2023/2024 Blue Bombers Off-Season Thread (BRADY’S BACK! DALTON’S BACK!)

[Geebrr]

16 minutes ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

If people think going over $200k is too much for Brady (and I would agree - although did I miss where it has been clearly stated what he in fact is asking for, or is this just fan speculation and guessing at numbers?), then what is too much for Schoen?

It isn’t apples to apples and i would have bet the a million dollars that you were going to bring up Schoen. 
 

It is a passing league - he isn’t  as easily replaced.  That’s  the difference. 
 

Something in the mid to high 2s for sure. 

[Fatty Liver]

3 minutes ago, Geebrr said:

It isn’t apples to apples and i would have bet the a million dollars that you were going to bring up Schoen. 
 

It is a passing league - he isn’t  as easily replaced.  That’s  the difference. 
 

Something in the mid to high 2s for sure. 

Looks like his NFL opportunities have dried up, tie him up with a 3 year contract starting at $225k and topping out at $250k in the 3rd year, can throw in a few bonuses for leading the league in receiving and hitting other milestones.  If he's offered anywhere close to $300k in FA, I'd guess he won't be wearing blue next season.

[TrueBlue4ever]

17 minutes ago, Geebrr said:

It isn’t apples to apples and i would have bet the a million dollars that you were going to bring up Schoen. 
 

It is a passing league - he isn’t  as easily replaced.  That’s  the difference. 
 

Something in the mid to high 2s for sure. 

I brought up Schoen because that IS the debate. Who is more valuable and what is the walk-away point for each? People say they are not turning on Brady, but then say he isn’t FIFO and slapping his teammates in the face with his desire to make bank, and have drawn a clear line in the sand with what he is worth, but no one is questioning Schoen and what he will cost us. And I am not so sure that replacing the MOC and easily top RB in the CFL is easier than a top receiver (mindful that we already have a #1 in Lawler). And Schoen hasn’t shown any more or less commitment to re-signing here than Brady. But I sense people are disgruntled with Brady more so when they say he can walk and we will be fine or better? Is it purely that folks think any player can be a running back, or is it something more - like maybe his tweet that got noses out of joint? And is the cost of Schoen not more prohibitive in building the rest of the team? (To be clear I am not leaning one way or another, but it appears others certainly are, and I am wondering why the difference?)

Edited January 23 by TrueBlue4ever

[bb1]

2 minutes ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

I brought up Schoen because that IS the debate. Who is more valuable and what is the walk-away point for each? People say they are not turning on Brady, but then he he isn’t FIFO and slapping his teammates in the face with his desire to make bank, and have drawn a clear line in the sand with what he is worth, but no one is questioning Schoen and what he will cost us. And I am not so sure that replacing the MOC and easily top RB in the CFL is easier than a top receiver (mindful that we already have a #1 in Lawler). And Schoen hasn’t shown any more or less commitment to re-signing here than Brady. But I sense people are disgruntled with Brady more so when they say he can walk and we will be fine or better? Is it purely that folks think any player can be a running back, or is it something more - like maybe his tweet that got noses out of joint? And is the cost of Schoen not more prohibitive in building the rest of the team? (To be clear I am not leaning one way or another, but it appears others certainly are, and I am wondering why the difference?)

Schoen has not posted a Kane like money tweet...and this is a passing league. Add to it that we can replace BO with a cheaper option with a combo couple of American Rbs that we can swap in and out to keep opposing defenses guessing like Calgary does with Carey and Logan and we can be a better offensive team. Replacing Schoen would be a hell of alot harder. It's what makes the Bombers better or at least as good that matters.

[JCon]

So many pearls to clutch. Everyone is so worked up by one emoji. 

 

[Wanna-B-Fanboy]

17 minutes ago, bb1 said:

Schoen has not posted a Kane like money tweet...and this is a passing league. Add to it that we can replace BO with a cheaper option with a combo couple of American Rbs that we can swap in and out to keep opposing defenses guessing like Calgary does with Carey and Logan and we can be a better offensive team. Replacing Schoen would be a hell of alot harder. It's what makes the Bombers better or at least as good that matters.

 

Yup, that's what got me into the "pfft, he can walk " camp.

Shades of this chucklefuck.

