OUT OF THE TUNNEL: CATCHING UP

BY: RODPEDERSEN.COM STAFF

Oh hi there! It’s been a minute or two since we last chatted, what have you been up to? Oh, same as the rest of us then, we have just been sitting on the sidelines observing what has and what hasn’t been happening in the world of the CFL. Unfortunately, it’s a world that appears to be continually shrinking.

Before we jump in we want to make one thing clear: what we say here and over the next few months should be taken with a giant grain of salt, preferably followed by some tequila. That goes for not just us, but any CFL “expert” as well.

Without the reference of a 2020 season, not a single soul has a highly educated guess on what will transpire on or off the field in 2021. As you read this and any other player or team predictions this spring and summer, take a deep breath and take the time to draw your own conclusions because they will have just as much potential of coming true as anything we will put on paper, or your screen in 2021.

A prime example of this is the quiet whimper free agency had at the beginning of February. The main reasons: no season in 2020 and the uncertainty of a 2021 season. Another big one is the lack of significant quarterbacks that hit the market. Hamilton extended the only potential free agent star pivot, Jeremiah Massoli. Finally, and this is a good thing, most CFL teams were smart and extended any potential free agents.

If it wasn’t for the Toronto Argonauts, CFL free agency would have come and gone with nary a peep.

Resident gunslinging CFL general manager John Murphy (yes, we know Pinball Clemons is the G.M. but this appears to be Murphy’s show) went on an absolute spree and made sure the Toronto Argonauts would win free agency. It’s tough to tell if the Argo front office is just trying to generate a modicum of press coverage in a clogged GTA market or actually trying to build something.

It’s incredibly rare that the team that “wins” free agency had a lot of success in the prior season. The last that comes to mind is the 2013 Saskatchewan Roughriders with the off-season signings of Geroy Simon, Dwight Anderson, Ricky Foley, Rey Williams and Alex Hall. The big difference between the eventual Grey Cup winners and the 2021 Toronto Argos is there was a significant base of players with the Riders whereas the Argos are almost starting at square one.

Toronto has signed: Charleston Hughes, Cam Judge, Odell Willis, Coderro Law, Eric Rogers, John White, Drake Nevis and Nick Arbuckle after releasing quarterback Matt Nichols. They also added significant American free agents in former SEC Defensive Player of the year, Shane Ray, much-travelled quarterback Kelly Bryant (who lost his job at Clemson to future NFL first overall pick Trevor Lawrence) and controversial defensive lineman Shawn Oakman (who was at one time on the Saskatchewan Roughriders negotiation list).

Other than Cam Judge and Nick Arbuckle, Murphy would be quick to cut any combination of these players before the 2021 season begins. It makes great news in February and when three or four of these players are cut after training camp (or even before) it becomes just a footnote in the transaction wire.

The other team that made the most news during free agency, the team that CFL fans either love or loathe, is the Saskatchewan Roughriders. This is mainly because of the loss of Hughes and Judge to the Argonauts.

It didn’t take a psychic to predict that the divorce of Charleston Hughes and the Riders was going to be messy. The ageless and outspoken defensive end seemed to be in a year-long battle with Roughriders general manager Jeremy O’Day. It was a standoff that was destined to end with the future Hall of Famer finding another place to finish his career.

The 37-year-old pass rusher is on the downside of his career. Hughes will have a great start to the season, and like the last couple of years, slow down after Labour Day as the toll of all those years of football catch up with him. We like the Riders’ decision to not re-sign Hughes but not how things finished.

The other big headline was the Riders losing the bidding battle for the top overall free agent that hit the market, Cam Judge. From the start it felt like a war that the Green and White was not going to win. Judge really wanted test the market while the Riders wanted nothing to do with that and thus, Judge was Toronto-bound.

When you look at all of the signings the Riders have made over the course of the past few months, and now two weeks into free agency, they have incredible depth with their Canadians but they are not necessarily better. Evan Johnson is a great signing along the offensive line but he is not of equal value to Dakoda Shepley (who spent 2020 south of the border in the red and gold of the 49ers), the Herdman-Reed brothers (Justin and Jordan) give the Riders fantastic depth at linebacker and on special teams as do cousins Godfrey and Nakas Onyeka.

But when you lose out on keeping the top Canadian free agent available, it is not necessarily a failing grade but it’s definitely not an A or B either. Basically, you’re treading water.

Finally, a trend that continues in the land of the most covered team in the CFL is how outspoken the players that leave the fold are. Both Hughes and Judge expressed some displeasure with how the negotiations went with Jeremy O’Day and the Saskatchewan Roughriders. As per usual, the offices enclosed deep in Mosaic Stadium were tight-lipped, business as usual.

This is the way things have been since the beginning of the O’Day regime and it’s the way things will remain for the length of his reign over the on-field product for the Roughriders. O’Day’s code of silence and the loyalty that commands is louder than any quote a current or former player throws out to the media.

Any rumour you read about potential player movements never comes from within the walls of Mosaic Stadium.

(RODPEDERSEN.COM STAFF)