Lions land marquee free agent in QB Mike Reilly
So ... So long, Lulay? Elimimian, Arceneaux, Rainey may have to leave, as well
The B.C. Lions made the biggest splash when free agency began on Tuesday by signing Mike Reilly.
They then promptly did another few cannonballs into the deep player pool as the day progressed.
After selling Reilly on their vision, luring him away from Edmonton with a $720,000 annual salary, the Leos promptly moved on to the next phase of their plan: protecting their new investment by landing the most coveted free-agent lineman in Winnipeg Blue Bomber guard Sukh Chungh, signing the Port Coquitlam native to a threeyear contract with a reported $250,00 yearly hit.
The six-foot-four, 300-pounder, drafted No. 2 overall in 2015 by the Bombers, returns home after four standout seasons in Winnipeg and will be a key component in protecting the CFL’s highest-paid player.
“Our priority today and moving forward is making sure we’re able to protect Mike,” Lions general manager Ed Hervey said. “You don’t bring a player of Mike’s calibre in and not look at protecting him. My philosophy hasn’t changed … we have to keep our quarterback upright. We have to make sure we can give him time to go out there and do his thing, and surround him with the type of weapons who can go out there and make plays.”
A day after re-signing allstar wideout Bryan Burnham through 2020, the Lions also acquired free agent receiver Lemar Durant, another Vancouver native, and WR Josh Stanford, while also being linked to former Saskatchewan Roughrider Duron Carter.
They also added some free agency pieces on defence: Defensive backs Aaron Grymes, Chris Woodman and Chris Edwards, all late of the Eskimos.
But all this freewheeling spending comes at a cost. This year’s Lions team will be drastically different from last year’s, and some familiar names reportedly are on the way out.
One confirmed is linebacker and special teams ace Bo Lokombo, who is headed to Montreal. Manny Arceneaux, Jonathon Jennings, Chris Rainey and even Solomon Elimimian — who still is under contract — might not be here this season.
“I think our fans can expect our roster to change quite drastically from last year,” said Hervey. “Last year’s roster was last year’s roster. It was built for a different reason. This roster is built with looking at the future in mind, building our core, building players who are going to give us more than one year … that’s how I still believe championship football teams are built.
“You could see today, a lot of things are happening, a lot of money being thrown around, everybody’s putting together all-star teams for this year. I’m not looking it that way. I have a vision of putting together football teams where we can be consistent … so year in year out, there are familiar names that (fans) can turn to when they buy a jersey. (Players) who are not here for a pit stop.”
Travis Lulay can’t be included in that latter category. He’s spent each one of his 10 CFL seasons with the Lions, but he, too, might not be back next year.
The acquisition of Reilly means the Lions have a big chunk of money tied up in one quarterback, and they aren’t likely to be afford returning Lulay as a backup. The team said it hasn’t extended an offer to him, and Hervey said the team is giving him time to decide what his next move will be.
The league had a $5.2-million salary cap last year, but that number is expected to go up when the next collective bargaining agreement is put in place. Even so, the amount of spending the Lions did Tuesday means there is less for the rest of their roster.
“You evaluate your roster, and steal from Peter to pay … Mike,” Hervey said at Tuesday’s news conference.
“I’ll have to look at all the people on the roster named Peter,” Reilly quipped.
So far, that’s just sophomore guard Peter Godber, whom the Lions drafted No. 3 overall last season, but there are others who might go without a big payday. Linebacker Micah Awe, nickelback Otha Foster, defensive backs Garry Peters and Anthony Thompson, as well as defensive lineman Shawn Lemon were all impact players for B.C. last season, and all are unsigned free agents. DB Anthony Orange has departed for Edmonton, while wideout DeVier Posey is Montreal-bound.
They still need more depth in the backfield, with Tyrell Sutton and Jeremiah Johnson all still unsigned — though Brandon Rutley re-signed on Tuesday — and no kicker has been signed to replace Ty Long, who is testing the NFL waters with the L.A. Chargers.
Hervey acknowledged this was part of a plan that dated back to last year.
“We started this process back in November. We thought about, if we were going to make a play for a marquee player, and we targeted Mike, we figured we’d have to go to a level the league hasn’t seen since the salary cap has been put into place,” he said. “You have to make sacrifices. It’s simple math. We evaluate the players who are on our roster, players that we feel we can move on from — not that we don’t think they are good players — but things have to be sacrificed if you want to be great.”
“And I didn’t want to be mediocre. This roster, this team, this organization, we’re not going to be mediocre. So there were things that needed to be sacrificed. And that means that some familiar names are not going to be with us.
“It means that some guys who come in for a year and want to hit the jackpot, they’re not going to hit the jackpot with us. We’re bringing in players who are going to fit roles, and are going to fit the cap.”