[BigBlue]

Brady is not worth any way thing near Nic Demski  ($175k+)...  I expect BO will be offered around 140 with incentives = $150k take it or leave it

Edited January 23 by BigBlue

[WinnipegGordo]

Winnipeg Blue Bombers signed three players including WR Keric Wheatfall

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers signed wide receivers Keric Wheatfall and Braxton Burmeister, and kicker Jose Borregales on Monday.

Keric Wheatfall is six foot two and weighs 194 pounds. The 24-year-old from Cypress, Texas, signed with the Philadelphia Stars (USFL) in 2023 but spent the season on injured reserve. Before Philadelphia, Wheatfall attended the Philadelphia Eagles training camp in 2022.

Collegiately, Wheatfall played two seasons at Blinn College (2017-18) with 72 catches for 1,173 yards, seven touchdowns, and seven kick returns for 112 yards in 20 games for the Buccaneers. Then, Wheatfall transferred to Fresno State (2019, 2021) with 55 catches for 923 yards, five touchdowns, two carries for two yards, and one kick return for 35 yards in 23 games for the Bulldogs.

Braxton Burmeister is six foot one and weighs 205 pounds. The 25-year-old from La Jolla, California, made two catches for 15 yards in three preseason games for the Los Angeles Rams in 2023. The Rams signed Burmeister as an undrafted free agent in 2023.

Collegiately, Burmeister was a quarterback in college. He played two seasons at Oregon (2017-18) completing 49 of 87 passes (56%) for 373 yards, two touchdowns, six interceptions, 71 carries for 131 yards, and three touchdowns in 11 games for the Ducks.

Next, Burmeister transferred to Virginia Tech (2020-21) completing 190 of 339 passes (56%) for 2,647 yards, 16 touchdowns, 6 interceptions, 163 carries for 703 yards, four touchdowns, one catch for three yards, and one touchdown in 18 games for the Hokies.

Then, Burmeister transferred to San Diego State in 2022 completing 34 of 64 passes (53%) for 230 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions, 29 carries for 144 yards, one touchdown, and one catch for 19 yards in eight games for the Aztecs.

Jose Borregales is five foot ten and weighs 206 pounds. The 26-year-old from Caracas, Venezuela, converted six of nine field goals (67%) with a long of 52 yards in ten games for the Orlando Guardians (XFL) in 2023.

The Guardians drafted Borregales in the first round (5th pick) of Phase 5 of the 2023 XFL Draft. Before Orlando, Borregales signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent in 2021.

Collegiately, Borregales played four seasons at Florida International University (2016-19) making 50 of 66 field goals (75.8%) with a long of 53 yards, making 131 of 134 extra points, 78 kickoffs for 4,695 yards (60.2 AVG), and 40 touchbacks in 39 games for the Panthers. He was a two-time All-Conference USA Honorable Mention.

Then, he transferred to Miami in 2020 made 20 of 22 field goals (91%) with a long of 57 yards, and made 37 of 37 extra points (100%) in 11 games for the Hurricanes. He was named First Team All-ACC in 2020.

https://www.bgmsportstrax.com/2024/01/22/winnipeg-blue-bombers-signed-three-players-including-wr-keric-wheatfall/

[Mike]

And yeah, just to touch on something earlier - the people who are mad at Brady are nuts.

Do you guys go to your jobs and work for less money voluntarily? Of course the guy wants to maximize his earnings. Just like literally the entire world. Get over it.

[17to85]

2 hours ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

Is it purely that folks think any player can be a running back

yes end of discussion. 

 

I was leading the Brady for MOP parade before most people were but ain't no way a running back like him is worth re-setting the market. 

[Geebrr]

4 hours ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

I brought up Schoen because that IS the debate. Who is more valuable and what is the walk-away point for each? People say they are not turning on Brady, but then say he isn’t FIFO and slapping his teammates in the face with his desire to make bank, and have drawn a clear line in the sand with what he is worth, but no one is questioning Schoen and what he will cost us. And I am not so sure that replacing the MOC and easily top RB in the CFL is easier than a top receiver (mindful that we already have a #1 in Lawler). And Schoen hasn’t shown any more or less commitment to re-signing here than Brady. But I sense people are disgruntled with Brady more so when they say he can walk and we will be fine or better? Is it purely that folks think any player can be a running back, or is it something more - like maybe his tweet that got noses out of joint? And is the cost of Schoen not more prohibitive in building the rest of the team? (To be clear I am not leaning one way or another, but it appears others certainly are, and I am wondering why the difference?)

