With free agency being less than 20 days away, players around the league will start finding their new homes. Each team will have a story to follow in free agency, so let's take a look.
BC LIONS: THE RECIEVER ROOM
After releasing Dominique Rhymes about a week ago, and re-signing a few key pieces, the question for the Lions becomes "Who can we replace him with?" There are many great options not re-signed yet, such as Dalton Schoen and Shawn Bane Jr, but 20 days is a lot of time to re-sign someone. If other receivers hit the market when free agency starts, who will the Lions pick up to replace Rhymes? We will find out soon.
EDMONTON ELKS: ...WHAT?
The Elks have made some interesting moves so far this offseason. From picking up McLeod Bethel-Thompson, to releasing Adam Konar and Ed Gainey, to trading Jake Ceresna for Kurleigh Gittens Jr, the Elks are making moves. The question is, are they the right ones? We saw what Tre Ford was capable of in 2023, so why would they put a new quarterback in front of him? Kurleigh Gittens will be a nice addition for MBT, but adding one receiver from a former team doesn't always work out. We saw this last year with Jake Weineke coming in for the Riders in free agency and getting released a year later. So, who knows what this Elks team will look like? Only time will tell.
CALGARY STAMPEDERS: TO MAIER OR NOT TO MAIER?
Jake Maier has been... okay. I mean, he's certainly no Bo-Levi Mitchell. But given his play on the field, will we see the Stamps push for another QB for competition? They can't have Dru Brown, Ottawa just snapped him up. They could potentially have Dustin Crum, Matthew Shiltz or Jake Dolegala, who will presumably become a free agent. Will we potentially see some more competition in the Stamps QB room?
SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS: BUILD THAT DEFENSE!
With Corey Mace coming in as the Rider's new coach in the off-season, who will flock to the prairies and join coach Mace in Sasky? I covered this in my last article, but I believe we will see many more defensive re-signings for the Riders as they attempt to re-build their defense. Some will be released, such as Derrick Moncrief, who was released after C.J. Reavis took over. But who will they bring in as they become a "player magnet"?
WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS: KEEP THE VETS
Winnipeg is OLD. And I don't mean just the city. They have one of the oldest rosters in the CFL. They say, with age comes wisdom. And this is true, the Bombers have been one of the best teams in the league for years with their veteran laden roster with plenty of experience. But with age also comes, well, age. And you can only play in this league for so long. If they can keep many of their guys around for another season, they will still be Grey Cup contenders. However, players will start to retire soon. How long can the Bombers keep their roster around?
HAMILTON TIGER-CATS: DISCIPLINARY ACTION
The Ti-Cats were HOT last year. They were one of the hottest teams in the league. At the end of the season, they got a bit of a culture change by shuffling the front office around. Chris Edwards was ejected at the end of the year, and Ti-Cats media have said that Duke Williams and Edwards will not be back in 2024. In free agency and 2024, will we see an attitude adjustment (John Cena style) by the Tabbies?
TORONTO ARGONAUTS: WHO STAYS, WHO GOES?
This links back to the Rider's story. Who can they keep during free agency, and who will flock to the (presumably) Riders? Offensively, they should be okay, but defensively? What is going to happen? Will they lose linebackers Adarius Pickett and Wynton McManis? Will Jamal Peters leave? We will see very soon.
OTTAWA REDBLACKS: WHO DO THE REDBLACKS GET FOR BROWN?
With Dru Brown recently signing in the nation's capital, who will the Redblacks pick up to add to their receiver room? The recent addition of Dominique Rhymes is a step in the right direction. But will we see them push to sign Dalton Schoen? With Dru Brown coming from Winnipeg, it would give him some familiarity in his locker room. Or will we see them invest in their o-line to protect their new stud QB?
MONTREAL ALOUETTES: RETAIN, RETAIN, RETAIN
Don't. Change. Anything. This may echo in the Als' locker room for free agency. After all, why would you change a Grey Cup winning team? We may see small changes here and there, like Austin Mack leaving for the Atlanta Falcons. But will they voluntarily change their championship team? Free agency will tell.
By Bruce Chimirri-Olson
Comments
Post a Comment