BC Lions Free Agents Signings & Signings around the CFL

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Toppy Vann
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cms22 wrote:
Thu Feb 13, 2020 4:45 pm
did i understand the derel walker comment correctly? because of salary caps being tapped out, he may have to sign for league minimum?.. or has new higher league minimum squeezed out alot of dollars that could go to stars?

as per jefferson and winnipeg, winnipeg has a bad reputation but anyone who actually moves there seems to really like it. great sense of community that is missing in big cities. live like a king with the real estate prices. you can go down south twice in the winter for example because r/e prices don't kill you
My comments on that were a repeat of what TSN said. It was not that he'd have to sign for a lower priced contract, it was believed that he wanted some serious big dollars that with the min. contract up to 65K from 55K means that there's less to go around to give a Walker type impact player what he wants. The TSN view was that Walker might be finding all teams in the same squeeze given what they already signed and locked up in the way of big ticket players.
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Seems like they are locked in on Walker. Naaman Roosevelt would cost less.
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B.C.FAN
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Marshall Ferguson of TSN takes an interesting look at free agency by the numbers across the league, and also offers comments on each team's key signings.

Not surprisingly, the Argos and Lions have led the league in signing other teams' free agents and also signed the fewest of their own free agents. Winnipeg and Saskatchewan re-signed most of their own potential free agents and signed the fewest from other teams.

By position, 85.7% of quarterbacks and 76.5% defensive backs have been signed to 2020 contracts but only 54.1% of receivers have been signed. The large pool of unsigned receivers indicates a soft market that can keep salaries down, which Ed Hervey alluded to Thursday when discussing the uncertain market for Derel Walker.

Ferguson lists each team's signings in three categories: homerun, unexpected and sneaky good. His picks in those categories for the Lions:
Homerun: Ticats OL Ryker Mathews
It HAD to happen. The offensive tackle market was relatively thin and Mathews proved himself over two years in Hamilton to be an elite CFL tackle, exactly what Ed Hervey and Mike Reilly needed.

Unexpected: Stampeders DL Chris Casher
Casher was really impressive in 2019. Seeing BC dive in on him only confirmed how much the Lions knew they needed to upgrade both sides of the line.

Sneaky good: OL Hunter Steward
The Lions 2019 offensive line was the worst positional group in Canadian Football. Hunter Steward was not the problem. As a result he’s the only returning (FA) lineman as of today.
What defined CFLFA 2020?
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The_Pauser wrote:
Tue Feb 11, 2020 11:26 am
Lions sign JR Tavai. That's a very good signing for our D-line.
Tavai was IMO about the best young D player the RedBlacks have came up with in the past few years (and they've used tons of new import players on D - a lot of them pretty average to mediocre IMO); Tavai has a motor and is a good pass rusher = nice signing IMO and he could become a top notch CFL DE force; Micah J + Casher too (not as sold on Ryan Brown as a starter) = potential very nice re-build of the D-line.

Time to draft a NI D-lineman or two for depth or rotation capability (and with the loss of Menard & Luke); and IMO there is a good draft crop for picking at both DE & DT - probably even in the mid to later rounds.
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B.C.FAN wrote:
Fri Feb 14, 2020 11:43 am
Marshall Ferguson of TSN takes an interesting look at free agency by the numbers across the league, and also offers comments on each team's key signings.

Not surprisingly, the Argos and Lions have led the league in signing other teams' free agents and also signed the fewest of their own free agents. Winnipeg and Saskatchewan re-signed most of their own potential free agents and signed the fewest from other teams.

By position, 85.7% of quarterbacks and 76.5% defensive backs have been signed to 2020 contracts but only 54.1% of receivers have been signed. The large pool of unsigned receivers indicates a soft market that can keep salaries down, which Ed Hervey alluded to Thursday when discussing the uncertain market for Derel Walker.

Ferguson lists each team's signings in three categories: homerun, unexpected and sneaky good. His picks in those categories for the Lions:
Homerun: Ticats OL Ryker Mathews
It HAD to happen. The offensive tackle market was relatively thin and Mathews proved himself over two years in Hamilton to be an elite CFL tackle, exactly what Ed Hervey and Mike Reilly needed.

