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See you in Sept Mr. Wild. Unless he is absolutely lights out in the first couple days of camp we are likely getting him back. The Steelers obviously signed him as TCF,.

Maybe Walters is trying to extend Watson and he denied it and (1) expressed intentions to be traded close to home or (2) will walk out as FA after this year and sign on any East team. So Walters, instead of losing him for nothing, pull the trade when Taman bit the bait. I don't like to put the cart before the horse, but the "why" of this trade as far as Taman's concerned doesn't have a lot a good answers - except for one. Taman really wants to make sure he has 3 bonafide NI starters at receiver for next season because he knows they are going to have to change the ratio, because he's fairly certain Heenan won't be back. Taman has a different philosophy than I do but he's not an outright dummy. This trade doesn't make much sense unless I view it from Heenan angle, which doesn't make it a spectacular trade for him, but at least a logical one. I apologize for any hopes this may raise, I know there's a pretty good chance they'll be dashed later on. I agree with your assessment. Watson is way too expensive not to be a starter. I think they know that they are in tough with the ratio and needed to make this move. It would appear that Taman has given up hope of signing Heenan for the price tag he is willing to pay him. That could mean that Heenan ends up in the NFL as well....either way, I love watching the Riders squirm just to field 7 Nats. I have never seen a GM decimate a teams overall NAT talent so quickly. Not all of it his fault, but he must wear it,

Well it appears pretty obvious that the Steelers didn't see big upside in him. Hopefully he catches on somewhere else, if not he would look great at WIL for us.

Could be that Wild hadn't signed it yet and the Steelers changed their mind.

If he was going to do that, I would think this would have ended up being a three way trade. My suspicion is that there were no takers out East....well none that were willing to pay what Taman paid.

Sustainability and cap management. Right.. But you don't have to be under the cap until the end of the year.. Sooo.. That gives you alot of time to get it sorted out with injuries etc. Like the move, but not sure why it would be about cap space. It was about cap space. Sure the trade could have come later without harming our SMS any, However, the timing of this move does a few things to our benefit. One...it signals to potential FAs that we have had back door contact with that we are serious about spending money in FA. Two....it takes cap space immediately away from the Riders as they try to sort out who they can keep or more importantly can't keep. Three....it gets us a high pick in THIS year's draft...a draft that is being billed as the best since 2008. Watson was going to get dumped no matter what. This was the best time to do it.

That tweet is what cap hell looks like. 225k for Getzlaf?!.....Getzlaf?! A productive receiver to be sure, but if he was worth that ungodly sum he sure managed to hide it from everyone else besides Taman. Good Grief...news of Taman's contract signing amounts just border on bizarre. I guess the Rider fans may be correct and they might very well have two 200k receivers in their lineup this year. They sure weren't counting on Getzlaf being one of them though.

Als probably realized how screwed they'd be without both he & Carter so they gave him everything he wanted. According to Popp last week they had an offer sitting on the table that would make SJ the highest paid non-QB in the league. Sounds like he got everything he wanted alright.

Would love to see Ken Moll added to the fold of Bomber recruiters again. Can hate Mack if you want, but it's tough to deny that Moll was a good scout.

I don't think the value of the meet and greet should be undersold. Are we realistically looking at any of these players in the firm belief we will get them? Probably not. The chance to entrench and expand scouting networks and goodwill with NFL teams is probably the most valuable thing we will take away from this. It is a big deal. Opportunities to gather with all the movers and shakers within the game of football all in one place is important.

What happened to MLBs being labelled MIKE?... unless he's referring to a Joe Mack-style LB? Mike and MAC are two widely used acronyms for MLB. Just personal preference on Walters part.

Is Donny O that good or is that a reverse home town discount? I know he is or was a big boy. I had brunch with him when he played for the bombers and he really filled out a sweater. But is he really that good of a player? No, he is not that good of a player that he will demand big money. He is rock solid depth though. The fact he is a hometown boy really doesn't factor into that.

There have been rumblings that Heenan thinks he gave the Riders a hometown discount last time and is unwilling to do so again. Purely speculation of course but it has been mentioned in the Regina media. Not sure he would leave the Riders over a minimal salary difference but indications are that the salary gap between the two offers does not need to be whopping either. I could see Heenan signing a one or even two year contract somewhere else just on principle and telling Taman to give him a call in a couple years when he has dismissed the notion of a hometown discount. Might be worth his while to do so.

I would take Donny O at the right price as well. Solid journeyman depth.

How do you figure? Aside from this forum, I've read VERY little of him. I don't think the rest of the CFL community is in love with his 5 game stretch as you appear to be. Jackson is a lump in with the second tier of receivers that will hit free agency this year. That doesn't earn 200k. I agree. Even with a Desjardins in the league I doubt his salary is anywhere near 200k, and of probably more importance, I doubt his expectations are anywhere near that. I think the team that signs him will get him in the 120-140k range.

No way we sink money into another receiver. We needed to make a big splash last off season to prove to players/agents we would spend money. We tried going after Butler but lost out, Moore was an awesome consolation prize who tragically ended up being injured most of the season. We're going to go hard after Heenan for sure, and probably check the potential of Holmes and Bryant as well. I hope the Bombers will go hard after Ernest Jackson. From an SMS perspective he may give us the most bang for the buck.

I would hope that we don't enter the SJ Green sweepstakes. Money is needed elsewhere. I highly doubt that Dressler hits FA. No way Taman can let him go.

Maybe not....but I think we are going to be in the thick of things and not just kicking the tires on him. Marty is a good player....for the right price, I'd think about him for WIL if I were the Bombers.

Cornish is a very special player in this league. I would definitely rate him ahead of Reynolds. Heck...I would rate Charlie over Reynolds.

Agreed....not really a priority either.

I think we will re-sign Sears but lose Wild. I think Brohm gets another NFL look....as crazy as I know that sounds. I think Heenan really is available but will be hugely expensive if he is to leave Regina. I think Romby is a goner. Players I would pursue outside of the OL, are Ernest Jackson and Sam Hurl. I don't think we need a Brackenridge, but if we have the money to spend because we have come up empty in other pursuits he would be a gooder. Really is hard to say who we will target because it's hard to say how much cap room we have. I feel we will be very aggressive though.

If Ellingson is going anywhere my money is on Ottawa.

What kind of half wit team would allow holidays for their PR guy? Sounds like a second rate organization to me. Why is there no back up plan for PR for when Cameron is on vacation? Why would they go scout the senior bowl on a week they could have been announcing Hall? Don't they respect the fans wishes about knowing what's going on? I am, of course, being sarcastic.

Could you imagine if the Riders lost...and I'm only including players who have suggested they will test FA, had NFL workouts, or are gone already and by no means is inclusive of all their potential losses....Picard, Heenan, Hurl, Brackenridge, and Peters. That represents 20% of their starting lineup and is likely not even close to all the players they may lose. I know Taman won't say it, the Rider fans won't admit it, but they have got to be sweating bullets in Rider land right now. This offseason has the makings to be a Titanic like offseason similar to the one we had in the mass exodus of '08.

I think Kohlert is a good possession receiver. I am of the opinion that he has reached his ceiling but he is a positive contributor, Like someone else alluded to, our new Stoddard and that's a heck of a lot better than being our new Hargreaves. JFG, is a spark plug, and that's awesome. Brings grit and determination...but I have not seen anything that makes me think he is ready to make the jump to the starting lineup. Watson is probably more talented than both of them put together. If we could only get one year of him being healthy.