Veteran Reilly tops list of pending free agents
New U.S. pro leagues and expiring CBA could change face of CFL next season
And so it begins. Officially now.
With the last of the confetti swept up off the field at Commonwealth Stadium and the champagne stains blotted off the walls of the Edmonton Eskimos locker-room following last Sunday’s Grey Cup final, the focus fully shifts to the Canadian Football League off-season.
And what an off-season it will be. With the current collective bargaining agreement between the league and the CFL Players’ Association expiring, not to mention new spring football leagues coming down the pipe in the U.S., drastic changes are expected throughout the CFL’s nine clubs.
And, with 35 players set to become free agents as of Feb. 12, the Eskimos are feeling the precursory tremors as much as anyone.
Topping the list is none other than quarterback and face of the franchise Mike Reilly. It was the ever-present storm cloud hanging over the city throughout what ended up as a disappointing, playoffmissing season.
“To be honest with you, that’s something I haven’t really allowed myself to take time to think about until after the season,” Reilly said as the Eskimos were undergoing exit meetings following their season finale on Nov. 3.
“With the CBA as it was and making it an interesting year and not doing a deal before the season started, you always know that if you let it, it’s going to become a distraction.
“So the last thing I wanted was to be a distraction to my team, so I hadn’t allowed myself to really even consider anything other than the week we were in and the task at hand, playing against the team that’s coming up.”
Even when it didn’t matter one bit to the standings, as was the case in a 33-24 Eskimos’ victory over a visiting Winnipeg Blue Bombers squad that technically knocked them out of the playoffs one week earlier.
“I owed it to myself, to my teammates, the organization, the city, to be prepared to play every game the best that I could,” Reilly said.
“So I haven’t even really spent any time really sitting down and thinking about that. And I will, of course.
“But there’s a long time between now and the middle of February, and March and April. And we don’t know what’s going to happen with the CBA, or when it’s going to happen and all that sort of stuff.”
While any football fan who bleeds Eskimos green and gold would have trouble imagining the starting QB of their team for six seasons (and counting?) wearing another jersey next year, you can bet the farm that Reilly isn’t entering into such a decision hastily.
“December is usually family time for me with holidays and things like that,” said Reilly, who became a father for a second time in the summer, welcoming his second daughter, Cadence.
“We’ve got a little extra time because (our off-season) doesn’t usually start until December. This one was mid-November.
“I’ve got a lot to think about, obviously, as does everybody in this league and everybody in this organization, so I’ll allow myself the proper amount of time to sit down and think of everything before I really have an answer or talk about it.”
While Reilly has his pick of the litter when it comes to where he could end up — after all, who wouldn’t want the quarterback who’s one season removed from most outstanding player status and led the league in passing yards over each of the past three years?
The rank and file certainly aren’t in the same position, but will still have more options open to them than they previously would have, with the American Alliance of Football kicking off this winter, and the XFL, version 2.0, on deck.
“Yeah, it’s going to be an interesting off-season for all those things, not just for the guys who are considered top-tier guys, but for everybody,” Reilly said.
“It’s going to be interesting how it all plays out. We’ve already seen in Toronto that they made a coaching change. So they’re going to be a different team.
“But every team is going to be different. B.C. with Wally (Buono retiring as head coach), I’ve seen stuff all over Twitter all month, and deservedly so, but it’s Wally’s swan song.
“So this league, it’s going to be different. And it’s always different every year, but with one-year contracts — as you well know, we’ve talked about it — it makes it so there’s more turnover.
“And this year is no different in that sense. But it’s even more because a lot of guys’ contracts are expiring with the end of the CBA, and on purpose. So there’s a lot of stuff that has to go down.
“It’s going to be a totally different league and every team’s going to be totally different, but that’s the way it goes, and that’s what makes this league exciting.”