Willy trade a vote for Nichols

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This article was published 12/09/2016 (3311 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are to challenge for the Grey Cup this year, it won’t be the direct result of any one player.

But when general manager Kyle Walters made two blockbuster trades Sunday night, he made it clear who he thought could lead the way.

After an off-season of sweeping change throughout the organization, Walters made perhaps his boldest move yet. By shipping quarterbck Drew Willy to the Toronto Argonauts, he made a formal commitment to Matt Nichols — the first indicator Nichols is a big part of the future as well as the present.

“When we signed Drew, we believed in Drew,” Walters said Monday during a news conference at Investors Group Field. “Things change.”

As part of the Willy trade, the Bombers received a roster player in defensive back T.J. Heath as well as two draft picks — a first-round pick in 2017 and the Argos’ third-round selection in 2018.

Not done there, Walters picked up veteran pivot and former Bomber Kevin Glenn from the Montreal Alouettes. The acquisition came at a minor cost — a fourth-round pick in 2017 — and will provide depth at quarterback and a mentor for Nichols.

“Adding Kevin Glenn, a veteran quarterback, with Drew moving on, I think that was imperative that we get a veteran that can come in here and win some football games if needed,” said Walters.

In the 20 minutes Walters spoke, it was difficult to determine whether the moves were a reflection of his disappointment in Willy, who boasted a 10-16 record as a starter in Winnipeg, or his delight in how Nichols, now 6-0 since taking over as the starter July 24, has evolved in offensive co-ordinators Paul LaPolice’s system. Or both.

“There’s a lot of reasons and it came down to what we thought was the best decision for the football team,” said Walters. “We think, for the short term and long term, we made good decisions for the football club.”

In a way, trading Willy can also been seen as an admission by Walters of mistakes in how he handled Willy, dating back to when he was named general manager prior to the 2014 season.

One of Walters’ first jobs was to find a reliable starting quarterback. After missing out on Zach Collaros (Hamilton) and Henry Burris (Ottawa), the Bombers were convinced they had found their guy in Willy.

Shortly after, and still months before the 2014 season, Walters, along with head coach Mike O’Shea, made the unorthodox decision to forgo a quarterback competition and instead named Willy the team’s starting quarterback. At the time, Willy was still unproven, with only three starts in his CFL career.

“When we brought Drew in, we needed some stability at the quarterback position and Drew came in and had some success early in his career,” said Walters. “Drew went out there, he fought through, he represented this club very well — won us some football games. He got really banged up last year, halfway through the year, and when he came back this year the expectation was at a certain level and it just wasn’t met from us.”

After endearing himself to fans and reinforcing management’s decision with a 5-1 start to the 2014 season, it wasn’t long before Willy started a slow descent.

The Bombers lost 10 of the next 12 games. That didn’t seem to bother Walters, who inked Willy to a lucrative three-year extension in 2015, including a salary north of $400,000 for this season and next.

Willy struggled to stay healthy, sustaining a season-ending knee injury seven games into the 2015 campaign. The Bombers, desperate to salvage a year built on high expectations from hosting the Grey Cup, acquired Nichols in a trade with the Edmonton Eskimos for a conditional draft pick in 2017, a selection Walters revealed Monday will be a fifth-rounder.

Nichols went 2-5 in relief of Willy, and in the off-season signed a one-year extension. At 29, Nichols vowed he was still capable of becoming a bona-fide starter in the CFL. This year, he’s proven it, as he remains unbeaten heading into Week 13 where he’ll face the Argos.

Needless to say, a combination of Nichols’ success on the field and Willy’s high price tag ultimately led to Sunday’s deals — moves Walters said would have happened over the winter anyway as Willy was set to earn a $100,000 signing bonus at the end of January.

“The way Matt’s played and won football games for us, the reality of the world we’re living in is Drew’s contract for 2017 was going to make it difficult for him to be here,” said Walters. “When you put all those factors in, some tough decisions need to be made or they need to be made at a later date.”

As it stands, however, the Bombers are currently without a quarterback with a contract for next season. It’s likely the Bombers are working on an extension for Nichols, but Walters said he didn’t think there was a rush to get something done before the Feb. 9 free-agency deadline.

“Ideally, we win the Grey Cup and Matt Nichols leads us to the Grey Cup and he gets a new contract,” he said.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.catwitter: @jeffkhamilton

Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

Jeff Hamilton is a sports and investigative reporter. Jeff joined the Free Press newsroom in April 2015, and has been covering the local sports scene since graduating from Carleton University’s journalism program in 2012. Read more about Jeff.

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