2024/2025 Blue Bombers Off-Season Thread

[GCn20]

20 minutes ago, TBURGESS said:

It would be Collaros at a cap amount of $600K.

It will be Kelly all day long...every day. 

[TBURGESS]

35 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

It will be Kelly all day long...every day. 

You'd rather have a 600K cap hit over 490K? 

[wbbfan]

1 hour ago, 17to85 said:

Which of those 3 will be the biggest drain on the team compared to the amount of cap they eat up... TBD. Be between Rourke and collaros IMO.

 

1 hour ago, TBURGESS said:

It would be Collaros at a cap amount of $600K.

He'd be the most likely candidate for sure. That said, Kelly could implode at any moment. 

Has the league had 3 qbs getting more than 600k at the same time? How about 3 guys making that cash with each having such a serious question mark hanging over their heads? All 3 could collapse this year and be completely out of the MOP discussion. I'd say that is more likely than them all excelling. 

[Fatty Liver]

28 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

 

He'd be the most likely candidate for sure. That said, Kelly could implode at any moment. 

Has the league had 3 qbs getting more than 600k at the same time? How about 3 guys making that cash with each having such a serious question mark hanging over their heads? All 3 could collapse this year and be completely out of the MOP discussion. I'd say that is more likely than them all excelling. 

Not sure, but maybe back in the Mike Riley days, I thought he was paid over $700k to sign with the Lions. BLM got a significant raise around the same time from the Stamps that put him up around $600k to keep pace.  I don't think any other QB benefited, Ricky Ray was trending down at that time and Zach hadn't yet started his resurgence. 

Going way back, Cal Murphy paid Dunigan enough to almost bankrupt the Bombers, I think it was around $800k.  That would have been during the marquee player exemption, kicked off by the Argos signing Rocket Ismail, who to this day is the highest paid player in CFL history at $4.55 million per season.  Whether Bruce McNall actually paid him that amount or not is still disputed.

Edited April 14 by Fatty Liver

[SpeedFlex27]

5 hours ago, TBURGESS said:

It would be Collaros at a cap amount of $600K.

I suspect things will be a lot different a year from now.. If Zach is even on the roster.

[GCn20]

17 hours ago, wbbfan said:

 

He'd be the most likely candidate for sure. That said, Kelly could implode at any moment. 

Has the league had 3 qbs getting more than 600k at the same time? How about 3 guys making that cash with each having such a serious question mark hanging over their heads? All 3 could collapse this year and be completely out of the MOP discussion. I'd say that is more likely than them all excelling. 

I'll take an aging vet that may drop off, over the STRONG possibility that my QB does something epically stupid that derails the season, or locker room.

17 hours ago, wbbfan said:

 

He'd be the most likely candidate for sure. That said, Kelly could implode at any moment. 

Has the league had 3 qbs getting more than 600k at the same time? How about 3 guys making that cash with each having such a serious question mark hanging over their heads? All 3 could collapse this year and be completely out of the MOP discussion. I'd say that is more likely than them all excelling. 

600k is not an outlandish QB salary. It's high, but top tier QB money has actually come down somewhat from Reilly and BLM days.

[wbbfan]

1 hour ago, GCn20 said:

I'll take an aging vet that may drop off, over the STRONG possibility that my QB does something epically stupid that derails the season, or locker room.

600k is not an outlandish QB salary. It's high, but top tier QB money has actually come down somewhat from Reilly and BLM days.

I'd take any one over that guy. Idc who they are or how talented they are.

600k is maybe more silly money than it used to be. With most of the other top positions having their salaries go down rather than up the gap is bigger than its been in a long while. 600k is more than the 2 highest paid none qbs in the league. Last year and prior it was less than 2 of the top few. 

 Now with the cap going up, 600k next year likely won't be as much an outlier. We could see a few of the 200-250k guys going up to 300k range. 

[Fatty Liver]

1 hour ago, wbbfan said:

I'd take any one over that guy. Idc who they are or how talented they are.

600k is maybe more silly money than it used to be. With most of the other top positions having their salaries go down rather than up the gap is bigger than its been in a long while. 600k is more than the 2 highest paid none qbs in the league. Last year and prior it was less than 2 of the top few. 

 Now with the cap going up, 600k next year likely won't be as much an outlier. We could see a few of the 200-250k guys going up to 300k range. 

Other than a couple of top tier receivers, which position has seen a reduction in salary?  Linemen on both sides of the ball have been going up, as have LB's and DB's. The salary cap is going up and every position has benefitted.

[wbbfan]

1 hour ago, Fatty Liver said:

Other than a couple of top tier receivers, which position has seen a reduction in salary?  Linemen on both sides of the ball have been going up, as have LB's and DB's. The salary cap is going up and every position has benefitted.

