Bombers not the only ones with eye on Burris

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This article was published 01/02/2014 (4241 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are not alone in their pursuit of quarterback Henry Burris.

Chris Gittings, Burris’s agent, told the Free Press Saturday he has received multiple offers for Burris and his client is considering his options this weekend.

“There’s more than one team involved — there’s multiple teams,” Gitting said. Asked to be specific, Gittings hedged. “Let’s just say that there’s more than one.”

While Gittings refused to identify Burris’s other suitors, sources have said the Burris camp has had discussions with Montreal GM Jim Popp in recent days and it’s believed Gittings has shopped the quarterback in Ottawa and Edmonton.

Gittings confirmed at least one of the offers is from the Bombers and he said he has talked with Winnipeg’s front office several times in the past couple days in a bid to get a deal done.

“There’s been some back and forth. I would say the guys in Winnipeg are doing a great job. They’re good guys, they’re aggressive, they’re obviously doing what they can to get a deal done,” Gittings said.

Asked if a deal is close, Gittings again hedged. “I wouldn’t necessarily say that…We’re not going to put an artificial deadline on this. There’s no reason to do that from our perspective.”

He said Burris would prefer a three-year deal but would settle for a two-year, “depending on the money…

“Henry thinks he can play for three more years,” Gittings said.

He said Burris’s most recent deal with the Tiger-Cats paid him on the low end of the CFL range for starters and he’s looking for a significant raise after two years of leading the CFL in passing.

Gittings said the Ticats made Burris two contract-extension offers last spring, but they were in line with the pay scale of his previous deal and Burris balked. Gittings said Burris countered both Ticats offers but the Ticats would not budge and only at that point was the decision made to play out his final season and see what the future brought.

Gittings said current negotiations are ongoing with Winnipeg and others and he doubted a deal would be concluded this weekend. He said he was hopeful a deal could be reached by early next week but again stressed that Burris is in no rush.

He has no reason to rush. With former Toronto Argonauts QB Zach Collaros locked down by the Ticats to a new three-year deal Thursday, Burris became the only experienced QB on the open market when the Ticats released him later the same day.

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While the Bombers have said they’d be interested in the services of Saskatchewan backup Drew Willy if he becomes a free agent as expected next month, it’s no secret their first choice would be to sign Burris, a 38-year-old CFL veteran who’s thrown for 51,526 yards over 14 seasons, including 10,000 yards during the past two seasons alone.

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @PaulWiecek