantage of the largest player pool to select from in many years, while some chose to what they considered to be their own key players and pick and choose from the pool to plug certain needs for their team.

Mark Fulton is a numbers guy and former analytics blogger for 3DownNation.com. He’s produced some informative charts to show the trends of CFL Free Agency. Mark shared these charts with us and there are some interesting observations to be made when you look across the league.

Activity Timeline

In his chart, Mark has been able to show the flurry of activity that surrounded the start of free agency. With teams signing their own players ahead of free agency, you see the graph show a slow steady decline in the number of free agents, before the gloves came off on February 9th.

FreeAgentsTimeline
Click to see full size image.

Gains and Losses per Team

Here we see the breakdown of each teams make-up when it comes to gains and losses. Both Hamilton and Toronto lost 8 players to other teams and you can see by the chart that Hamilton, Saskatchewan and Toronto still have a large number of free agents unsigned, which doesn’t necessarily mean they are trying to do so. All teams re-signed key players, with Winnipeg only choosing to keep 3 of its 8 available players.

FREEAGENTGAINSLOSSESPERTEAM
Click to see full size image.

Overall League Activity

Overall as of February 13th, 40% of the CFL’s eligible free agents remain unsigned, meaning we are likely to see a few more signings over the next few weeks. Many teams are about to embark on free agent camp circuits and may come back to pick through the pile if they still have holes to fill heading into training camp.

33% of players re-signed with the current teams, while 19% have a new home heading into 2016.

FreeAgentsPieChart
Click to see full size image.

Roster Composition

Standing out in this chart is the fact that Hamilton and Saskatchewan’s current roster is only made up of 44% and 47% of existing players. They both have the highest percentage of remaining unsigned players, while Hamilton tied Toronto by losing 11% of the players to other CFL teams.

PercentagesBasedOn75ManRoster
Click to see full size image.

Team by Team Pie Charts

Finally, each team is broken down into pie charts.

TEAMBYTEAMPIECHARTS
Click to see full size image.

Out thanks to Mark Fulton for sharing his numbers with us. You can follow him on Twitter @FenderGuy69

Filed Under: CFL/League, Featured Tagged With: CFL, CFL Free Agency, Mark Fulton

BC Lions General Manager has Improved the Team for the Coach

February 11, 2016 By Brian Wawryshyn

Not one training camp snap has been taken, but it’s safe to say the BC Lions backfield has been transformed in the last 24 hours by general manager Wally Buono.

allen-riders-cp-740x300
Anthony Allen fends off the Lions BC Lions Solomon Elimimian – Photo: Darryl Dyck (Canadian Press)

Wednesday the club signed former REDBLACK Jeremiah Johnson, who led the league with 9 rushing touchdowns in 2015. They followed that up Thursday by inking former Saskatchewan Roughrider power back Anthony Allen.

Both players are internationals of course, which stayed true to Buono’s desire to move away from using a national running back. When you look at the Lions roster and see Allen, Johnson, Chris Rainey and Shaquille Murray-Lawrence, you can see an array of different talents they have at their disposal.

There will also likely be a couple more brought in to join newcomers Mikel Leshoure and Sam Ojuri. Not everyone will likely make it to main camp, particularly after the work the general manager has done here this week.

Both Allen and Johnson are versatile players who can also provide protection in passing situations. Allen is a tough runner, similar in size and style to Calgary’s Jerome Messam. Johnson is somewhat shiftier and has a nose for the end zone. Interchanging them during games will keep them fresh as well, a luxury they couldn’t employ to the same degree with Andrew Harris.

When you want to change things up with a scat back, Rainey and Murray-Lawrence come into play.

Harris will be missed, not only on the field but in the locker room and the community. But Buono has instantly given the Lions depth at running back, which should provide hope for fans who have often called the Lions boring and predictable. Stop Andrew Harris, and you had a good chance of beating the BC Lions.

Buono is also abandoning the idea of starting a Canadian at left tackle with the signing of Levy Adcock who comes to the Lions from the Saskatchewan Roughriders and at the urging of offensive line coach Dan Dorazio who liked what he saw from the 6’6” 325-pound tackle. This will have the Lions start three Canadians inside, with Cam Thorn the leading candidate to assume the role of centre.

Hunter Steward and Kirby Fabien will be slotted into the guard spots, with the hope that Steward can finally put his health issues behind him and build on what started out as a promising career. Cody Husband and T-Dre Player will also be in the mix.

While Buono hasn’t signed any of the “big names” in free agency that teams like Saskatchewan and Winnipeg have, he has improved his roster with his six signings so far.

So far, the general manager is doing for the head coach exactly what he said he was going to do and free agent camps haven’t even begun yet.

Is it June yet?

Filed Under: BC Lions Den, Featured Tagged With: Anthony Allen, BC Lions, BCLionsDen.ca, Brian Wawryshyn, Cam Thorn, CFL, CFL Free Agency, Chris Rainey, Cody Husband, Hunter Steward, Jeremiah Johnson, Levy Adcock, Shaquille Murray-Lawrence, T-Dre Player, Wally Buono

BC Lions Free Agency Report – Day One

February 9, 2016 By Brian Wawryshyn

Traditionally Wally Buono has never been big on building his team through free agency. But after four years of a declining on field product and with the man himself returning to the sidelines, Buono signed three players on day one of CFL free agency. There is also the change of landscape that Buono has spoken of, where turnover of players is much greater with the elimination of option years for veteran players, meaning free agency has become a more valid route for the Lions GM.