Unexpected: Stampeders DL Chris Casher
Casher was really impressive in 2019. Seeing BC dive in on him only confirmed how much the Lions knew they needed to upgrade both sides of the line.

Sneaky good: OL Hunter Steward
The Lions 2019 offensive line was the worst positional group in Canadian Football. Hunter Steward was not the problem. As a result he’s the only returning (FA) lineman as of today.
What defined CFLFA 2020?
On top of that Nye had Ryan Brown listed as one of his 5 "Sneaky Good" FA signings. Johnson, Brown, Casher and Tavai plus returnee Newsome could make for a vastly improved DL and more importantly vastly younger. Casher, Brown and Tavai showed quite a bit in their short CFL careers-to-date and all will just be entering their primes at 26 when the season opens.

It will be tough for Boesen to stick but nonetheless I'm curious to see how he does with part of a season and 2 training camps under his belt. A rotational role giving him a chance to develop some might help him. Last year he did show well in training camp but he was put into somewhat of an unenviable task being thrust into the limelight as the bookend to an aging Odell Willis who did nothing to force an opposing OC to game plan to neutralize his side of the line. Boesen's biggest flaw was not being the second coming of Cam Wake.
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I am vastly more optimistic about the D-line than I was at this time last year. In addition to Micah Johnson anchoring the line, two up-and-coming DEs in Casher and Tavai and the 6'6" 270lb free agent tackle Brown, we will have Claudell Louis at camp, who was our Rookie nominee in 2018 but seemed to be glued to the bench last year in Stubler's offence. You also have to think Jonathon Newsome who's still just 29 and had 14 tackles and 4 sacks in just 8 games last year will strongly compete for one DE position.

Let's also not forget our off-season recruits. Hervey has been busy signing 6 street FAs from the States (to date). Yes, his track record with Torey Hunter has not been stellar, but could still yield one or two impact players. As for Boesen, I think he was more noticeable for his hair. :wink: Once he learns the CFL game and better pass rush technique, he could be a keeper. After all, he did lead the team in tackles until he hurt his knee last year.


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cms22 wrote:
Thu Feb 13, 2020 4:45 pm
did i understand the derel walker comment correctly? because of salary caps being tapped out, he may have to sign for league minimum?.. or has new higher league minimum squeezed out alot of dollars that could go to stars?

as per jefferson and winnipeg, winnipeg has a bad reputation but anyone who actually moves there seems to really like it. great sense of community that is missing in big cities. live like a king with the real estate prices. you can go down south twice in the winter for example because r/e prices don't kill you
Anecdotal speculation re: the increase of minimum salary is that it could cost teams an extra $150K of their cap space. That's based on an estimate of teams having an average of 15 players working for minimum. Multiply that by $10K increase and you get $150K in automatic salary increases. Overall cap went up $50K making for a net of $100K less money than teams may have had last year.

As for Walker no way would he wind up at CFL minimum. However, and I think this stands for all free agency in hard cap leagues, there are often players who lose out by not getting a deal in the first wave of signings. Obviously teams' cap room gets eroded with each signing. While Walker's true market value might still be slightly north of $200K there may not be any teams out there who have the sort of cap room left to offer him that. Bit of a snooze you lose. With that though sometimes some of the best FA deals teams make come after the initial wave of signings when good talent remains but the money is scarcer. On Tuesday Walker was an auction item in a regular highest bidder type auction. Today he might be an auction item in a Dutch auction with the price going down until somebody finally puts in a bid.
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Gridiron Ernie
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Speaking of Derel Walker, as much as folks have speculated about him coming to the Lions, it seems the Bombers have serious interest in a deal and possibly a way to make it affordable (according to this Dunk report anyhow). https://3downnation.com/2020/02/15/bomb ... el-walker/
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Gridiron Ernie wrote:
Sat Feb 15, 2020 2:18 pm
it seems the Bombers have serious interest in a deal and possibly a way to make it affordable (according to this Dunk report anyhow).
Gotta give credit to the guy that got the one reducing tax paid on bonus payments for foreign workers to 15% pushed through the government regulations. Guessing the total is in the billions avoiding taxes through the use of this loophole. All good when it makes $200,000 better than $250,000. Everyone does it.