When you say “people” are you talking about me? 
 

If so, then you are disregarding the fact I said that I don’t blame him for wanting to get paid, that he is a great player, and would love to have him back. 
 

However, a giant RB contract doesn’t make sense for our team IMO. He can go reset the market somewhere else. That is essentially “I want free agent money” talk in the CFL. Certainly for a RB. But this has been explained many times now. 

You’re talking about the best WR in the league who has led the league in receiving  TDs  basically since he stepped on the field. We aren’t talking “really good”. We are talking all time level good. 
 

I know you want to make what I am saying into something more dramatic. I don’t value Oliveira as much as Schoen for the reasons that have been mentioned many many times about the position he plays. That is what it boils down to.  

The same way I would have loved to have Desjarlais back - but not at that price. Good for him, moving on. 

 

 

Edited January 23 by Geebrr

[Jesse]

8 hours ago, BigBlue said:

Brady is not worth any way thing near Nic Demski  ($175k+)...  I expect BO will be offered around 140 with incentives = $150k take it or leave it

That's a weird comparable for me because I think I'd rather have Brady on the team, but it brings up the salary differentials that RBs can't stand. Because he produced so much more than Demski did the season, yet has to be told that's too much money for him. I get it, but to an RB, it must not make much sense. 

BTW, I'm sure Walters has already offered much more than your take it or leave it offer. 

[Jesse]

7 hours ago, Mike said:

And yeah, just to touch on something earlier - the people who are mad at Brady are nuts.

Do you guys go to your jobs and work for less money voluntarily? Of course the guy wants to maximize his earnings. Just like literally the entire world. Get over it.

I 100% support players getting all they can - you notice no one is saying anything negative about Dalton.

But trying to do any negotiating in the media never works out well for the player. He made a bit of a mistake there, I think. 

[Geebrr]

If Dalton wants to “reset the market” he can leave too. 
 

 

[GCn20]

1 hour ago, Jesse said:

That's a weird comparable for me because I think I'd rather have Brady on the team, but it brings up the salary differentials that RBs can't stand. Because he produced so much more than Demski did the season, yet has to be told that's too much money for him. I get it, but to an RB, it must not make much sense. 

BTW, I'm sure Walters has already offered much more than your take it or leave it offer. 

I hope he hasn't offered much more. Maybe a bit more, but anything more than 170k and his price exceeds his worth imo.

1 hour ago, Jesse said:

I 100% support players getting all they can - you notice no one is saying anything negative about Dalton.

But trying to do any negotiating in the media never works out well for the player. He made a bit of a mistake there, I think. 

I just hate when a player tries to pressure the team through the media. Never liked it. It's a bad look and really doesn't do much for them in the end.

[JohnnyAbonny]

I can’t stand the term “reset the market”. It’s a capped market, all that does is take away from another area (or from another angle, one’s own teammates) 
I’d rather see a balanced roster than a reset market star alongside a bunch of jobbers. 
We lived through that in the 90s and 2000’s, paying 2-3 skill players and nobody else. 

Edited January 23 by JohnnyAbonny

[Geebrr]

It doesn’t work well when you have a team as deep and talented as ours. 

[Bigblue204]

12 hours ago, Mike said:

The thing people need to remember about a Canadian running back is that they are so few and far between that committing to one as a ratio breaker means you also have to invest the capital in a capable backup as well.

Johnny Augustine made 90k last year, probably close to the going rate unless you find a good rookie. Is there a team that is going to invest 300k into a RB1/2? If there is, I hope it’s not us.

(obviously you could flip your ratio or dress more than the required amount of Canadians but there’s a cost to that as well)

Normally this is true, but we've been starting more Canadians than needed the last few years I believe.

[17to85]

1 hour ago, Geebrr said:

It doesn’t work well when you have a team as deep and talented as ours. 

and a big part of the last 2 grey cup losses was the hit that depth took to pay some guys big money. 

