LULAY TO THE ROUGHRIDERS?

Lulay at 2016 Grey Cup in Toronto

The CFL rumour mill got a good spin on Tuesday when Vancouver football writer Mike Beamish reported veteran Lions quarterback Travis Lulay is the centre of trade rumours involving the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

The gossip certainly caught me off-guard, but Beamish said the Riders are apparently kicking tires all over the league as they try to find a replacement for Darian Durant (including in their own backyard).

Not surprisingly, Beamish didn’t say where the rumour came from and went so far as to say it’s not even credible.

Lions Head Coach & GM Wally Buono was quoted in the piece but didn’t deny the talk altogether.

Meanwhile Darian Durant hasn’t even been an Alouette for a week and he’s already embroiled in a quarterback controversy.  Hall of Fame writer Herb Zurkowsky of the Montreal Gazette reports incumbent Als quarterback Vernon Adams wasn’t enamoured with Friday’s acquisition of Durant and he won’t give up the starter’s job without a fight.

Futhermore Sportsnet’s Arash Madani said on Tuesday’s SportsCage on 620 CKRM that everyone should pump the brakes at the notion of Durant being the saviour in Montreal.

“That trade is not putting Montreal over the top,” Madani advised. “Let’s get that out of the way.

“Their roster isn’t anywhere near getting over the top.  Who’s Durant going to throw the ball to?  Who’s going to block for him?  Right?  Sure they’re excited and of course they’re gonna say they’re excited.  They gave up two draft picks but Darian needs some help around him to be successful.  Now it’s up to Kavis Reed to make it happen.”

CFL insiders insist that the Roughriders haven’t given up the chase of Eskimos back-up quarterback James Franklin in time for the 2017 season and I asked Madani if he can envision any scenario in which that plays out.

“I just don’t know,” Madani said.  “(Edmonton GM) Ed Hervey’s going to want a king’s ransom and maybe Jones gives it up.  At this stage, are the Riders built to win in 2017?  Probably not.  So if that’s the case then you have time to find, develop and build somebody.  The scuttlebutt is Saskatchewan’s now one of the frontrunners for Kevin Glenn.  We’ll see if that happens and he’s a capable player and definite insurance.”

Arash feels the Riders are more likely to develop from within when it comes to finding Darian Durant’s replacement.

“Ultimately now Saskatchewan has to be in the mode of finding the next franchise guy who’s going to be around for 11 years,” Madani concluded.

We’ll have more on Wednesday’s SportsCage at 4:00 pm on 620 CKRM.

RP
@rodpedersen