DECISION ON ARBUCKLE LOOMS FOR REDBLACKS
QB has yet to agree to restructured deal — and has signing bonus due Feb. 1
The calendar countdown says the Ottawa Redblacks have less than three weeks to virtually shake quarterback Nick Arbuckle's hand and agree to a restructured contract for the 2021 season.
If a deal can't be reached, though, the real deadline is not the Feb. 9 opening of CFL free agency. It's Feb. 1 when the Redblacks are due to pay Arbuckle a roster bonus, believed to be $150,000.
In the meantime, RNation holds its breath, hopeful Redblacks general manager Marcel Desjardins can crunch the numbers to a level acceptable to Arbuckle in what, leaguewide, has become a tug of war over dollars between teams and their elite players. Reeling from a lost 2020 season thanks to the impact of the pandemic, CFL teams have made no secret of their intent to cut player costs. While a collective-bargaining agreement in its final year allows teams to spend up to $5.35 million, it also allows them to spend as little as $4.75 million.
So how do teams find $600,000 in savings? They talk to their highest-paid players — the quarterbacks — and ask them to take one for the team and suck it up for a league that has called the loss of a season a financial disaster. That means Arbuckle will be expected to pocket significantly less.
Other CFL quarterbacks — Mike Reilly, Bo Levi Mitchell, Zach Collaros, Trevor Harris, Cody Fajardo and Vernon Adams — have already agreed to restructure their deals, lessen the contractual load for the 2021 season. That's good. But in most of those cases, they're not really getting paid less. In real dollars, considering tax rates, if a big chunk of money is transferred into a signing bonus, they're probably not earning much less than they were in 2019.
For the American CFL players, a signing bonus is taxed at less than half what it would be if it was part of the regular contract. So a pay cut isn't necessarily a pay cut. With uncertainty about what a 2021 season will look like, some teams don't have much of an appetite to give those upfront signing bonuses. It's all about dollars and sense.
Back to Arbuckle. As much as the Redblacks need the 27-yearold quarterback, he could need them at least as much. Six teams have starting quarterbacks signed and in place. That leaves three: Ottawa, Hamilton and Toronto.
Hamilton is still negotiating with Jeremiah Masoli, one of the best in the league. And if that doesn't work out, they've got Dane Evans, who looked very good subbing in when Masoli missed a big chunk of the 2019 season with a torn ACL. So that won't be a possible fallback.
That leaves Toronto as the only other option. The Argos are trying to twist the arm of former Winnipeg Blue Bomber Matt Nichols and get him to agree to a
I thought, ‘You know what, I have to give this kid a chance. I think there’s something there.’ He took it and ran with it.
restructured deal. TSN's Farhan Lalji said the Argos are due to pay Nichols a $220,000 signing bonus Feb. 1, with his contract set at an additional $345,000. Lalji said the Argos' offer to Nichols included a 40-per-cent cut in the hard money. If Nichols signs with the Argos, Arbuckle loses any leverage he has. If Nichols decides to wait it out, he also stands the risk of having no leverage.
Arbuckle's contract calls for him to make as much as $490,000. A quick calculation indicates the Redblacks are likely asking him to take a massive cut, around $100,000. Offensive lineman Nolan MacMillan, defensive back Antoine Pruneau and defensive lineman Cleyon Laing have agreed to redo their deals and take less money for 2021. The league's best defensive player, Willie Jefferson, agreed to take $55,000 less (his salary will be $205,000, down from $260,000), according to Lalji.
So that gives you an idea what the Redblacks expect out of their talks with Arbuckle. The sticking point could be how much Arbuckle wants in upfront, guaranteed money in the form of a signing bonus.
If talks with Arbuckle fall through — and don't count out a reunion with his Stampeders QB coach, Ryan Dinwiddie (now the Argos head coach) — there are proven options available.
The Redblacks would have to consider guys like Nichols
(at a reduced rate) and Bethel McLeod-Thompson. It's not Plan A, but you've got to think they're at least thinking about a Plan B.
Let's say they look to Nichols. He's proven and worked well in the offensive scheme of former Blue Bombers offensive co-ordinator Paul LaPolice, who is now calling the shots for Ottawa.
The Redblacks obviously like what they've seen from Arbuckle; they gave up the first overall selection in the 2020 draft (and got Calgary's first-rounder in return) to get him. With a 3-15 record in 2019, the Redblacks need the kind of flashes Arbuckle showed when he got the opportunity with the Stampeders in 2019, filling in for the injured Mitchell. Arbuckle competed 174 of 238 passes for 2,103 yards and 11 touchdowns. Yeah, at least in a small sample size, he was good.
Here's why the Redblacks will want it to work out, why Desjardins will do everything he can to find common ground: If you talk to those who know Arbuckle, he's a good guy, a good family man and a quarterback with high upside. Count Stampeders head coach Dave Dickenson among his admirers.
“I love the person, I love the work ethic, I love the player,” Dickenson told me a year ago. “Nothing 's come easy for him. He's had to overcome some major things in his life. He's overcome limitations. Physically, nobody gave him a chance — nobody. We also passed on him once. But the second time he came around, I thought, `You know what, I have to give this kid a chance. I think there's something there.' He took it and ran with it. He's a guy, I think, all people in the CFL should root for.”
The Point After: The Redblacks restructured and got a deal done with WR DeVonte Dedmon. … The news came down late Tuesday, but LB Jerod Fernandez is returning to the Redblacks. … Former Redblacks DB Anthony Cioffi, who got a look from the NFL's New York Jets last year, has signed with the B.C. Lions. … Another former Redblack, defensive lineman J.R. Tavai, has also signed with B.C. … K Tyler Crapigna, who is from Ottawa, has restructured his contract to stay with the Montreal Alouettes. … Redblacks DB Corey Moore has retired.