Left out of the equation once again is the regular guy taxed to the hilt every way they turn when public funds are used for infrastructure to support the opportunity for the foreign worker to make the money they are reducing the tax paid on. How polite can we be? Really should be where they are taxed at a higher rate if they don't qualify as a tax payer.

Not that hard for the guy sitting in the stands to eventually figure out that he is the one paying the piper on both ends. Manitoba government wrote off over 200 million of the new stadium costs and now the Bombers are structuring their contracts to avoid players paying taxes. Almost like biting the hand that feeds you. Not right but likely best to steer clear of the inner workings and have another $10 beer and be sure to renew.

I hope the Bombers do sign Walker and that he has a huge year. Just in my purrfect world he would pay his fair share towards the facility used to generate the income.

Contract talk aside, Walker does bring a lot to wherever he goes.
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Murdoch wrote:
Mon Feb 17, 2020 8:08 am
Gridiron Ernie wrote:
Sat Feb 15, 2020 2:18 pm
it seems the Bombers have serious interest in a deal and possibly a way to make it affordable (according to this Dunk report anyhow).
Gotta give credit to the guy that got the one reducing tax paid on bonus payments for foreign workers to 15% pushed through the government regulations. Guessing the total is in the billions avoiding taxes through the use of this loophole. All good when it makes $200,000 better than $250,000. Everyone does it.

I could agree with the about rant about tax loop holes EXCEPT governments spend tax money in an inefficient and often wasteful manner and the less they are given, and the more money is spent on purchases from businesses, the better off both the businesses (who then pay taxes) and the public.
Left out of the equation once again is the regular guy taxed to the hilt every way they turn when public funds are used for infrastructure to support the opportunity for the foreign worker to make the money they are reducing the tax paid on. How polite can we be? Really should be where they are taxed at a higher rate if they don't qualify as a tax payer.

Not that hard for the guy sitting in the stands to eventually figure out that he is the one paying the piper on both ends. Manitoba government wrote off over 200 million of the new stadium costs and now the Bombers are structuring their contracts to avoid players paying taxes. Almost like biting the hand that feeds you. Not right but likely best to steer clear of the inner workings and have another $10 beer and be sure to renew.

I hope the Bombers do sign Walker and that he has a huge year. Just in my purrfect world he would pay his fair share towards the facility used to generate the income.

Contract talk aside, Walker does bring a lot to wherever he goes.
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Former Lion LB Micah Awe (still just 26) has signed for 2 years with the Bombers. Good for them! I thought he would have been a nice upgrade for us.
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So who's left? The CFL.ca just provided its rankings of the Top 20 (unsigned) Free Agents. Here are the Top 10 (names in bold are the ones that I believe would be smart pick-ups for the Leos).

1. Derel Walker
2. Derek Dennis (just signed in XFL)
3. CJ Gable
4. Jonathon Rose
5. Micah Awe (just signed with Winnipeg)
6. Naaman Roosevelt
7. Armanti Edwards
8. Shawn Lemon
9. Dominique Rhymes
10. Luke Tasker

I don't have Dennis ranked as high (especially as he is now in XFL). Stamps' Cory Greenwood should be ranked higher IMO, although his age (34) and health concerns likely keep him at #12. I just thought the National linebacker was absolutely dominant in the first 12 games of the season last year.


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The_Pauser
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Dyshawn Davis returns to the Lions. Good LB signing.

I agree with the suggestion above to go after Jonathan Rose. Crezdon Butler just signed with Toronto today so we do have an opening.
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Davis can compete for a linebacker position but most likely is a rotational linebacker and special teamer. He has been in the CFL for 4 years but I don't know if he would qualify as a national starter. He played only 1 game in 2016, 4 games in 2017, 17 in 2018 and 18 in 2019, mostly as a backup.
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Davis a good signing. Who is going to be our new safety?? I dont think the Lions have much cap room left.
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