[Noeller]

16 hours ago, BigBlue said:

I have lost track of Demski's contract status ... very quiet like most of the Blue /// any updates?

 

He signed through 2025 last year (3 year deal)

[Brandon]

10 hours ago, Mike said:

And yeah, just to touch on something earlier - the people who are mad at Brady are nuts.

Every year a massive over reaction when a player doesn't sign day one... usually we retain the guy and the moment he signs everyone automatically changes the tune and love the guy again.  

The only exception was Harris because he was talking ****.    

[wbbfan]

13 hours ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

If people think going over $200k is too much for Brady (and I would agree - although did I miss where it has been clearly stated what he in fact is asking for, or is this just fan speculation and guessing at numbers?), then what is too much for Schoen?

It’s all speculation based on talks of wanting to reset the market. 
 

Imo, 300k is the absolute max for a wr. And I don’t think we can succeed with 2 WRs at 300k. 200-250max hard money imo is the range. Any thing in that range I keep schoen. If he wants 250-300 I take a long hard look at him vs lawler. Perhaps sign schoen and trade lawler if the market exists for him. 
 

going double rookie rb could have a cap hit in the 160k ish range, vs likely 300-350k for Brady and Augustine. That money could buy us an elite dl in free agency. 

[wbbfan]

13 hours ago, TrueBlue4ever said:

I brought up Schoen because that IS the debate. Who is more valuable and what is the walk-away point for each? People say they are not turning on Brady, but then say he isn’t FIFO and slapping his teammates in the face with his desire to make bank, and have drawn a clear line in the sand with what he is worth, but no one is questioning Schoen and what he will cost us. And I am not so sure that replacing the MOC and easily top RB in the CFL is easier than a top receiver (mindful that we already have a #1 in Lawler). And Schoen hasn’t shown any more or less commitment to re-signing here than Brady. But I sense people are disgruntled with Brady more so when they say he can walk and we will be fine or better? Is it purely that folks think any player can be a running back, or is it something more - like maybe his tweet that got noses out of joint? And is the cost of Schoen not more prohibitive in building the rest of the team? (To be clear I am not leaning one way or another, but it appears others certainly are, and I am wondering why the difference?)

I think it was a very good question to ponder. It’s the exact situation we are in after all. 
 
That is certainly part of it. Because basically every rb at the minimum replacement level could be on an nfl roster. The nfl has known this and worked this way for a long while. At wr it’s harder to find that nfl roster quality player. 
 

Brady is 1000% a fifo guy. He’s a great player, person and team mate I have no question. If he played the rest of his career here I’d be happy. If he goes some place else I’ll cheer for him. End of the day I don’t have any emotional attachment to an individual player on this roster that is close to the attachment to the team and it being good. There is no guy I wouldn’t cut or trade to make the team better, if a better player was available. Though I do have it add, some times the team is more than the sum of its parts. If we replaced wj biggie yoshi and Bailey all with better players, we might well get worse due to shattering the locker room. That is a hard thing to gauge for the mafia who know the core intimately. Impossible for me or us on here to say where that line is. 

[Booch]

1 hour ago, Bigblue204 said:

Normally this is true, but we've been starting more Canadians than needed the last few years I believe.

we dont need BO for ratio reasons at all.....and if we can get 2 legit talents starting as imports, in lieu of his salary, one of which being his replacement, and keeps your team deep you do it everyday all day

 

19 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

It’s all speculation based on talks of wanting to reset the market. 
 

Imo, 300k is the absolute max for a wr. And I don’t think we can succeed with 2 WRs at 300k. 200-250max hard money imo is the range. Any thing in that range I keep schoen. If he wants 250-300 I take a long hard look at him vs lawler. Perhaps sign schoen and trade lawler if the market exists for him. 
 

going double rookie rb could have a cap hit in the 160k ish range, vs likely 300-350k for Brady and Augustine. That money could buy us an elite dl in free agency. 

yup...this right here

[Bigblue204]

2 minutes ago, Booch said:

we dont need BO for ratio reasons at all.....and if we can get 2 legit talents starting as imports, in lieu of his salary, one of which being his replacement, and keeps your team deep you do it everyday all day

Agreed. I was just pointing out that we don't technically need a back up NI RB with the way we've been using the roster lately.