Lions 2022 free agents

[DanoT]

Only if he would be happy. Signs a contract, a week later has buyer's remorse and rather than play decides to sit out. It might just have been the situation but it doesn't necessarily bode well in terms of have a team guy personality. It may be just smoke but I would look at that very carefully and talk to him a whole lot about it before I took the plunge. Having unhappy people in the room is never a good thing.

Yeah it is very strange for Denis to sit out a season even though he would have had to play for a dysfunctional coaching staff and GM. Does Denis even want to revive his career at this point?

It still boggles my mind that the Elks acquired Arbuckle but then declined to play him. I guess HC Elzondo at that point knew he would be fired at the end of the season so no need for better look at Arbuckle for next season when there wasn't going to be one for Elzondo. But why not play Arbuckle anyway, you know to help Arbuckle gain experience as a QB and help his career?

[Hambone]

Only if he would be happy. Signs a contract, a week later has buyer's remorse and rather than play decides to sit out. It might just have been the situation but it doesn't necessarily bode well in terms of have a team guy personality. It may be just smoke but I would look at that very carefully and talk to him a whole lot about it before I took the plunge. Having unhappy people in the room is never a good thing.

He got in a snit when within a couple weeks of signing in Edmonton the Elks went out and signed SirVinent Rogers. 33 going on 34 in July he's played maybe a couple games in the XFL since 2019. His time as a Rider didn't go over well with their fans who thought he arrived out of shape and did nothing to get himself into shape. Perhaps no coincidence one of Chris Jones' first moves was to release him as he did in Regina. I'd rather try to squeeze another year out of Figs who is younger than to gamble on this guy.

[SammyGreene]

Lucky Whitehead on Twitter:

Feels good to be wanted all that hard work & grinding paying off literally!

This has to contract offer from the Lions with a significant raise.
Pretty sure other CFL teams can’t be talking to him yet and would an NFL team be offering him a sizeable signing bonus at this stage of his career?

[DanoT]

Lucky Whitehead on Twitter:

Feels good to be wanted all that hard work & grinding paying off literally!

This has to contract offer from the Lions with a significant raise.
Pretty sure other CFL teams can’t be talking to him yet and would an NFL team be offering him a sizeable signing bonus at this stage of his career?

Whitehead is THE top signing priority for the Lions. It has been quite some time since the Lions have had a player as explosive as Lucky, and who can in an instant get people up and out of their seats, cheering. He is needed to be the face of the franchise and his quirky, off the wall personality is a good fit for that roll.

[Hambone]

Dominque Rhymes signs a 2 year extension. For most of the year his performance was underwhelming but he finally started showing the level of play I was expecting in the last few weeks.
https://3downnation.com/2021/12/30/b-c- ... -rhymes-2/

EDIT: Blink and you miss more.
They also re-signed depth guys Guzylak-Messam and Phil Norman who seems to be a handy guy to have around.
https://3downnation.com/2021/12/30/b-c- ... il-norman/

[B.C.FAN]

The Lions have been busy this week. They’ve re-signed national DB Hakeem Johnson and long-snapper Tanner Doll. Johnson was their primary backup cornerback and performed well in extended playing time at the end of the season.

https://www.bclions.com/2021/12/31/lion ... m-johnson/

[Hambone]

That takes care of 25% of their pending FAs. Most teams seem to be focusing on securing their depth guys, especially NAT depth, so far. In terms of retaining pending FAs that is probably the low hanging fruit. The stars tend to be harder negotiations that take time.

[SammyGreene]

That takes care of 25% of their pending FAs. Most teams seem to be focusing on securing their depth guys, especially NAT depth, so far. In terms of retaining pending FAs that is probably the low hanging fruit. The stars tend to be harder negotiations that take time.

The Lions turn the calendar with three 2021 starters signed (Flintof, Chungh, Rhymes). I'm just hoping Chungh wasn't that great of priority but rather the contract made sense for both sides to get it done.
Do they see Norman as a potential starter for say Figueroa or even Godber if they tweak their ratio on the o-line?
Regardless, plenty of heavy lifting to do over the next month prior to free agency and that includes some existing contracts they may want to walk away from. Durant? Sayles?
And of course we need to know about Reilly's future.

I recall Campbell saying they were about 5-6 new starters away from where they need to be. I'm guessing the bulk of that is the interior lines.

[Qman]

That takes care of 25% of their pending FAs. Most teams seem to be focusing on securing their depth guys, especially NAT depth, so far. In terms of retaining pending FAs that is probably the low hanging fruit. The stars tend to be harder negotiations that take time.

The Lions turn the calendar with three 2021 starters signed (Flintof, Chungh, Rhymes). I'm just hoping Chungh wasn't that great of priority but rather the contract made sense for both sides to get it done.
Do they see Norman as a potential starter for say Figueroa or even Godber if they tweak their ratio on the o-line?
Regardless, plenty of heavy lifting to do over the next month prior to free agency and that includes some existing contracts they may want to walk away from. Durant? Sayles?
And of course we need to know about Reilly's future.

I recall Campbell saying they were about 5-6 new starters away from where they need to be. I'm guessing the bulk of that is the interior lines.

I assume they went after whitehead and burnham first with offers and got nowhere. Then decide to use 2021 cap space on depth guys. Makes sense, you lose the free money January 1, why waste it.

