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Hambone
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MBT didn't actually become an FA. He signed an extension with Toronto prior to hitting free agency this past February. Also opting out does not automatically make a player a CFL FA. If the player's contract was to expire in February 2021 they would not be eligible to sign with any other CFL club until that contract would normally expire on the 2nd Tuesday in February. If the player's contract expires in Feb 2021 or beyond and he wishes to return to the CFL after being released by the NFL (if he even gets a deal there) he must return to his CFL club to honour the remainder of his contract. I believe MBT signed a 1 year extension with the Argos so would fit into the first group.
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B.C.FAN
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DE Mat Boesen has become the fifth Lion to opt out of his contract to seek other opportunities. J.J. Adams of The Province talked to Ed Hervey about the players' chances of catching on in the NFL and about the uncertain future of the CFL.
“I’ve spoke to several teams in the U.S. and it’s difficult for them because without pre-season games, they’re … sticking with the guys who they went into camp with,” said Hervey. “And because of all the other stuff that’s going on, I’m not sure if the opportunities are all there for everyone.

“Again, there’s a few guys that are obviously getting some opportunities, but I’m not certain how open the NFL is going to be for a lot of guys opting out. And for some of those guys, they just opted out to keep themselves available in the event that something happens during the (NFL) season.”
J.J. Adams: Lions hope 'movie' for 2021 includes less drama, more action
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DanoT
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Catching on in the NFL for a CFLer has always been about being at the right team when an injury opens up a roster spot combined with not having to compete with a less talented but high paid draft pick. And now Covid makes it even trickier.
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Hambone
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B.C.FAN wrote:
Wed Sep 02, 2020 9:04 pm
DE Mat Boesen has become the fifth Lion to opt out of his contract to seek other opportunities. J.J. Adams of The Province talked to Ed Hervey about the players' chances of catching on in the NFL and about the uncertain future of the CFL.
“I’ve spoke to several teams in the U.S. and it’s difficult for them because without pre-season games, they’re … sticking with the guys who they went into camp with,” said Hervey. “And because of all the other stuff that’s going on, I’m not sure if the opportunities are all there for everyone.

“Again, there’s a few guys that are obviously getting some opportunities, but I’m not certain how open the NFL is going to be for a lot of guys opting out. And for some of those guys, they just opted out to keep themselves available in the event that something happens during the (NFL) season.”
J.J. Adams: Lions hope 'movie' for 2021 includes less drama, more action
Hervey echoes my sentiments. Most of these guys are opting out simply to keep an option open. The odds of any of them seeing the NFL bare fruit for this season remain slim. I still think the best odds remain with kickers as they can be parachuted in with a minute's notice and be activated for the next game should a team suffer an injury or become disillusioned with their incumbents.

At last reports I've come across out of all who have either opted out or in the case of Nate Holley been granted his release only Holley, Dakoda Shepley and Wynton McManis have been signed to NFL contracts. Richie Leone was supposedly been worked out by Pittsburgh. Not sure who if any others have formally been worked out. At the same time earlier CFL FA William Stanback was released by the Raiders.
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B.C.FAN
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There's a huge difference in the number of players who have opted out for each team:

SSK 25
CGY 14
HAM 14
WPG 9
OTT 9
TOR 7
BCL 5
EDM 5
MTL 2
Murdoch
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David wrote:
Wed Sep 02, 2020 2:41 pm
Is it sustainable? Not sure, but I don't see huge upside in him. As Hambone says, 'journeyman.' Why did the Argos pursue Matt Nichols as a FA if they thought MBT was the answer?

Don't get me wrong, there are parts to his game I really like. But he may be that guy that throws for 350 passing yards and an untimely INT at crunch time.
DH :cool:
I'm guessing Argo fans felt better about Matt Nichols when they knew MBT was on the team. I give credit to his agent for landing him the deal he got. Pretty sure it's the same guy as Mike Reilly uses.

