BUONO PLAYS IT SAFE THIS OFF-SEASON
Lions GM back to cost-effective roots after 2016 spending spree
On the opening day of CFL free agency last year, the tectonic plates groaned and shifted dramatically for Canada’s West Coast team.
In a series of eyebrow-raising moves, the B.C. Lions’ normally cautious and cost-conscious general manager Wally Buono went out of character in the hit-or-miss player lottery.
The man who formerly shopped at Walmart reeled in receiver Nick Moore and defensive backs Brandon Stewart and Mike Edem, before he signed running back Jeremiah Johnson, offensive lineman Levy Adcock and power back Anthony Allen.
Buono wanted to be aggressive after the Lions finished 7-11, their worst season since 1996. He realized there wasn’t only a talent gap to make up, but the Lions needed to make a splash. And he did — with a cannonball dive.
This year, he figures to enter the talent pool in more Olympian style — vertically, smoothly, purposefully — since the GM has played the game better than most, based on the players he’s retained and what those free agents cost.
Premier nose tackle Mic’hael Brooks and cornerback Ronnie Yell, coming off a Lisfranc fracture (foot), were reported to be close to signing Monday evening, hours before the flag was to go down on unfettered free agency today at 9 a.m.
Still, Buono has scratched off most of his priorities from the shopping list.
They include receiver Bryan Burnham, whose two-year deal was announced Sunday. Given a substantial raise, Burnham’s signing is likely to have repercussions for Terrell Sinkfield, another Lions free agent receiver who now seems unlikely to be retained.
With the imminent signing of Canadian receiver Marco Iannuzzi, and the re-upping of starting left guard Hunter Steward, the Leos have their entire starting offensive line and most of their featured receivers — with the exception of Sinkfield — returning. That includes slotback Moore, who was signed to a one-year deal (with signing bonus) after playing only four games last season because of a torn ACL.
“They didn’t have to sign me before I’m medically cleared (he is to undergo an examination Wednesday in Vancouver),” said Moore, who trains in Tampa, Fla. “They’re showing great confidence that I’ll be full-fledged, ready to go and back to normal. I have nothing but appreciation for that. We had some unfinished business at the end of last season. Wally told us he would do everything he could to keep those key components intact.”
No team is in better shape to play pitch and catch than the Lions, whose pairing of Burnham and Emmanuel Arceneaux potentially has supplanted Edmonton’s Adarius Bowman and Derel Walker as the CFL’s best duo. Walker signed a two-year deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the off-season.
Like Sinkfield, Buono feels he can live without Allen, the CFL’s ninth-leading rusher last season while playing a limited role. Feature back Johnson and all-pur- pose-yards eater Chris Rainey were re-signed and extended in December, with 2016 practice-roster player Joshua Harris and J.C. Coleman set to return. Coleman, a 5-6 scat back from Virginia Tech, was released July 25 last year, but will be given a second chance to make the team in 2017.
Defensively, the Lions have been plundered by the NFL — Adam Bighill, Bo Lokombo, Anthony Gaitor and Alex Bazzie all signed “futures” contracts, with Bazzie receiving $50,000 in guaranteed money.
To give Yell a push, the Lions have a Buddy plan. That would be former Stampeder/Roughrider cornerback Buddy Jackson, signed to a deal that has yet to be announced. Jackson, 6-1, 195, has a size advantage over the 5-10, 185-pound Yell and an experience edge. He was with five NFL teams before signing with Calgary in late 2013. Unsure about Brooks, the Lions signed a trio of defensive-tackle candidates, most notably Luther Maddy, a 6-0, 287-pounder from Virginia Tech who was the Hokies’ bell cow on defence and a first-team, All-ACC selection (sports-media choice) in 2015. He announced his Lions signing on Twitter.
And fingers are crossed that Micah Awe, a quick, agile linebacker who had 126 tackles in his senior year with Texas Tech, is capable of alleviating some of the loss of Bighill to the New Orleans Saints. Like Solomon Elimimian, Awe — another unannounced signing — is Nigerian-born and plays with similar fire.
That’s the Buono credo: If we don’t have the money to pay you, we’ll find somebody else at a cheaper cost.
The Lions will be players in free agency this year, but only if the price makes sense.