WESTWARD, HO!
Esks, Lions big winners on Day 1 of free agency as Redblacks and Ticats hit hardest
With the B.C. Lions and Edmonton Eskimos locked in an arms (and legs) race, the opening day of Canadian Football League free agency became a game-changing spend-a-thon, with most of the high-priced talent flowing east to west.
The Eskimos lost quarterback Mike Reilly, as expected, to the Lions, but signed nine, yes nine, free agents on Tuesday, two of them from the Lions — receiver Ricky Collins Jr., and defensive back Anthony Orange. The prize of their haul was Ottawa QB Trevor Harris.
As had been rumoured and reported for weeks, the prized pick of the litter went to the Lions when the 34-year-old Reilly, a former MOP and Grey Cup winner, signed a four-year deal.
In unprecedented fashion, B.C. announced the contract was worth $2.9 million, as the Lions obviously spent the money proudly and with purpose.
“Today makes a statement for our commitment to winning, competing for championships and not just being an ordinary football team,” said GM Ed Hervey.
He would also add DB Aaron Grymes from Edmonton, receiver Lemar Durant from Calgary and offensive lineman Sukh Chungh from Winnipeg, but had to say goodbye to Collins, Orange and DeVier Posey, who was signed by Montreal.
The Calgary Stampeders, who lost some key pieces on Tuesday, managed to hang on to the biggest, QB Bo Levi Mitchell.
He had worked out for several National Football League teams and had offers on the table from Saskatchewan and Toronto. But they got their man inked to a four-year deal by early afternoon.
They also re-upped receivers Juwan Brescasin and Eric Rogers, two of Mitchell’s preferred targets.
Elsewhere in the west, Winnipeg bolstered an already strong defence by adding former Saskatchewan defensive lineman Willie Jefferson, who had a career-high 10 sacks with two interception return TDs — one against the Bombers.
The Riders responded by grabbing defensive tackle Micah Johnson from the Stamps. They also signed running back William Powell from Ottawa.
It was a bit of a frenzy, all right, as 25 players had changed addresses by 6 p.m. ET, but the biggest headlines belong to the teams that signed marquee quarterbacks, as it should be.
Despite paying Reilly an average of $725,000 per year, Hervey said the Lions will have no trouble staying within the salary cap, which was $5.25 million last year and will likely rise during upcoming negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement with the CFL Players Association.
“As far as how it fits, understand that it is very simple. You evaluate your roster and you steal from Peter to pay Mike,” said Hervey.
In Edmonton, where GM Brock Sunderland knew for certain last weekend that he would lose Mike and have to pay somebody else, he zeroed in on Harris, a man who replaced former MOP and Grey Cup winner Henry Burris in Ottawa.
Harris said he wasn’t phased by having to replace Reilly, and Sunderland said he just wants Harris to be Harris, which was good enough to get the Redblacks to the Grey Cup last season in Edmonton.
“This organization has lost Warren Moon, they’ve lost Hugh Campbell, they’ve lost Ricky Ray, and the common denominator of all those is that after those key cogs left, they won championships,” said a defiant Sunderland. “So that’s our plan. We’re not going to feel sorry for ourselves. This team is not done. We’re not dying. And I think we made a statement today that our goal is to win a Grey Cup and that has not changed. Our standards have not lowered.”
Just as Hervey picked on his former franchise to grab Reilly, Sunderland raided the Redblacks for more than just Harris. He got left tackle SirVincent Rogers and one of Harris’ favourite targets and best friends, receiver Greg Ellingson.
In fact, Harris told Edmonton’s TSN 1260 radio host Dave Jamieson that he pulled a LeBron James by recruiting Ellingson to come with him to Edmonton.
“It’s going to be a blast,” Harris said during the interview. “With the other pieces we’re adding, it’s shaping up to be quite a team. I’m just excited to be a cog in the engine.”
In a masterful bit of manoeuvering, Sunderland essentially bought himself out of the hole created by the expected loss of Reilly to B.C., and the retirement of middle linebacker J.C. Sherritt.
Sunderland touched the Tabbies for star linebackers Larry Dean and Don Unamba, and grabbed another, Jovan Santos-Knox, from Winnipeg.
He also took receiver DaVaris Daniels from Calgary. In all, there are nine new faces.
“Going into it, we all knew this was going to be a crazy day in free agent history,” said Sunderland. “We had to have a plan ready. We weren’t really sure who would be available. This was a free agency unlike any other. It was unique, challenging.”
The Argos jumped into the fray later on by signing allstar kick returner/RB Chris Rainey off the Lions, DB Kevin Fogg and Canadian Mercer Timmis.