The Lions day began with speculation that the club had signed Edmonton running back John White, thanks to tweets by News 1130 sports that White was on the way to Vancouver to take a physical. This tweet made no sense since White had tweeted weeks ago that he would be back in Edmonton. Yours truly questioned that report, but when Dave Campbell of 650 CHED in Edmonton seemed to confirm that White was signing with the Lions, myself and other Lions fans got pretty excited.

Hearing #BCLions are flying EDM running back John White into Vancouver for a physical.

— NEWS 1130 Sports (@NEWS1130Sports) February 9, 2016

Looks like RB John White will indeed sign with the B.C. Lions. #Eskimos #CFL

— Dave Campbell (@Dave_CHED) February 9, 2016

Alas, it wasn’t to be and the Eskimos officially announced he had re-signed later in the day.

The Lions also made an offer to offensive lineman Corey Watman, but lost out to the Argos for his services who also plucked Josh Bourke out of Montreal to beef up their offensive line.

It’s also been reported that BC has made an offer to Canadian defensive lineman Justin Capiciotti but with Ted Laurent re-signing later in the day in Hamilton and setting the bar, the Lions will have to wait and see what it will take to get him and whether their offer can lure the Simon Fraser product out West.

Now for the players the Lions did snag on day one.

Nick Moore – Wide Receiver – International (Winnipeg)

moore-740x300

This one came out of the blue, but I guess it’s true that you can come home again. After a two-year stint with the Bombers in Winnipeg, Nick Moore returns to the Lions on a one year deal that will pay him considerably less than the $185,000 he left BC for when he was last a free agent.

Wally Buono said that both Khari Jones and new addition Marcel Bellefeuille pushed hard to bring the former Leo in. Moore is of course familiar with BC and Wally Buono and should give another deep threat for the Lions offence. He runs excellent routes and has a penchant for making the big catch.

The knock on Moore is his ability to stay healthy, but even with missing considerable time last season, he still finished with 889 yards of receiving.

Mike Edem – Defensive Back – National (Hamilton)

edem-740x300

During the 2013 draft the Lions tried to move up to select Mike Edem, but were unable to do so. He was an all-star in his first CFL season and the Lions are thrilled to get him into the den. Edem is big, physical and a solid contributor on special teams as well. He should plug a hole in the secondary after the departures of Steven Clarke and Josh Johnson to the NFL and has the right amount of youth, experience and potential growth to make Lions fans excited about this signing.

The Lions now have two possible Canadian starters in the secondary after re-signing safety Eric Fraser earlier this off-season.

Brandon Stewart – Defensive Back – International (Hamilton)

stewart-740x300

The Lions added some solid CFL experience to their secondary when they inked Brandon Stewart. The veteran defensive back will be entering his 10th CFL season when he suits up for the Lions. A versatile player, Stewart has played for Calgary, Winnipeg and Hamilton over his nine CFL seasons. The Lion feel he can play corner or nickleback and will try to use his experience and big play ability to solidify their secondary.

Who the Lions Lost

The club announced prior to the start of free agency that several players would either not be offered contracts or would be free to test the market and three players found new homes on day one.

It was no surprise that Andrew Harris landed with the Bombers, who were throwing out money like they printed it. Pascal Lochard followed Harris to the Bombers, while Alex Hoffman-Ellis found a home in Hamilton with the Ticats.

CFL.ca Free Agent Tracker | @BCLionsDen #CFLFA Twitter List | TSN.ca CFL Page

Filed Under: BC Lions Den, Featured Tagged With: Alex Hoffman-Ellis, Andrew Harris, BC Lions, BCLionsDen.ca, Brandon Stewart, Brian Wawryshyn, CFL, CFL Free Agency, Mike Edem, Nick Moore, Pascal Lochard, Wally Buono

Rainey Forecast in BC for the Next Two Years

February 8, 2016 By Brian Wawryshyn

According to Farhan Lalji of TSN, the BC Lions have come to terms with free agent international running back Chris Rainey. The deal is reportedly for two years.

#BCLions & RB Chris Rainey have agreed to terms on a 2 year deal. #CFLFA #TSN

— Farhan Lalji (@FarhanLaljiTSN) February 8, 2016

Rainey, formerly with the Montreal Alouettes, got noticed last season when the Lions signed him in August and he revived their ailing special teams showing his great speed on kick returns. He also contributed offensively, scoring one of the most exciting touchdowns of the 2015 season against the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Rainey likely would have garnered significant interest had he hit free agency, so locking him up is a big deal for the Lions, who keep a guy that can provide you with great field position, and someone you can work more into the offence to use his speed and ability in the open field.

With the Lions looking to change the running back spot to an international position, Rainey provides a great start to build around and it will be interesting to see how they intend to use him.

Chris Rainey 2015 Highlights

Filed Under: BC Lions Den, Den Talk, Featured Tagged With: BC Lions, BCLionsDen.ca, Brian Wawryshyn, CFL, CFL Free Agency, Chris Rainey

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