Argos made push for Mitchell
GM POPP SAYS MITCHELL LEFT A LOT OF MONEY ON TABLE TO STAY IN CALGARY
Toronto Argonauts general manager Jim Popp lost out on the Bo Levi Mitchell sweepstakes, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying.
Toronto, Calgary and the Saskatchewan Roughriders were all in the running for Mitchell, the CFL’s outstanding player last season who eventually signed a four-year deal reportedly worth $2.8 million Tuesday to remain with the Stampeders. But Popp said the Argos’ four-year offer was for $500,000 more.
“We made a tremendous offer but that was the only way it (Mitchell coming to Toronto) was going to happen,” Popp said. “He left a lot of money on the table but we thought it would be a great thing not just for our team but the CFL to have Bo in Toronto and we took that calculated risk.
“Look, we would’ve had to make some adjustments to our team to accommodate him and we wouldn’t have been able to sign any free agents. If he’s happy and content where he is, that’s great for the CFL he stayed in the CFL but we made every push we could.”
Mitchell, Edmonton’s Mike Reilly and Ottawa’s Trevor Harris were the top quarterbacks available in free agency. Reilly did the expected, signing a lucrative four-year, $2.9million deal ($725,000 average) with the B.C. Lions. Popp said he inquired about Harris but was told the 32-year-old was joining the Eskimos.
Compounding matters, Popp said, is CFL general managers having no idea what the ’19 salary cap will be. It was $5.2 million last year but the present collective bargaining agreement expires in May so the new figure must still be negotiated by the league and CFL Players’ Association.
“I think everybody is operating differently on what it could be ... no one knows,” he said. “That made it very difficult (Tuesday) because you’re trying to operate on what it might be.
“It’s a very difficult time right now.”
Popp entered free agency with three quarterbacks — veterans James Franklin and McLeod Bethel-Thompson and Canadian rookie Noah Picton — under contract. Franklin and BethelThompson both started last year as Toronto (4-14) finished last in the East Division after winning the ’17 Grey Cup.
It was veteran Ricky Ray who led Toronto to its improbable championship run but he missed most of last season with a neck injury. Popp said Ray continues to undergo tests this off-season and still hasn’t decided his CFL future.
“For us, the biggest needlemover was Bo,” Popp said. “We were trying to land the big fish and kind of had to put everything on hold until we knew whether or not we were getting him.
“Some players we might’ve had an interest in or shot at signed elsewhere while we were waiting but there’s nothing really you can do.”
Toronto did re-sign four free agents — offensive linemen Tyler Holmes and Jamal Campbell and defensive lineman Cameron Walker and Troy Davis — while adding running backs Chris Rainey and Canadian Mercer Timmis.