ONE DAY INTO FREE AGENCY, RIDERS TRAIL IN ARMS RACE
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a marquee franchise without a quarterback of commensurate calibre.
Even in the midst of a frigid February, the Roughriders have already fallen far behind in the arms race.
Look around the CFL’S West Division, compare the rival teams’ quarterbacks to the Roughriders’ situation, and emit an anguished groan if you are a supporter of the Green and White.
The Roughriders were left to sift through the flotsam after the Big Three — Mike Reilly, Bo Levi Mitchell and Trevor Harris — bypassed Saskatchewan on Tuesday.
Reilly, who spent the past six seasons with the Edmonton Eskimos, signed a four-year, $2.9-million deal with the B.C. Lions shortly after the free-agency period kicked off.
Edmonton quickly addressed that void by inking Harris, who quarterbacked the Ottawa Redblacks in the 2018 Grey Cup game, to a two-year pact with a reported value of $1.1 million.
Mitchell — the CFL’S most outstanding player in 2018 — then signed a new deal with the Calgary Stampeders, the reigning Grey Cup champions.
Factor in Matt Nichols, who was already under contract to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers when the free-agent frenzy began, and four West teams are set up just fine, thank you, at quarterback.
And then there are the Roughriders ...
Roughriders general manager and vice-president of football operations Jeremy O’day made an aggressive pitch for Mitchell, but it was obvious from the outset that he was going to re-sign with the Stampeders.
Justin Dunk of 3Downnation.com reported that Mitchell “left money on the table from Saskatchewan and Toronto” to re-up with Calgary for $2.8 million over four years.
As for Reilly, the suspicion all along was that he would sign with the Lions, considering his rapport with B.C. general manager Ed Hervey (formerly of the Eskimos) and Vancouver’s proximity to the quarterback’s home base of Seattle.
Harris? Not yet in the stratosphere occupied by Mitchell and Reilly, the 32-year-old pivot was successfully wooed by Eskimos general manager Brock Sunderland.
It was all so predictable.
The Roughriders were not well-positioned to land a top-tier passer, or someone on the periphery of superstardom (Harris).
The offensive scheme, built around the talents of punter Josh Bartel, is hardly an attraction.
And during the period in which the elite quarterbacks were on the market, the Roughriders’ receiving corps was devoid of big-play options.
O’day wasted little time in adding one major weapon — running back William Powell — and he will upgrade the ground game.
The newly appointed Roughriders GM subsequently spent significant cash on defensive tackle Micah Johnson, who was a CFL all-star defensive tackle with Calgary in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
But then the news arrived that defensive end Willie Jefferson, who was named the Roughriders’ most outstanding player last season, had joined the Blue Bombers.
Everything changed with regard to Jefferson when Chris Jones resigned in mid-january as the Roughriders’ head coach, defensive co-ordinator, GM and vice-president of football operations to become the Cleveland Browns’ senior defensive assistant.
Jefferson and Jones had been joined by a wire, Cfl-wise, but that allegiance to the Roughriders was lost when Cleveland came calling.
Yes, the Roughriders have added a player of comparable impact — Johnson — to the defensive line, but that move does not address the Roughriders’ primary deficiency.
With Johnson in the lineup, Saskatchewan could very well boast an elite defence, as it did last year.
However, the 12-win season of 2018 fell apart when, ultimately, the Roughriders were found wanting at quarterback.
So what did they do on Tuesday?
For starters, they re-signed Zach Collaros, whose interceptions (13) outnumbered his touchdown passes (nine) last season. FAIL.
Given the nature of three-down professional football, a team that does not boast a front-line signal-caller is unlikely to reach, let alone win, a Grey Cup.
A rare exception is Marcus Crandell, who in 2001 piloted an 8-10 Calgary team to a championship.
Since then, however, the Cup-winning quarterbacks have been Ricky Ray (four times), Anthony Calvillo (three), Mitchell (two), Henry Burris (two), Reilly, Damon Allen, Dave Dickenson, Darian Durant, Travis Lulay and Kerry Joseph.
Although Joseph is not destined for the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, remember that he was the league’s most outstanding player in 2007 — becoming the only Roughrider not named Ron Lancaster or George Reed to receive that honour.
And, by November of 2007, Joseph had four successive seasons of solid to spectacular CFL duty to his credit.
As of late Tuesday afternoon, nobody of that description remained on the open market — leaving the Roughriders’ puzzle, well, incomplete.