MITCHELL SET TO SHOW VIKINGS HIS POTENTIAL
Stampeders star to work out for NFL team as he comes off a season of high honours
And so it begins.
An off-season for the Calgary Stampeders like never before.
Never mind that more than three-dozen current Stampeders have contracts set to expire with CFL free agency at hand Feb. 12.
It’s really only one player’s future who matters for now.
Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell’s future is up in the air with so many options in front of him.
The NFL is the most enticing of those options with workouts beginning for him Wednesday south of the border.
A TSN report Tuesday said Mitchell will work out for the Minnesota Vikings and it’s believed 11 other NFL teams have contacted his agent about future workouts.
That’ll no doubt make for a few anxious months ahead within Stampeders Nation.
As it stands, it’s only a looksee, which happens annually for many CFL stars looking into the possibility of playing in the fourdown world.
But with so many questions at hand about the entire football landscape — the CFL’s collective bargaining agreement the biggest query — the workouts for NFL clubs sure make things a heck of a lot more interesting.
Especially when we’re talking about a quarterback coming off a season that saw him guide his team to Grey Cup glory and be named both the league’s Most Outstanding Player and Grey Cup MVP.
That’s a whole lot for Mitchell to take with him into workouts.
Plus it also helps in negotiations with the Stampeders or with any other CFL squad once a new CBA is put into place.
While it’s too early to tell what a new CBA might mean financially for CFL players or if an impasse might lead to a work stoppage, these NFL workouts are happening right now with results from them likely to bring interest quickly.
And not just for Mitchell either.
Stamps star middle linebacker Alex Singleton, who was named Tuesday along with teammates Mitchell and defensive lineman Micah Johnson to the CFL all-star team, is also in line for at least a few workouts.
“I do have some lined up,” Singleton said. “But we’re seeing how they play out. I’m taking another week or two — unlike Bo — to get them rolling. But we’ve got a few lined up and we’ll see where they go from there. But December should be a busy month.”
Word is, as well, that Singleton’s teammate and fellow linebacker Jameer Thurman will also head south of the border for workouts with NFL clubs.
But for now the focus is on the undisputed leader of the Red and White, the best player in the CFL.
Despite coming within a win of making it to the Super Bowl in January, the Vikings blew up what was a deep quarterbacking crew of Case Keenum, Teddy Bridgewater and Sam Bradford in favour of veteran Kirk Cousins.
Cousins, who was hot and cold with the Washington Redskins over six seasons, inked a threeyear contract worth US$84 million, all guaranteed, so he’s the undisputed No. 1 for the Vikings and isn’t going anywhere.
But behind Cousins, a spot could be open for Mitchell.
Current backup Trevor Siemian, who’s wrapping up a fouryear, US$2.3-million contract, is set to become a free agent after this season. Siemian, 26, started 24 games for the Denver Broncos in three previous seasons, putting up pedestrian numbers.
Then there’s Kyle Sloter, who also landed in Minnesota in 2017 after time spent with the Broncos. He’s an unknown commodity, having yet to take a snap in two NFL campaigns. Stats-wise, Mitchell finished the 2018 CFL season with 5,124 passing yards and 35 touchdowns against 14 interceptions.
The touchdown count was the highest of his seven-year CFL career and his yards compiled through the air were the second highest of his career. Back in 2016, he amassed 5,385 yards in winning the MOP award for the first time.
Now at 28, he’s in the prime of his career and likely in the best position to take a shot an NFL gig.
But it has to be the right fit — in other words, a chance to be a No. 1.
Otherwise, he would likely return to the CFL and likely to the Stampeders. And while Mitchell or any other undrafted hire with no NFL experience would make the minimum salary of US$495,000, a CFL contract under the new CBA could bring the veteran quarterback that much in Canadian funds.
Another event certain to alter the off-season is the kickoff of the Alliance of American Football, which tees up Feb. 9 in eight American cities.
However minor it may seem where top-paid CFL stars are concerned — Mitchell included — the AAF offers real competition financially for those CFLers on the lower end of the salary scale, barring a significant bump via the new CBA. The minimum salary is US$70,000 in the AAF compared to $54,000 last season in the CFL.
But first things first.
Let’s see what Wednesday in Minnesota brings, perhaps the start of a strange off-season for the Stampeders.