[Hambone]

The Lions turn the calendar with three 2021 starters signed (Flintof, Chungh, Rhymes). I'm just hoping Chungh wasn't that great of priority but rather the contract made sense for both sides to get it done.
Do they see Norman as a potential starter for say Figueroa or even Godber if they tweak their ratio on the o-line?
Regardless, plenty of heavy lifting to do over the next month prior to free agency and that includes some existing contracts they may want to walk away from. Durant? Sayles?
And of course we need to know about Reilly's future.

I recall Campbell saying they were about 5-6 new starters away from where they need to be. I'm guessing the bulk of that is the interior lines.

I could see them walking away from Durant and making that money available to Cottoy. No way is Durant returning at $175K. It is a bit of a shame though. He was well on his way to a 1000 yard season in 2019 before getting hurt. He hasn't been able to stay out of the tub since.

Sayles though wasn't signed until Jan 2021, after the strong recommendations were made to work closer to the cap floor. As such I think his deal that still has 2 years remaining at $120K has already been new market adjusted.

[SammyGreene]

Interesting to see the money the Lions spent on free agency in 2020 prior to COVID and Hervey’s last time as GM.

So a 1-yr $190,000 deal for Micha Johnson of which $100,000 was an upfront signing bonus. Did he have to give that back when the season didn’t happen? I guess Campbell/McEvoy wanted no part of that deal, even pro-rated.

4) Micah Johnson, American defensive lineman, B.C. Lions
General manager Ed Hervey remade the Leos’ defensive front, which was focused around Johnson. A hefty signing bonus of $100,000 is the big part of Johnson’s $190,000 pact with B.C. If Johnson plays over 51 percent of the defensive snaps in 15 or more games there is another $5,000 that will be added to the deal.

6) Ryker Mathews, American offensive lineman, B.C. Lions
In an effort to better protect franchise quarterback Mike Reilly, the Lions signed the standout tackle away from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Mathews is set to earn $170,000 in hard money from B.C., serving as a bookend opposite Joel Figueroa.

7) Chris Casher, American defensive lineman, B.C. Lions
Casher was part of the youth movement on the Lions’ defensive line. Seven sacks in 2019 netted the 26-year-old $145,000 total with $50,000 up front in the form of a signing bonus. Hervey appears to have replaced Odell Willis with Casher as his top pass rusher.

HM: J.R. Tavai, American defensive lineman, B.C. Lions
A strong sophomore CFL season paid off for Tavai as he’ll earn $125,000 in 2020 in Vancouver.

[B.C.FAN]

Interesting to see the money the Lions spent on free agency in 2020 prior to COVID and Hervey’s last time as GM.

So a 1-yr $190,000 deal for Micha Johnson of which $100,000 was an upfront signing bonus. Did he have to give that back when the season didn’t happen? I guess Campbell/McEvoy wanted no part of that deal, even pro-rated.

4) Micah Johnson, American defensive lineman, B.C. Lions
General manager Ed Hervey remade the Leos’ defensive front, which was focused around Johnson. A hefty signing bonus of $100,000 is the big part of Johnson’s $190,000 pact with B.C. If Johnson plays over 51 percent of the defensive snaps in 15 or more games there is another $5,000 that will be added to the deal.

6) Ryker Mathews, American offensive lineman, B.C. Lions
In an effort to better protect franchise quarterback Mike Reilly, the Lions signed the standout tackle away from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Mathews is set to earn $170,000 in hard money from B.C., serving as a bookend opposite Joel Figueroa.

7) Chris Casher, American defensive lineman, B.C. Lions
Casher was part of the youth movement on the Lions’ defensive line. Seven sacks in 2019 netted the 26-year-old $145,000 total with $50,000 up front in the form of a signing bonus. Hervey appears to have replaced Odell Willis with Casher as his top pass rusher.

HM: J.R. Tavai, American defensive lineman, B.C. Lions
A strong sophomore CFL season paid off for Tavai as he’ll earn $125,000 in 2020 in Vancouver.

What a bust. Tavai is the only one of those players who saw regular playing time as a Lion, and he recorded just 2 sacks, 15 tackles and a forced fumble in 2021.

[Hambone]

I assume they went after whitehead and burnham first with offers and got nowhere. Then decide to use 2021 cap space on depth guys. Makes sense, you lose the free money January 1, why waste it.

Just an observation regarding Burnham. When he has been a pending FA he has never agreed to terms until literally the final few hours before becoming a free agent.

[SammyGreene]

Whitehead is THE top signing priority for the Lions. It has been quite some time since the Lions have had a player as explosive as Lucky, and who can in an instant get people up and out of their seats, cheering. He is needed to be the face of the franchise and his quirky, off the wall personality is a good fit for that roll.

Couldn't agree more. And the sooner they can start using them in their off-season promotions the better. I think if he reaches free agency he is gone.

Looking at the highest paid receivers in the league last season. Edmonton (#1 Walker $180,000) and the Riders (#3 Evans $165,000) could easily use those slots on Whitehead instead.
https://3downnation.com/2021/10/13/the- ... receivers/
I'm thinking it will take $200,000 to get it done ahead of time, given his ability to return kicks too. He will turn 30 in June so commit 2 years to him or even a 3rd if it gets it done.

[B.C.FAN]

I don’t think any non-QB will get paid $200,000 this year but the Lions have Lemar Durant under contract for $175,000, and I don’t know where he fits in the 2022 lineup.