CFL free agency will be a frenzy

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This article was published 11/02/2019 (2729 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

With dozens of players across the CFL expected to explore free agency Tuesday morning, including a number of high-profile names, the league is going to look a lot different in 2019.

While many players will demand increases in pay to reflect a standout 2018 season, others will hope to simply squeeze into team’s plans for a modest price tag. As for general managers across the CFL, their ultimate goal is to execute a blueprint that fits under the league’s salary cap, fielding a competitive team that will battle for a shot to be the next Grey Cup champions.

It’s a crazy time for front offices and fans alike, and this year the potential for fireworks is greater than ever.

While it’s a fool’s game to try to predict every move that will be made, there is evidence out there that suggests one change is more likely than others. Having covered the league for years now and through conversations I’ve had in recent weeks, I will try and be that fool — or at least make my best effort to predict where some of the more high-profile names will go.

While there are a number of players that will be highly sought after at pretty much every position, it’s the number of household names available at quarterback that will garner most of the interest.

The CFL requires a new collective bargaining agreement before the start of play this season, but many believe that despite the potential for major change through negotiations, the league’s salary cap — which currently sits at $5.2 million — is likely to increase by only a small margin, if at all. If true, it would seem unwise for teams to dish out contracts as high as $700,000 per season, rumoured to be the asking price for names such as Mike Reilly and Bo Levi Mitchell.

Still, expect that very thing to happen.

Reilly might just be the easiest to predict, as rumours have been circling for weeks a deal is all but done for him to land with the B.C. Lions. I have zero reason to challenge this, as the Edmonton Eskimos, Reilly’s current team, allowed the Lions to speak with their quarterback last week and reports have all but confirmed the deal.

Ed Hervey and Reilly also have a long history dating back to their time in Edmonton, where they won the Grey Cup in 2015, and as the Lions’ second-year GM, and first without Wally Buono in the picture, what better way for Hervey to put his stamp on the organization than by bringing in the league’s premier pass thrower.

Assuming B.C. lands Reilly, this would surely have a trickle effect — and that might be putting it lightly. If you’re going to have an elite pivot behind centre, you better have a solid O-line. I expect Winnipeg Blue Bombers right guard Sukh Chungh to head west and sign with the Lions.

With receiver Bryan Burnham re-signing in B.C., but veteran Manny Arceneaux on his way out, there is room to sign a top-end receiver. This is simply a guess, though it has been mentioned to me a number of times from people around the league, that Reilly’s presence will likely pave the way for receiver Derel Walker to also find a home with the Lions.

Mitchell, for my money, is the better play at $700,000 than Reilly. Mitchell is five years younger, at 28 years old, and is the reigning league and Grey Cup MVP as a member of the Calgary Stampeders. Reports came out Monday that Calgary GM John Hufnagel was “very optimistic” he would be able to re-sign Mitchell, but I’m thinking it’s time for Mitchell to get out of Cow town.

My prediction: Mitchell heads to the Saskatchewan Roughriders, where he will be appreciated in the league’s most dedicated market and where, I’d argue, he would truly flourish as a CFL superstar.

He’s certainly a star in the league now, but the added attention of being in the Prairies would make him a legend around those parts. It only helps that the Roughriders are in desperate need of a quarterback, after a dismal season with Zach Collaros and Brandon Bridge at the helm.

One important thing to note here, though: Mitchell hasn’t ruled out the NFL and the possibility for him heading south is still very much real.

With quarterback Trevor Harris still unsigned in Ottawa, the feeling is he’s also going to move on. He likely won’t demand the same coin as Reilly and Mitchell but he will be close. With Reilly gone from Edmonton, that seems like the perfect place for Harris to start a new beginning. My guess is he’ll bring Greg Ellingson, one of the premier receivers in the CFL, with him. That’s if Ottawa doesn’t get off their wallet and pay him first.

The Bombers want defensive end Willie Jefferson and, like every other team in the CFL, they’re willing to go north of $200,000 to get him. But where I think he ends up, perhaps blinded by the bright lights at least enough to ignore the ghastly rent he’ll have to pay, is the Toronto Argonauts.

Toronto has the money to spend, especially if James Franklin is their starting QB, and is in need of a game-changing player like Jefferson. My guess is the Argonauts are willing to make their biggest splash with the six-foot-six, 245-pound beast of a D-end, building through their defence. Adrian Tracy will also land in Toronto, giving the Argonauts a power rush off the edge.

Speaking of the Bombers, if they can get the right price there’s a chance to land receiver DeVier Posey. Posey brings speed and elusiveness and is viewed to have a high level of character — all things the Bombers need as they look to find a viable threat to join Darvin Adams. The problem, though, is the price tag and with Posey asking for Ellingson and Burnham money — in the $200,000 range — it’s somewhat hard to justify giving him that.

Posey, though skilled, hasn’t done enough to warrant such a contract. His best of three stints in the CFL came in 2017, where he registered 52 receptions for 744 yards and seven touchdowns in 12 games with the Toronto Argonauts. His end to the campaign couldn’t have been better, with Posey being named the Grey Cup MVP, adding seven catches for 175 yards and one touchdown in Toronto’s win over Calgary. Impressive numbers, to be sure, but it should be noted that 100 of those yards came on one play, where Calgary’s Tommie Campbell whiffed on a the ball and Posey scampered to the end zone for the score.

It will be interesting to see what Calgary does with two pretty big names on the defensive side still unsigned. Though the Stampeders rarely pay top dollar for players, thanks to a stellar scouting department, it’s hard to imagine they don’t shell out for defensive tackle Micah Johnson. Who I predict they lose, however, strictly because he’s worth more than Calgary is willing to pay, is another D-lineman in Ja’Gared Davis. Let’s say Davis to Montreal.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton