2024/2025 CFL (non-Bomber) Off-Season Thread

[Noeller]

 

 

[wbbfan]

7 hours ago, Noeller said:

Glad they're not going full redneck and change the name back,... Interesting vintage look to the logo. 

 

 

Strikes an excellent balance. 

[Fatty Liver]

18 hours ago, JohnnyAbonny said:

I like the logo; I don’t think they should change the name back but I hope they go to the 70s style uniforms as well.

I'm surprised they dropped the antlers, good things have been done with a horny beast.

17 hours ago, Noeller said:

 

 

Dangerous receiver when healthy, but that's been rare.

[WinnipegGordo]

 

[Noeller]

 

 

[voodoochylde]

Lions acquire Dejon Allen from the Argos.

https://www.tsn.ca/cfl/toronto-argonauts-send-ol-dejon-allen-to-bc-lions-in-exchange-for-lb-ryder-varga-draft-pick-1.2231038

[rebusrankin]

Nice add for BC

[wbbfan]

Is Allen a pending free agent or some thing? That seems like really low value for Toronto doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. Huge get for bc.  

[bigg jay]

Just now, wbbfan said:

Is Allen a pending free agent or some thing? That seems like really low value for Toronto doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. Huge get for bc.  

Nope, scheduled to make $210k in 2025 according to 3DN.  He's from Cali so maybe he asked to be closer to home?

[wbbfan]

7 minutes ago, bigg jay said:

Nope, scheduled to make $210k in 2025 according to 3DN.  He's from Cali so maybe he asked to be closer to home?

Wow that’s gigantic for bc. I’d a started that conversation with a first rounder and players if I was Toronto. 
 Could be. Don’t really have tons of leverage in the cfl especially at 30 years old and under contract. I’d love to hear more from the Toronto end. 

[rebusrankin]

So BC has Rourke at $750,000, Betts at $260,000 and Allen at $210,000. As well, Hatcher and Hollins are making decent coin. So are they going well over the SMS again or are they going to field a roster with a bunch of guys making the minimum (let's call that Maple Leafs plan).

[Arnold_Palmer]

39 minutes ago, wbbfan said:

Wow that’s gigantic for bc. I’d a started that conversation with a first rounder and players if I was Toronto. 
 Could be. Don’t really have tons of leverage in the cfl especially at 30 years old and under contract. I’d love to hear more from the Toronto end. 

Toronto really does it best when it comes to moving on from players. They trust their scouting and coaching that they can bring in the next great player. 

[Fatty Liver]

27 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

So BC has Rourke at $750,000, Betts at $260,000 and Allen at $210,000. As well, Hatcher and Hollins are making decent coin. So are they going well over the SMS again or are they going to field a roster with a bunch of guys making the minimum (let's call that Maple Leafs plan).

Hard to say, but I think sparks will fly at the annual CFL meetings if Doman doesn't clamp down on his free spending, they're not going to allow one owner to completely ignore well established SMS limits.

[GCn20]

1 hour ago, wbbfan said:

Wow that’s gigantic for bc. I’d a started that conversation with a first rounder and players if I was Toronto. 
 Could be. Don’t really have tons of leverage in the cfl especially at 30 years old and under contract. I’d love to hear more from the Toronto end. 

It doesn't make sense in isolation as fair value. However, could be a player wanting out...could be freeing up SMS because they like the guy behind him on the DC...could be he is a locker room problem...among many possibilities that we as fans do not have access to information on.

[bluto]

Well my first and most obvious question would be to ask who it is in Toronto who is calling the shots right now? Word on the street is that Murphy was on the outs, so I actually don't know who is steering the Good Ship Argonaut right now.

Allen was effective but expensive. We have lots of good O-Line guys including a few who just got here and can do a job (Doxtater, Moore) so with the number of guys who are top FAs, the deck was always going to get shuffled. Dejon is about 30 so he'll have a few nice productive years, he's a west coast guy and BC can tell their star at QB that they're doing what they can to get him an O-line. Likely has nothing to do with anything, but Allen did almost get Kelly killed in the playoffs against Ottawa.

And, Isaiah Cage is a free agent too...

Not sure if Varga is a starter or not, but most of our National linebackers got played as a starter at some point last season. As it stands we have Cassar, Sopik(FA), Adeleke (FA), & Varga. So maybe Varga is a hedge against possibly losing Sopik if someone pulls out their chequebook?

 

Ceresna, Brinkman, Smith, McManis, Amos, Metchie, McFadden, Priester... some our FAs on D

Grant, Haggerty... on Teams

Arbuckle, Cage, Rice, Mackellar, Carey, Coxie... on O

 

Freeing up salary and churning the roster happens. And the last few years we haven't done a lot of our signings until later on, so I'll try not to let it bug me as I watch good players get poached one by one.

Edited Monday at 08:12 PM by bluto

[pw13]

IMO there are a couple of factors here. Hunter can definitely play OT so Toronto might need only one INT starter on the line. Allen is an excellent player, but $210k is a lot when you might be able to find a younger INT at a third the price. (The risk is you don't find one, of course, and good OTs don't grow on trees.)

