WATCH FOR REILLY TO SIGN WITH B.C.
Multiple indicators pointing Lions’ way when it comes to fate of Edmonton QB
Before we get to the real news — Mike Reilly will sign as the B.C. Lions’ quarterback shortly after CFL free agency opens Tuesday — let’s offer the usual caveats:
Circumstances can change and change suddenly in these situations. The player can have second thoughts. An offer he can’t refuse presents itself. An overwhelming sense of loyalty overrides the other factors in his decision.
The history of professional sports, after all, is rife with players who experience a change of heart before committing to a new team, and that possibility exists with Reilly. It’s just not very likely.
The Lions, as you’d expect, are mum on this sensitive subject and GM Ed Hervey wasn’t in a mood to return a text message Saturday. But a few details have emerged that confirm Reilly has been targeted by the Lions and the club is poised to make a huge offer Tuesday.
That offered is believed to be in the $700,000 range. It has also been approved by Lions owner David Braley.
“I don’t really got caught up in what’s speculated,” Hervey told Sportsnet 650 radio on Friday. “Whatever Edmonton did, you’d have to contact them. I’m just looking to free agency and getting prepared if Mike Reilly is available.”
This story, which has been floating around the ether since late last CFL season, sprang to life Friday when Eskimos GM Brock Sunderland revealed he has given other teams permission to talk to Reilly. This was interesting because TSN’S Farhan Lalji had previously reported teams were given permission to talk to Reilly in late January and the Lions have been in contact.
Now, that announcement can be interpreted a couple of different ways, and there’s some thought it gives the Esks an idea of the marketplace for their star quarterback.
But there’s also a sense the Esks’ GM is preparing the team’s fans for a life without Reilly and Sunderland realizes Reilly is gone.
Whatever the case, there are just too many indicators pointing the Lions’ direction to think this will play out any other way.
For starters, Hervey, Braley and team president Rick Lelacheur are aware the Leos need a new face to sell their product; that the franchise requires a fresh energy after growing stale in the latter stages of the Wally Buono era.
The 34-year-old Reilly, who has thrown for more than 5,000 yards in three straight seasons with the Eskimos while claiming the league’s 2017 most outstanding player award, ticks that box in a big way.
There’s also a relationship with Hervey dating back to the 2013 trade with the Lions that brought Reilly to the Eskimos in the first place.
That trade launched Reilly’s career in Edmonton, and the two men won a Grey Cup together in 2015 before Hervey was unceremoniously fired before the 2017 season.
If you’re looking for added intrigue to this tale, there you go. Here’s another one: Reilly makes his off-season home in Seattle which, last time we checked, is a lot closer to Vancouver than Edmonton.
But, mostly, Reilly’s signing would signal a new era for the Lions — a starting point where Hervey puts his stamp on this team and leads it in a new direction.