Redblacks hoping to ‘keep the band together’

That could be a challenge as 30-plus will hit free agency, along with many other CFLers

More than 30 Ottawa Redblacks, many of them star players, could become free agents in February.

As much as Redblacks general manager Marcel Desjardins hopes to bring back as many as possible, the reality is at least a few of them will find new homes in what should be the biggest Canadian Football League freeagent class in recent memory. The league’s collective bargaining agreement will expire next spring, so many players are hesitant to sign because of uncertainty about things such as the salary cap.

At the top of the Redblacks’ free-agent list is Trevor Harris, but the team confirms it very much wants to re-sign its starting quarterback.

A CFL source said the list of other potential Redblacks included running backs William Powell and Mossis Madu Jr., receivers Greg Ellingson, Diontae Spencer and Julian Feoli- Gudino, offensive linemen SirVincent Rogers, Jason Lauzon- Séguin, Nolan MacMillan and Jon Gott, linebackers Kyries Hebert and Chris Ackie, defensive backs Antoine Pruneau, Jonathan Rose, Rico Murray, Corey Tindal and Sherrod Baltimore, punter Richie Leone and basically the whole defensive line: A.C. Leonard, Jonathan Newsome, Avery Ellis, Mike Wakefield, Michael Klassen, Ettore Lattanzio, Danny Mason, Nigel Romick and Andrew Marshall.

The best bet among those to sign quickly might be Pruneau, who said last week he was confident he’d remain a Redblack.

Last Dec. 13, the 32-year-old Harris signed a one-year extension worth about $450,000. The Redblacks again would like to get early certainty at quarterback.

Asked Tuesday if Harris was a priority, Desjardins said, “For sure.”

It could be star-studded cast of CFL quarterbacks overall, with Mike Reilly, Bo Levi Mitchell, Travis Lulay, Zach Collaros and Jonathan Jennings among those who also enter the free-agent sweepstakes.

Asked if it could come down to money when deciding where he might go, Harris said: "That’s not why I play football. I don’t plan to enter free agency and find out who the highest bidder is. When I came here in 2016, I took less money than what I was offered elsewhere. I’d like to finish my career here if I could.

“It’s tough with the CBA. That’s the hang-up with everything. The sooner we can get the CBA done, it’s better for both sides. When that happens, hopefully we can get the ball rolling. I hope it doesn’t drag out, we have a couple of brief meetings and fix the things that need to be fixed.”

Desjardins said he’d love to get some players signed even before the collective agreement between the CFL and the players’ association was extended.

“If player agents are telling them to wait for the CBA, I’m telling the guys that I’m not waiting,” Desjardins said.

"Whoever wants to do stuff now, we’ll do it now. The quicker we have that certainty, the better off we are. If guys want to wait for the CBA, they may be waiting into training camp next year. That’s when it happened the last time. We were in training camp in 2014 before the CBA got ratified.

"The other part of the equation for the players: they’re not getting ( bonus) money until the CBA is ratified anyway, so what’s the difference whether they get it done now or get it done in April or May? I guess what they’re banking on is there being an increase in the cap.

“There are going to be a lot of players out there. If guys really want to be back here and if they understand what their value is and we’re on the same page, hopefully we get something done sooner rather than later. Later may not work out for some guys if they wait too long.”

The players talk about “keeping the band together.” Desjardins hopes it’s not just talk.

“I would hope they’d look at the big picture a bit and see, if everybody starts to ask for more, more, more ... the more guys who are asking for more money, the more sacrifice that’s going to have be made with certain players, meaning they wouldn’t be back,” he said. “The goal is to try and keep as many players here as possible. I know that’s not realistic, that you can keep them all. I think most of them want to be back if everything else is equal.”

TAKING BIG STRIDES

Harris talked about the aftereffects of Sunday’s 27-16 Grey Cup loss to the Calgary Stampeders.

“It’s hard because of how much we put into this,” he said. “I’ve had dreams. Both times I went to sleep, it was halftime again. I got insanely overjoyed because 10 points (down) is nothing … we can win this. Both times I woke up, it hurt worse. It hurts because it means so much. But, as the dust settles, we can see the strides we made. We’ve set ourselves up for quite a run together if we can keep the band together. I think I’m coming into my own, this team is, too. It was a heck of a ride this year, but it doesn’t take away from the sting … it’s gutting. If we played them 10 times, you’d see a couple of different results. Credit to them. They beat us.”

Harris said he believed he and his team both made big strides.

“I’ll continue to get better,” he said. "I really believe I’m entering the best four or five years of my career. The difference between myself Week 5 and the rest of the year was big. I think I turned a corner in terms of preparation and raising the bar for myself.”

THE END AROUND

Redblacks head coach Rick Campbell said Sunday’s loss had become tougher to take in the days since then.

“I actually feel worse (Tuesday) than I do Monday,” Campbell said. “It’s never a fun feeling when you make it that far, you get so close and you don’t get it done. This is as a good a team as we’ve had around here. There are a lot of things to be hopeful for. There are plays we want back, but that’s part of playoff football. It comes down to one game, it’s not a seven-game series. We didn’t make enough plays, they made more than we did.” … It’s being reported that Redblacks defensive co-ordinator Noel Thorpe is under strong consideration for head coaching jobs in both Toronto and B.C.