All the wrs aside from lawler got significantly less than they have been getting for the past several years. DL is actually trending down aside from the top couple guys by a decent margin, LBs are down and DBs are down that aren't on the bombers or named ford. 

None of the positions have benefited from the salary cap going up as the majority of pending FAs and AR free agents have signed deals before the cap went up. They will benefit from it next year, and NFL cuts may well benefit from it this year. OL and QB are the big ones that are continually trending up across the board. 

22 hours ago, TBURGESS said:

You'd rather have a 600K cap hit over 490K? 

Zach could play at a level where he is worth 350-500k this year, and kelly could be a guy whose salary counts the whole year and isn't worth a buck. Zachs bad out come for the year is being on the IR, Kellys includes a possible pr nightmare where he cant play and you still have to pay him.

In generally with the 500k cap increase, every team would rather be in a situation where they have an expensive qb, than be sitting on 600-700k that they can't get value for. 

[GCn20]

5 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

All the wrs aside from lawler got significantly less than they have been getting for the past several years. DL is actually trending down aside from the top couple guys by a decent margin, LBs are down and DBs are down that aren't on the bombers or named ford. 

None of the positions have benefited from the salary cap going up as the majority of pending FAs and AR free agents have signed deals before the cap went up. They will benefit from it next year, and NFL cuts may well benefit from it this year. OL and QB are the big ones that are continually trending up across the board. 

Zach could play at a level where he is worth 350-500k this year, and kelly could be a guy whose salary counts the whole year and isn't worth a buck. Zachs bad out come for the year is being on the IR, Kellys includes a possible pr nightmare where he cant play and you still have to pay him.

In generally with the 500k cap increase, every team would rather be in a situation where they have an expensive qb, than be sitting on 600-700k that they can't get value for. 

Yep, if Kelly wasn't such a bad apple he wouldn't be in this conversation. However, he has been, and likely will be again, chaos for every team he's played for. If he had half a noodle in his head he could be a franchise guy for many years for the Argos, heck he might even be in the NFL.

[wbbfan]

22 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

Yep, if Kelly wasn't such a bad apple he wouldn't be in this conversation. However, he has been, and likely will be again, chaos for every team he's played for. If he had half a noodle in his head he could be a franchise guy for many years for the Argos, heck he might even be in the NFL.

Yep, guys who are toxic manipulative abusers don't change unless forced and he hasn't come close to being forced. And for me, I wouldn't sign or play a guy like him under any circumstance. Idc if it is a flag football game with my house on the line and no one else can throw. 

[GCn20]

18 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

Yep, guys who are toxic manipulative abusers don't change unless forced and he hasn't come close to being forced. And for me, I wouldn't sign or play a guy like him under any circumstance. Idc if it is a flag football game with my house on the line and no one else can throw. 

I agree. He is a lowlife, and unfortunately, the Argos seem to have quite a low bar on who they will employ. Mind you the Riders would likely snap up a guy of his character just as quickly.

[wbbfan]

12 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

I agree. He is a lowlife, and unfortunately, the Argos seem to have quite a low bar on who they will employ. Mind you the Riders would likely snap up a guy of his character just as quickly.

Yep, you got it. If he was cut tomorrow, half the league would show up at his door ready to pitch him as a reformed man and them as a forgiving enterprise willing to give a guy a chance. 

[Booch]

If he wasn't the degenerate that he is...He's be holding a clip board down in The League....the fact that he isn't tells you all you need to know...He was on his last chance here...and really...If the Argo's and the League hadn't dropped the ball and had some stones....he's be outta football now

[wbbfan]

Some bombers visited rankin inlet, gabe Wallace included. 
 Boy, he is looking lean and mean. He was 6’6 350+ in college. Came to camp 330-340 with a decent belly still. Now he looks like a stunt double for the mountain. Doesn’t look like he just lost weight either, looks like he put on some lean mass. 
Can’t wait to see what he brings this year. 

[HardCoreBlue]

On 2025-04-15 at 2:23 PM, Booch said:

If he wasn't the degenerate that he is...He's be holding a clip board down in The League....the fact that he isn't tells you all you need to know...He was on his last chance here...and really...If the Argo's and the League hadn't dropped the ball and had some stones....he's be outta football now

If a good special teamer had done exactly what CK had done would he still be in the league? I think we know the answer to that.

I get it's all about drawing revenue, profit and winning but it still doesn't make it right.

Different rules for different people and not just in sport.

I know, I'm so woke.

[GCn20]

On 2025-04-16 at 5:00 PM, HardCoreBlue said:

If a good special teamer had done exactly what CK had done would he still be in the league? I think we know the answer to that.

I get it's all about drawing revenue, profit and winning but it still doesn't make it right.

Different rules for different people and not just in sport.

I know, I'm so woke.

One does not have to be particularly woke to think that making unwanted sexual advances on an employee, then holding her employment over her head when she rebuts your advances is pretty cringe. The fact we let him keep playing in our league is also cringy. I'm GenX and this disturbs me and we GenXers have seen a lot of this in the past.

Edited yesterday at 07:05 PM by GCn20

[Noeller]

It's beyond cringe... It's illegal and he should be long gone from our league. 

[bigg jay]

Bombers let Max Charbonneau go - interesting timing to release a young NAT.  Wonder if he's hurt?

Blue Bombers transactions - April 22 - Winnipeg Blue Bombers

[wbbfan]

20 minutes ago, bigg jay said:

Bombers let Max Charbonneau go - interesting timing to release a young NAT.  Wonder if he's hurt?

Blue Bombers transactions - April 22 - Winnipeg Blue Bombers

That is interesting. Maybe hurt, maybe doesn't want to continue playing, maybe an off-field issue. It might also be that they aren't happy with progress from him, and feel we are really deep at Lber already. With Ayers, Kyrie, the Jones', and the Canadian group of Makonzo, Cadwallader, Gauthier, plus Weitz and the upcoming draft, maybe they didn't feel he had a chance to make the squad. It also looks like Leroux has been moved off the suspended list to roster, maybe they plan to roster him as a Lber. 

[Blue In BC]

1 hour ago, wbbfan said:

That is interesting. Maybe hurt, maybe doesn't want to continue playing, maybe an off-field issue. It might also be that they aren't happy with progress from him, and feel we are really deep at Lber already. With Ayers, Kyrie, the Jones', and the Canadian group of Makonzo, Cadwallader, Gauthier, plus Weitz and the upcoming draft, maybe they didn't feel he had a chance to make the squad. It also looks like Leroux has been moved off the suspended list to roster, maybe they plan to roster him as a Lber. 

I think you covered it in your 1st statement. We're deep at LB with the addition of Jones, Jones, Wilson and Ayers filling the import spots. The Canadian group along with Weitz means Charboneau would only be a ST player at best. IMO Makonzo filled a depth need at SAM now that Griffin moves to safety. In effect we needed Charbonneau's roster spot to add Makonzo.  I wouldn't be surprised if Makonzo sees some work on ST's as well as rotation work on defence. We also added Hagerty who takes a roster spot left by Noah Hallett leaving the team.

There are only so many roster spots and we've shifted where we needed Canadian depth somewhat from WIL to SAM. The other Canadian LB's like Gauthier and Cadwallander will probably only see ST work this season IMO. One of the import LB's will likely be on the AR as a DI. I'm just not sure if J. Jones starts at WIL over Wilson or he is the DI. Ayers might be hard pressed to make the AR since we have 4 import LB's and only 3 spots.

None of this suggests Charbonneau may not turn out to be a good player somewhere but there is no room on the roster.

The big question is at WIL and figuring out which of Wilson, J. Jones and Ayers ends up starting and who is the DI.  I think the fight is between Wilson and J. Jones but Ayers could be a good one.

Edited 7 hours ago by Blue In BC

[bigg jay]

Yeah I don't think anyone was expecting Charbonneau to be anything other than an ST'er but those guys are needed and guys like Gauthier can't play forever.  Just found it odd that they released him with a little over 2 weeks until camp starts - could always use him as TCF, even if they don't see him making the club.

[Blue In BC]

24 minutes ago, bigg jay said:

Yeah I don't think anyone was expecting Charbonneau to be anything other than an ST'er but those guys are needed and guys like Gauthier can't play forever.  Just found it odd that they released him with a little over 2 weeks until camp starts - could always use him as TCF, even if they don't see him making the club.

I didn't expect the Bombers to bring Gauthier back in 2025. Age and a slightly higher SMS than an ELC player. That said, we may be drafting another LB type but he may still sit on the PR this season to develop. Roster room and need still suggests to me that we changing where depth is maintained on the roster. Depth at LB is significant already. Where adjustments are made for ST work is a TBD but I think we added some new faces already.

The draft choices are always interesting.

 

[wbbfan]

3 hours ago, bigg jay said:

Yeah I don't think anyone was expecting Charbonneau to be anything other than an ST'er but those guys are needed and guys like Gauthier can't play forever.  Just found it odd that they released him with a little over 2 weeks until camp starts - could always use him as TCF, even if they don't see him making the club.

For sure, there could be a chance for him to get on elsewhere with this move. Maybe that's it. We sure seem to treat ni teams guys like they grow on trees, save for 2-3 we cling to no matter what. 

[Yourface]

On 2025-04-15 at 1:32 PM, GCn20 said:

I agree. He is a lowlife, and unfortunately, the Argos seem to have quite a low bar on who they will employ. Mind you the Riders would likely snap up a guy of his character just as quickly.

Unfortunately, I think more sports teams fall under that category than we would like to think. See Artemi Panarin's recent sexual assault case for example. Superstars seem to be able to get away with that kind of behaviour consistently.