Riders, pass rusher Hughes still talking, but free agency looms
Star lineman may be 37, but he's led CFL in sacks for each of the past four seasons
Charleston Hughes is keeping his options open when it comes to free agency.
The 37-year-old defensive end, who has led the CFL in sacks each of the past four seasons, said Monday that he's still in talks with the Saskatchewan Roughriders regarding a possible contract extension.
But he didn't rule out testing the waters when the CFL'S weeklong negotiating window opens on Jan. 31 in advance of the Feb. 9 kickoff to the free-agent period.
“We're pinging stuff back and forth while trying to work things out,” Hughes said.
“We're still stuck in the same place that we were at the beginning of negotiations.”
Hughes understands why negotiations might be slow with Jeremy O'day, the Riders' vice-president of football operations and general manager.
“They're trying to get everyone back from the team before, because we had a chance at winning the Grey Cup,” said Hughes, who doubles as his own agent.
“They have been doing a good job of signing everybody. The only thing that I've been told that there is a budget that he has to stick with and he can't come off that budget. He knows what's best for the team.”
The CFL'S salary cap for the 2021 season is $5.35 million per team, based on the collective bargaining agreement negotiated in 2019. The cancellation of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 and the drop in revenue means general managers are working on spending the league minimum of $4.75 million. That can save each team $600,000.
Hughes feels that letting the Riders know that he'll be gauging the interest of other teams is the fair way to approach the negotiations.
“It would be pretty selfish of me to keep the team in limbo and not be 100 per cent honest and direct with them on how to approach the rest of their players,” he said.
“If I make it until Jan. 31 without having some kind of deal or contract in place or talks about something, I'll have to do what's best for me and talk to other teams and figure out if I can work out a deal with someone else.”
Hughes is likely to attract interest across the league, despite his age. After all, few players can match his resume, and he has excelled well into his 30s.
“I'm 37, but I'm luckier than most 37-year-old football players and that's because I don't have a lot of football years,” he said.
“I didn't start playing football until I was a senior in high school. I didn't play physical contact sports when I was young. Even in college, I only played defence and I didn't play on special teams, so I don't have a lot of wear and tear in my 13-year career. I've only had two surgeries in my entire career. Who can say that at 37?”
Hughes played the 2019 season with an injured elbow that required surgery during the extended off-season. The six-time CFL star still paced the CFL in 2019 with 16 sacks.
Regardless of where Hughes ends up, he has some personal goals. He has a career total of 130 sacks, including 31 in 34 regular-season games over two seasons with the Green and White.
He previously played for the Calgary Stampeders.
Former Hamilton Tiger-cats star Grover Covington holds the career CFL record of 157 sacks. Surpassing that total would be nice, but Hughes has another mark in mind.
“Leading the league in sacks for four consecutive years makes me wonder how many years can I do that,” he said with a chuckle.
Hughes is one of three defensive stars from the 2019 Riders team who remains unsigned.
Middle linebacker Solomon Elimimian, who led the Riders in defensive tackles (88), and weakside linebacker Cameron Judge, the West Division's most outstanding Canadian in 2019, are also without contracts.
Defensive halfback Ed Gainey signed a one-year contract extension on Monday. His signing means all five members of the Riders' 2019 defensive backfield are under contract for the 2021 season.