TICATS UNLOADING

John Chick traded to Eskimos as 0-8 Hamilton begins tossing this sorry season overboard

Tigertown is in turmoil, teetering on the abyss — if it hasn’t already reached it — as the franchise awaits what changes loom with Labour Day and the annual visit to Hamilton by the Argos.

The Argos are in Calgary this week, but there’s no telling who will line up where for the 0-8 Ticats when Sept. 4 rolls around.

Until now, most of the upheaval has involved coaches and the occasional tweak to the roster, neither of which has done anything to provide the Ticats with their first win.

Now, the bombshell has been dropped and with it the symbolic white flag of a season gone completely off the rails.

By trading defensive lineman John Chick and a fifth-round draft pick to Edmonton on Sunday for a 2018 second-rounder, a clear sign was delivered.

Truth be told, with mathematics the only thing keeping the Ticats in the playoff picture, they will be hoping to extract as much as possible from the likes of Chick and other vet- erans with an eye to replacing this group following the 2017 season.

Money gets cleared and more shoes are sure to drop.

Speaking of drops, no one will be surprised to hear that the future of Brandon Banks in the Hammer is now in question. That became obvious late Friday night with the acquisition of Ricky Collins Jr., a returner/receiver in the mould of Banks, whose dropped ball against Ottawa proved costly.

Ted Laurent is injured, but like Chick the Canadian defensive tackle isn’t getting any younger and, like Chick, he’s well-paid.

You can throw linebacker Simoni Lawrence and running back C.J. Gable into that mix as well if this overhaul has been set in motion.

The Ticats are in a bye week, the perfect time to reload, re-assess, release players, acquire players and no one is certain what this team will look like when Hamilton begins to prepare for the Argos and Labour Day.

Zach Collaros looks lost at quarterback with no deep threat at his disposal, playing behind a below average offensive line with June Jones recently arriving to provide some direction on offence.

No one is even sure if Collaros will start against his former team on Labour Day or whether the Ticats will turn to Jeremiah Masoli.

At 0-8, the Ticats, realistically, need to win seven of their final 10 games to make the playoffs.

But that ain’t going to happen and the departure of Chick is the first of what has to be a series of significant change to the roster.

They might be in a bye week, but the Ticats have basically said bye-bye to the season.