The 7 - 2 record Nichols lead the Bombers to could easily have been 3 - 4 if not for multiple return touchdowns and defensive turnovers. When it came crunch time he was on the sidelines. It's a big assumption to think the Bombers win the Grey Cup with Matt Nichols at QB. For about the fourth time in his career a big "if only" comes into play. Having another good year this year "if only there was football"

That said in the two Bomber playoff games Nichols started he played well in both. One a close loss in BC and the other to Edmonton crossing over.

Would rather be talking about Bryan Burnham's latest greatest or Kevin Williams big game but since we have some time on that I'll put up a little case for MBT.

Agree about the "journeyman" label and the prototypical NFL size at 6'4". A smaller guy would never have bounced around to so many NFL teams. Because he didn't beat out Tom Brady among others he became a scout team QB specialist. An important role but seldom mentioned in game highlights. Once you do that on a couple of teams you get labeled and new rookies get priority. It could be that is the role he might catch on in this year and guessing if he did the money would be the same or better.

MBT never saw the field in Winnipeg. Jim Popp going big on James Franklin made it an uphill battle for the past two seasons. I can see where the Argos felt they had great depth when they signed Nichols. It would have been interesting to see how it played out. MBT could always resign in TO for 2021 if nothing else happens for him this year. Seemed to me he was fired up about being the starter for the week before they signed Nichols. Could still be his best chance to win a spot but that contract will make it tough.

Bonus also to have a receiving corp like the Argos had last year. At least 4 that would be unwise to ever turn your back on and it helps when you spread the ball around. For whatever reason Mike Reilly targeted Bryan Burnham somewhere around 30% last year. Likely mentioned in every defensive huddle to watch BB.

So really I see MBT as a guy who just needs to be given the chance. At 32 he is quickly running out of time. Believe he extended in the $220,000 range so he is sms friendly. I built last years fantasy team around MBT and whoever was playing against the Winnipeg secondary and finished second in my league so I am a bit bias. Wish I could say Look at him go.

Another NFL prototypical QB that got a bad break in the Johnny Manziel debacle was Drew Willy, who I think Ottawa should have signed for 2019. Hard to overcome the negativity though.

Willy actually looked pretty good early on for the Als in 2018 despite poor team results. Ernest Jackson forgetting how to catch did not help. In hindsight it is hard to say what any of the Johnny Football saga was about other than wishful thinking. I do give Manziel credit for chasing after defenders after throwing interceptions though. Showed his passion for the game imo.

Even Mike Reilly is still only 35 and the year off will do nothing but help provided he keeps up with training. Big question will be if the team doesn't play well in 2021 do they continue on or cut their losses. One thing about no one else getting playing time is that it is hard for them to get better to beat you out.
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Oddly, Mike Reilly's twitter account is gone -> https://twitter.com/rikester13. Hopefully, its temporary and he'll bring it back next season.
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DanoT
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B.C.FAN wrote:
Thu Sep 03, 2020 5:09 pm
There's a huge difference in the number of players who have opted out for each team:

SSK 25
CGY 14
HAM 14
WPG 9
OTT 9
TOR 7
BCL 5
EDM 5
MTL 2
I suspect that most of these players will return to the CFL but it does seem odd that so many Riders players opted out. 25 players, its like a entire starting roster and then some. Was their roster so strong that many of them actually have a legit chance at sticking in the NFL? OR :dizzy:
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David
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Good interview with Rick Campbell on what team he had in 2020, why he loves Vancouver, and hopes for a turnaround at the gate (starts around the 27 min mark).




DH :cool:
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Hambone
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DanoT wrote:
Fri Sep 04, 2020 6:50 am
B.C.FAN wrote:
Thu Sep 03, 2020 5:09 pm
There's a huge difference in the number of players who have opted out for each team:

SSK 25
CGY 14
HAM 14
WPG 9
OTT 9
TOR 7
BCL 5
EDM 5
MTL 2
I suspect that most of these players will return to the CFL but it does seem odd that so many Riders players opted out. 25 players, its like a entire starting roster and then some. Was their roster so strong that many of them actually have a legit chance at sticking in the NFL? OR :dizzy:
Maybe it's all about location, location, location. Lol

Lessee. 25 opt out of Regina. while only 5 opt out of Vancouver and 2 out of Montreal (probably my favourite Canadian city east of the Rockies).
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B.C.FAN
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Several more Bombers and Redblacks have opted out of their contracts. Updated numbers:

SSK 25
WPG 16
CGY 14
HAM 14
OTT 12
TOR 7
BCL 5
EDM 5
MTL 2
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SammyGreene
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That was a fun couple of months watching the Canucks run. This is where we should now be looking forward to a short CFL bubble season. Huge missed opportunity for the league.

