TICATS HOPEFUL OF SIGNING BO LEVI, RIDERS MAKE MOVE WITH NYHUS

No news on the Bo Levi Mitchell front seems to be good news for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Hamilton acquired Mitchell’s rights from the Calgary Stampeders in November for a 2023 third-round pick, ’24 fifth-round selection and future considerations. That gave the Ticats an exclusive negotiating window with the veteran quarterback until Feb. 14, when he’s slated to become a CFL free agent.

Mitchell hasn’t yet signed with Hamilton, but the two sides continue to talk.”There’s ongoing communication and we’re hopeful to get a deal done,” Orlondo Steinauer, Hamilton’s head coach/president of football operations, said from the CFL winter meetings in Kananaskis, Alta. “There’s been consistent communication before and after the New Year and our position remains the same, that we’d like to get something done.”

Mitchell made it clear he wanted to test free agency after the Ticats acquired his rights. Last month, Mitchell and his wife visited Hamilton and met with club officials.

It an up-and-down season for the Ticats, who opened the campaign with four straight losses and had a 3-9 record following a 28-8 Labour Day loss to Toronto. Hamilton (8-10) finished the regular season with four straight wins for third in the East Division before losing 28-17 to the Montreal Alouettes in the conference semifinal.

Nine days later, Hamilton acquired Mitchell’s rights.

“This (explaining ’22 season) is a hard conversation to have because it’s a team sport but there’s just key components that contribute to consistent winning,” Steinauer said. “There were some key components that were very inconsistent for us and caused us to be extremely average at times.

“Once those things were solidified towards the end of the year … I think you saw a more consistent football team. I don’t make excuses. I let people who really want to know possibly what happened, they can do their own deep dive and see we were behind the 8-ball a little bit at times.”

Hamilton will host the ’23 Grey Cup game at Tim Hortons Field. The Ticats last won a CFL title in 1999 and own the league’s longest championship drought.

Hamilton had home field for the ’21 Grey Cup, losing a gut-wrenching 33-25 overtime decision to Winnipeg at Tim Hortons Field. But for Steinauer, there’s no added pressure on Hamilton as the game host.

“The only thing you can focus on is the process and ‘How are we getting better today,”’ Steinauer said. “I understand the expectations from the outside are present but we would’ve loved to be in the Grey Cup in Saskatchewan (last year’s game was in Regina).

“Saskatchewan was faced with it (hosting Grey Cup) last year and we were faced with it before. I feel like there’s always ‘pressure’ in this business to perform but ultimately the goal is the same for everybody.”

(CP)

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Meanwhile 3DownNation.com is reporting the Saskatchewan Roughriders have dropped U of S Huskies quarterback and Regina product Mason Nyhus from their negotiation list.

That report can be found here.