Salary cap may limit activity
The Saskatchewan Roughriders don’t expect to come out swinging when CFL free agency begins Tuesday.
But they’re also hoping they don’t end up down for the count.
Roughriders general manager Brendan Taman said the club’s philosophy entering free agency in 2014 is “a lot different” than it was in February 2013, when it landed the likes of defensive backs Dwight Anderson and Carlos Thomas, defensive end Ricky Foley and linebacker Rey Williams from other teams.
“Last year, we were very aggressive and we had chances with our cap situation to do some things,” Taman said. “This year, more than anything, it’s going to be managing the blows we take.
“It’s like a boxer. Last year, you were aggressive and ready to go into the ring and this year, it’s like you’re in rope-a-dope and hopefully you don’t get hit too much.”
Saskatchewan traded a potential free agent (quarterback Drew Willy) to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Thursday for another player who’s to hit the market Tuesday (receiver Jade Etienne). The Roughriders have 14 potential free agents, pending other moves that may happen before the deadline.
The list of Saskatchewan players who could hit the market include non-imports like linebacker Craig Butler and kicker Chris Milo and imports such as defensive tackle Jermaine McElveen and tailback Kory Sheets.
Taman would like to keep as many of the team’s free agents as possible, but he’s convinced the Roughriders will take some hits.
“The situation that we’ve put ourselves in cap-wise, we just know that a couple of our guys are going to get really good offers that we’re just not going to be able to compete with,” Taman said, “unless we want to drastically affect our team by making room for a salary by removing a big salary.”
The Roughriders’ cap situation appeared to improve this offseason when a couple of big-ticket players went elsewhere — slotback Weston Dressler signed with the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs and defensive tackle Keith Shologan was claimed by the Ottawa Redblacks in the expansion draft — but appearances can be deceiving.
Since the end of the 2013 season, players like guard Brendon LaBatte and receiver Rob Bagg got contract extensions and potential free agents like receiver Taj Smith and defensive back Terrell Maze were re-signed — and all of those deals likely included raises.
As well, as Taman put it: “Some of the moves we made last year had some significant impact (on the cap) for this year coming up.”
How the Roughriders attack free agency, and which positions they address, will depend on off-season departures.
Some players who spent time on the practice roster or injured lists last season will have to assume a bigger role in 2014, but it’s also likely that Taman and his staff will look to sign players off the Roughriders’ negotiation list.
That said, there remains a chance that Saskatchewan could dip into the CFL free-agent pool — and some players may be interested in joining the defending Grey Cup champion.
“Corey (Chamblin, head coach) and I are going to have to sit down and make our list (of free agents in whom the team may be interested),” Taman said.
“Last year, we probably listed six to eight guys and we got all of them. This year, we’ll probably list three or four and, if we’re lucky, we might get one of them.”
With players leaving and others coming in, the makeup of the Roughriders will change before the 2014 season arrives — but Taman knew that would happen when his team started to have success.
“We were 8-and-10 the year before, so we didn’t have a lot of problems retaining our guys and we were able to get aggressive last year,” he said. “This year, we’re the Grey Cup champs and teams are going to want our good players.
“We’re just going to be very limited in what we can do. That’s not a complaint; it’s just reality.”