I get the no money to do it but how deep has Kerfoot/Mallett reached into their pockets to keep Whitecaps season still going for what now is the 2nd bubble phase? Ironically Whitecaps will be the first sporting event in Vancouver tonight since the Rugby 7s back in March. Somehow they convinced all 27 MLS owners to keep going with hardly a lucrative TV contract.

And how many millions have the Aquillinis lost since Rogers Arena has been closed for going on 6 months? Hardly blaming Braley and it's worrisome a 79-year-old Ontario man has the Lions franchise on his shoulders. But it seems like CFL owners will only reach so far into their pockets for this league compared to others.
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DanoT
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Hambone wrote:
Fri Sep 04, 2020 11:04 am
DanoT wrote:
Fri Sep 04, 2020 6:50 am
B.C.FAN wrote:
Thu Sep 03, 2020 5:09 pm
There's a huge difference in the number of players who have opted out for each team:

SSK 25
CGY 14
HAM 14
WPG 9
OTT 9
TOR 7
BCL 5
EDM 5
MTL 2
I suspect that most of these players will return to the CFL but it does seem odd that so many Riders players opted out. 25 players, its like a entire starting roster and then some. Was their roster so strong that many of them actually have a legit chance at sticking in the NFL? OR :dizzy:
Maybe it's all about location, location, location. Lol

Lessee. 25 opt out of Regina. while only 5 opt out of Vancouver and 2 out of Montreal (probably my favourite Canadian city east of the Rockies).
Hambone, if I pose the same question over on Riderfans, will you give the same answer, and will we both get banned or just you? :popcorn:
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BC 1988
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SammyGreene wrote:
Sat Sep 05, 2020 7:38 am
That was a fun couple of months watching the Canucks run. This is where we should now be looking forward to a short CFL bubble season. Huge missed opportunity for the league.

I get the no money to do it but how deep has Kerfoot/Mallett reached into their pockets to keep Whitecaps season still going for what now is the 2nd bubble phase? Ironically Whitecaps will be the first sporting event in Vancouver tonight since the Rugby 7s back in March. Somehow they convinced all 27 MLS owners to keep going with hardly a lucrative TV contract.

And how many millions have the Aquillinis lost since Rogers Arena has been closed for going on 6 months? Hardly blaming Braley and it's worrisome a 79-year-old Ontario man has the Lions franchise on his shoulders. But it seems like CFL owners will only reach so far into their pockets for this league compared to others.
Agree that it's surprising that MLS is still going beyond the bubble. Not only is it costing them big for each match they play with no fans, the Canadian teams face having no one to play after Sept 16th--unless they go the Blue Jays route and make a US venue their "home" .

I will be reluctantly (since I've always found their rules much more boring) watching more NFL than usual--assuming they manage to get off the ground. Goodbye CFL. It was a fun 50 years (for me as a fan) but I think it's over.
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Hambone
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Be interesting to know how much it is costing Aquilini to have Rogers closed. In some cases it may have beem more a case of lost revenue opportunities more than losing money. Canucks I think still had 6 regular season home dates left. Their playoff run was the equivalent of 6 lost home dates in the always lucrative for owners NHL playoffs. However those were not guaranteed. The Canucks were in a huge battle just to make the playoffs. There were no guarantees they'd get in as there were 5 teams separated by only 3 points battling for the final 3 spots. Had they made it in they most likely would have faced either Vegas or Edmonton in the first round. Other than that they likely lost several concerts and who knows what other non-sporting events. I lost track of what happened with the NLL but imagine their next season is not a given.
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