Top QBs pick their spots
Mitchell remains, while Harris and Reilly are changing teams
Mike Reilly and Trevor Harris were both on the move, while Bo Levi Mitchell stayed put on a wild opening day of CFL free agency.
The three quarterbacks were the top players available when the free-agent frenzy began Tuesday at noon EST. Reilly was the first of the big three to go, signing a four-year, $2.9million benchmark deal (average annual value $725,000) with the B.C. Lions following six seasons with the Edmonton Eskimos.
Reilly, 34, was the CFL’s highest-paid player last season at more than $500,000. The Kennewick, Wash., native is now closer to home and returns to the franchise he began his CFL career with in 2010.
As stunning as Reilly’s contract was, more surprising was the inclusion of the deal’s value on the news release. Traditionally, CFL contracts don’t include monetary details. What’s more, B.C. signed Reilly to the big deal unsure what this year’s salary cap will be.
It was $5.2 million in 2018, but the league and its players must still negotiate this year’s figure. The current collective bargaining agreement expires in May.
Shortly after Reilly’s deal, Harris signed a two-year contract with Edmonton reportedly worth $1.1 million. The 32year-old established career highs with Ottawa last year in pass attempts (615), completions (431) and yards (5,116), then had a playoff-record six TD strikes in the East Division final before the Redblacks lost 27-16 to the Calgary Stampeders in the Grey Cup.
Mitchell was the last to decide his future, accepting a four-year deal to remain in Calgary after reportedly also weighing offers from Toronto and Saskatchewan. The 28-year-old native of Katy, Texas, is a stellar 69-15-2 since becoming the Stampeders’ full-time starter in 2014 and has led the franchise to four Grey Cup appearances (winning two) and captured the CFL’s outstanding player award twice (2016, ’18).
Mitchell, who threw a CFLhigh 35 TD passes last season, worked out for seven NFL teams this winter but never signed a contract. The defending Grey Cup champions took some hits, though, losing all-star defensive tackle Micah Johnson (Saskatchewan), defensive back Tunde Adeleke (Hamilton) offensive lineman Spencer Wilson (Montreal) and receivers DaVaris Daniels (Edmonton) and Lemar Durant (B.C.). Wilson, Adeleke and Durant are Canadians.
Another huge deal was Winnipeg agreeing to terms with defensive end Willie Jefferson. The former Saskatchewan Roughrider had a career-high 10 sacks with two interception return TDs and joins a unit anchored by linebacker Adam Bighill, the CFL’s top defensive player last season.
While he lost the most coveted player, Edmonton GM Brock Sunderland was a big winner Tuesday. Shortly after Reilly’s official departure, Sunderland went on offence, adding Harris, receiver Greg Ellingson and offensive lineman SirVincent Rogers, all previously with the Redblacks, and Daniels.
But Sunderland wasn’t finished. He also bolstered his defence by signing Hamilton linebackers Don Unamba and Larry Dean, the East Division’s top defensive player last season, and Winnipeg’s Jovan SantosKnox along with B.C. defensive back Anthony Orange. Lions GM Ed Hervey also was busy Tuesday, adding Canadian offensive lineman Sukh Chungh, who spent the previous four seasons with Winnipeg, Durant — the top Canadian in last year’s Grey Cup —and former Edmonton defensive back Aaron Grymes.
If Sunderland and Hervey were the big winners Tuesday, Ottawa’s Marcel Desjardins was the GM left with the most holes to fill. The Redblacks lost starters Harris, Rogers, Ellingson and running back William Powell, a two-time 1,000-yard rusher who signed with Saskatchewan.
Desjardins told reporters in Ottawa the club believes backup quarterback Dominique Davis can become the club’s starter.
“At the end of the day with Trevor, it didn’t work out,” he said. “We’re comfortable with Dominique Davis.”