Juggling act has just begun

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This article was published 26/11/2024 (309 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The waiting game is nothing new to Kyle Walters.

Patience is a necessity at this time of year when you’re the general manager of a successful organization that every other franchise wants a piece of.

There are dozens of balls in the air once again for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ experienced GM, who may need to navigate personnel changes in the front office and to the coaching staff before he truly begins the negotiation process with the club’s pending free agents.

“It’s an interesting one this year with where we’re at,” Walters said Tuesday during his 25-minute end-of-season press conference at Princess Auto Stadium.

“(Head coach) Mike (O’Shea) and I have had a couple of preliminary conversations on this sort of stuff. But it’s an interesting year that until we get our staff settled… at some point we’ll have a little bit more in-depth discussions.”

Potential changes on the coaching staff could come at offensive co-ordinator, as Buck Pierce is being interviewed for head coaching positions in B.C. and Edmonton. The Bombers have also given permission to the Ottawa Redblacks to interview respected defensive assistant Richie Hall for their vacant defensive co-ordinator position.

Then there’s assistant GMs Ted Goveia and Danny McManus, who are reportedly both being interviewed for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats GM position.

When the dust settles on those names, there will be 28 players in need of a new contract, and Walters will need to make several tough decisions on who stays and who goes before free agency begins Feb. 11, while staying below the CFL’s salary cap of $5.76 million.

He already took care of one, signing kicker Sergio Castillo to a one-year deal last week. Another player, who Walters would not name, was offered a workout with a team in the National Football League.

“This year we’re slightly better off than in years past by just the number of guys that are back and where we’re at,” said Walters, who had to navigate 36 pending free agents last off-season.

“It never goes quick or smooth once the agents get involved. You may have an idea of a plan and that plan may go awry and there’s so many different discussions you have to be able to pivot depending on how things go through the next couple of months.”

The biggest names include Brandon Alexander, Stanley Bryant, Liam Dobson, Tyrell Ford, TyJuan Garbutt, Evan Holm, Willie Jefferson, Tony Jones, Kenny Lawler, Eric Lofton, Patrick Neufeld, Jake Thomas and Kyrie Wilson.

Ford and Holm are expected to be two of the most coveted young talents if they reach the open market. Losing Ford would be especially costly, as he is a Canadian playing a position that is traditionally occupied by an American player.

The trickiest negotiations, Walters explained, can be with players who are working their way back from a season-ending injury. There can be a big difference in the perceived value of the player between the organization and the agent. This year, that includes Adam Bighill, Dalton Schoen, Chris Streveler and Jamal Parker Jr.

“(Head coach) Mike (O’Shea) and I have had a couple of preliminary conversations on this sort of stuff. But it’s an interesting year that until we get our staff settled… at some point we’ll have a little bit more in-depth discussions.”–Kyle Walters

“Nobody’s interested in taking pay cuts. That’s the first one right there. Every single agent and every single player at the very least would expect to come back for what they’ve made. That’s the bare minimum, from their end, starting point,” Walters said.

“Now, organizationally we may have a different view of, ‘At this point in your career we no longer see you at this price point, but we see you at this price point.’ And that’s when the fun starts, I guess.”

There are a couple of factors that make this off-season particularly interesting for the Blue and Gold and how the team’s architects will approach it. None are greater than Winnipeg hosting the 112th Grey Cup next season.

The timing of it couldn’t be better for where the organization is. The Bombers are coming off a third consecutive loss in the Grey Cup and many of its core players are on the wrong side of 30, leaving one more opportunity to run it back with its aging nucleus before transitioning to a new era.

That transition already started last off-season when the club let some key veterans walk while giving raises to the likes of Schoen and Brady Oliveira. That also meant the team had to sacrifice at some critical positions such as returner, which was a sore spot all season and most noticeably during the playoffs as Lucky Whitehead fumbled in the Western Final and the Grey Cup.

On that note, Walters is comfortable with the young talent in the building. He also isn’t buying the idea that there’s more pressure on the Bombers to be aggressive during a year it is hosting the big game.

“The experience they got was invaluable,” said Walters. “…the thought process certainly is in our league, Canadian or American, (that) the growth from your first year of contributing to your second year is monumental. So we expect our young guys to come back and they’ll be much further along, you’re going to see that.”

“There’s no secret to we’re really going to try this year because we’re hosting the Grey Cup. I mean, it’s no different from year to year and once we get settled in the offseason and start putting our roster together that we think can really win the Grey Cup,” he said, while adding the club would not exceed the salary cap next season.

While Walters hinted the situation would need to align perfectly, this offseason also serves up an opportunity for the Bombers to set themselves up for an easy transition to their next era of quarterbacks.

While Zach Collaros did not directly say next year would be his last, the lasting impression from last week’s player portion of end-of-season interviews was the veteran pivot would hang em’ up after 2025. With his contract expiring at the end of next season, things could align perfectly for a quarterback — young or experienced — to sit for a season before taking the reins.

“It’ll be an interesting off-season from a quarterback standpoint of Tre (Ford), McLeod (Bethel-Thompson), where do all these free agents end up, and who’s kind of the odd man out in regards to a starting position,” said Walters.

“And then can you add an experienced player maybe as a No. 2 in your room that’s won some games, that’s started some games.”

Shortly after Walters’s press conference ended, news broke the B.C. Lions had traded quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. to the Calgary Stampeders, toppling the biggest player domino of the offseason less than a week after the season ended.

Ideally, Walters said, the Bombers would land a younger talent that could set them up for another long run of great play at the most important position. He also believes there could be another veteran option out there for the club to target once Collaros retires.

“(The) primary focus is putting a roster together to win the Grey Cup next year, and then worrying about the following year. Which is interesting in our league with all the one-year contracts. You’ve seen teams have massive turnaround on their roster.

“All the frustration of one-year contracts, there is certainly the option for a quick fix for lack of a better term. It does allow you to focus year-to-year at times.”

joshua.frey-sam@freepress.mb.ca

X: @jfreysam