Walters plays the waiting game

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This article was published 09/01/2024 (651 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Kyle Walters is stuck playing the waiting game.

He has nearly 30 pending free agents to sort through, but before significant progress can be made, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers general manager needs answers on the big names at the top of his list: most notably running back Brady Oliveira and receiver Dalton Schoen.

The two stars have NFL aspirations, but neither one had any workouts in the four-down circuit this offseason. A return to the CFL is almost a guarantee for both, but a return to Winnipeg is far from certain. Walters has only re-signed seven players since the Bombers lost the 2023 Grey Cup to the Montreal Alouettes. CFL free agency begins Feb. 13.

“It’s getting to the point now where is this going to get done or is it not? Because if it’s not, we really need to pivot and allocate funds elsewhere,” said Walters in a video call with reporters from the CFL’s winter meetings in Nashville.” So, we’ll be getting to that point in the next few weeks where if there’s nothing done with the high, high-end guys you don’t want to be left out in the cold, for lack of a better term, of putting all your eggs in a certain basket and it doesn’t come through. You’d be left at a bad spot.”

Oliveira, a 26-year-old Winnipegger, was the breakout star of the 2023 season as he led the league in rushing, won the CFL’s top Canadian trophy, and was a finalist for the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player award. If not for an ankle injury late in the season, Schoen, 27, likely would’ve led the CFL in receiving for a second straight year.

“I’m not even sure what the final dollar value would be for those guys,” said Walters. “Ideally, yes, it would be great to have those two guys back, but at this point I can’t even guess what the probability would be.”

Walters believes they’ll be able to move along quickly once things are finalized — for good or bad — with their most expensive talent. It’s not just Oliveira and Schoen they have to worry about, as tackles Stanley Bryant and Jermarcus Hardrick have informed the club that they will not be retiring. Walters said as of now, no one from last season — except for fullback Mike Miller who is now the special teams co-ordinator — has retired.

Bryant, arguably the greatest offensive lineman in league history, will be 38 when the 2024 campaign kicks off. Hardrick, a finalist for the CFL’s Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman award in 2023, will be 34. Guard Patrick Neufeld is the only starting O-lineman currently under contract.

“Stan plans to keep playing, wants to keep playing. At that position, he’s still playing at a high level in our league. We’ll see if we can figure out a way to get Stan back as well,” said Walters.

He later added: “Anybody that was kind of mentioning potentially retiring I think have changed their mind and want to keep playing.”

Most of the players he was asked about— names such as defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat, kicker Sergio Castillo, and receivers Drew Wolitarsky and Rasheed Bailey — led to similar responses.

“We’re in a bit of a waiting pattern at the moment, but we’ve got plenty of time. It is a little bit slower than normal years, but it’s only Jan. 9 today and we’ve got plenty of time to get this sorted out over the next month,” he repeatedly said.

When it comes to the status of No. 2 quarterback Dru Brown, Walters didn’t shy away from the reality of the situation. As expected, the Bombers foresee the 26-year-old becoming a starter elsewhere. Brown is one of the top prospects in the league after developing for three seasons in Winnipeg. He tossed for 983 yards with nine touchdowns and zero interceptions on 89 attempts last season.

“I believe Dru and his agent want to go to an organization where it’s less about who’s going to pay him the most money, I think it’s more about where can he go and have the best opportunity to compete with the incumbent quarterback or the other guys under contract to play,” said Walters.

“My gut tells me even if the Winnipeg Football Club could afford to match a contract they would think long and hard about the opportunity of where to go.”

A place where the Bombers may look to save some money is on the interior of the offensive line. With guards Liam Dobson (third overall pick in 2021 CFL Draft) and Tui Eli (who signed a three-year extension at this time last year) already locked up, starting left guard Geoff Gray and starting centre Chris Kolankowski could be viewed as expendable.

“With our Canadian depth on the offensive line, we’ve picked up some solid depth. We’ve got guys that the coaches like and we believe can start,” said Walters.

“We are comfortable with our depth at the offensive line, if everybody can’t come back. We do have some young guys in the building that we believe are ready to step up.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

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