This deal frees up money that could be spent elsewhere (like McManis). Toronto might also be expecting to lose a NAT starter or two (Metchie/Smith) so having a starting-calibre NAT LB might be a good hedge against that. 

Toronto's last off-season trade (Gittens for Ceresna) came as a shock to fans but worked out well for both teams. This one might, too. 

I, too, would love to know who's pulling the strings in Toronto's front office. My guess is that Dinwiddie has become the de facto GM.

     

[Mark H.]

13 minutes ago, pw13 said:

Toronto's last off-season trade (Gittens for Ceresna) came as a shock to fans but worked out well for both teams. This one might, too. 

That was a great trade right from the get go - advantage Argos.

[Piggy 1]

33 minutes ago, bluto said:

Well my first and most obvious question would be to ask who it is in Toronto who is calling the shots right now? Word on the street is that Murphy was on the outs, so I actually don't know who is steering the Good Ship Argonaut right now.

Allen was effective but expensive. We have lots of good O-Line guys including a few who just got here and can do a job (Doxtater, Moore) so with the number of guys who are top FAs, the deck was always going to get shuffled. Dejon is about 30 so he'll have a few nice productive years, he's a west coast guy and BC can tell their star at QB that they're doing what they can to get him an O-line. Likely has nothing to do with anything, but Allen did almost get Kelly killed in the playoffs against Ottawa.

And, Isaiah Cage is a free agent too...

Not sure if Varga is a starter or not, but most of our National linebackers got played as a starter at some point last season. As it stands we have Cassar, Sopik(FA), Adeleke (FA), & Varga. So maybe Varga is a hedge against possibly losing Sopik if someone pulls out their chequebook?

 

Ceresna, Brinkman, Smith, McManis, Amos, Metchie, McFadden, Priester... some our FAs on D

Grant, Haggerty... on Teams

Arbuckle, Cage, Rice, Mackellar, Carey, Coxie... on O

 

Freeing up salary and churning the roster happens. And the last few years we haven't done a lot of our signings until later on, so I'll try not to let it bug me as I watch good players get poached one by one.

McManis not signed yet? Walters get on it.......

[pw13]

5 minutes ago, Mark H. said:

That was a great trade right from the get go - advantage Argos.

Make no mistake, I was thrilled to get Ceresna. But Gittens is a special talent, and a NAT, and signed to a longer deal. Two years from now, the outcome of that trade might look different.

  

[Noeller]

 

 

[bigg jay]

6 minutes ago, Noeller said:

 

 

I wonder why the official announcement took so long when the news broke almost a month ago?

https://3downnation.com/2024/12/15/ottawa-redblacks-hire-william-fields-as-new-defensive-coordinator/

[Mark H.]

1 hour ago, pw13 said:

Make no mistake, I was thrilled to get Ceresna. But Gittens is a special talent, and a NAT, and signed to a longer deal. Two years from now, the outcome of that trade might look different.

  

If he's that good, you'll have the opportunity to get him back.

[Noeller]

 

 

[CrazyCanuck89]

7 hours ago, bluto said:

Well my first and most obvious question would be to ask who it is in Toronto who is calling the shots right now? Word on the street is that Murphy was on the outs, so I actually don't know who is steering the Good Ship Argonaut right now.

Allen was effective but expensive. We have lots of good O-Line guys including a few who just got here and can do a job (Doxtater, Moore) so with the number of guys who are top FAs, the deck was always going to get shuffled. Dejon is about 30 so he'll have a few nice productive years, he's a west coast guy and BC can tell their star at QB that they're doing what they can to get him an O-line. Likely has nothing to do with anything, but Allen did almost get Kelly killed in the playoffs against Ottawa.

And, Isaiah Cage is a free agent too...

Not sure if Varga is a starter or not, but most of our National linebackers got played as a starter at some point last season. As it stands we have Cassar, Sopik(FA), Adeleke (FA), & Varga. So maybe Varga is a hedge against possibly losing Sopik if someone pulls out their chequebook?

 

Ceresna, Brinkman, Smith, McManis, Amos, Metchie, McFadden, Priester... some our FAs on D

Grant, Haggerty... on Teams

Arbuckle, Cage, Rice, Mackellar, Carey, Coxie... on O

 

Freeing up salary and churning the roster happens. And the last few years we haven't done a lot of our signings until later on, so I'll try not to let it bug me as I watch good players get poached one by one.

Did you not watch Varga last year?  Guy is a starter, probably at WLB.

[bluto]

9 hours ago, CrazyCanuck89 said:

Did you not watch Varga last year?  Guy is a starter, probably at WLB.

That wasn't intended as a slight against Varga. More of an indication that I don't know if we're going National or American there. Sopik played well there and then got dinged so Darkangelo came in and was noteworthy. But Sopik is a FA and Darkangelo got a look down south, so who knows?