Yikes! Lions 2024 potential free agents

[don corleone]

Almondo Sewell asking for his release seems like it might be due to knowing he might not be in their plans next season.

Article says it might be a ratio change.

Montreal Alouettes grant veteran DT Almondo Sewell his release
By Justin Dunk -February 8, 2024

The 37-year-old had one year remaining on his contract with the team and was scheduled to make $145,000 in hard money, but will now hit the market after requesting his release. He played in 16 games for the Alouettes in 2023, registering 14 tackles and one sack while helping the franchise hoist their eighth Grey Cup.

https://3downnation.com/2024/02/08/mont ... do-sewell/

Whose plans is he in was my first thought. Darnell Sankey commented on Sewells contribution as a significant part of their defense.

[Toppy Vann]

Also noted is where BC sits at QB with VA, Chase Brice and Dominique Davis.

Only QBs on the board are Dakota Prukop WPG, Kai Locksley (HAM) and Nick Arbuckle (OTT).
If BC is interested the first two look better picks than Arbuckle who is kind of like the unpredictable Dane Evans and both were inexplicable as to why.

https://www.cfl.ca/2024/02/07/where-doe ... ee-agency/

CFL FA Tracker:

https://www.cfl.ca/fa24/

I'd fall of my barstool if Davis was signed for one more year. In addition to the options you mentioned there is also Rider pending FA Jake Dolegala and Taylor Cornelius who is already a FA having been released by Edmonton last month.

I missed Dolegala and I guess because Cornelius was released not technically on the pending FA list.
I also neglected Dominique Davis who is on the list.


Who should BC pursue as Brice is a very unknown player knew to the CFL.

Prokup
Dolegala
Locksley
Cornelius (technically not a FA but released)

Or resign Dom Davis who seemed out of sorts on short yardage and BC lacked an actual decent short yard game.

[don corleone]

Those 2 catches for 17 yards he had against BC with Mason Fine at the helm must have left quite an impression on you.

More than the two receptions in Montreal Awachie made a great, possible touchdown saving, special teams tackle late in the year maybe against Calgary. I made sure to check who it was and here I am now.
Jake Harty might be just as good.

It will be interesting to see how special teams evolve given the likelihood of changes to the kickoffs after TD that appear to be coming. The days of those specialists may be coming to an end.

[Hambone]

And Montreal did just that to flip their DT ratio. They released Sewell and have agreed to terms with Calgary's Derek Wiggan.

[Hambone]

Those 2 catches for 17 yards he had against BC with Mason Fine at the helm must have left quite an impression on you.

More than the two receptions in Montreal Awachie made a great, possible touchdown saving, special teams tackle late in the year maybe against Calgary. I made sure to check who it was and here I am now.
Jake Harty might be just as good.

It will be interesting to see how special teams evolve given the likelihood of changes to the kickoffs after TD that appear to be coming. The days of those specialists may be coming to an end.

Are you mixing up Awachie and Tuck? 2 of Awachie's 3 catches last year were at BC Place with the other vs Toronto. He's never caught a ball vs Montreal. I'd probably take Tuck over Awachie if it wasn't for him being 2 years older.

Hard to guess what might happen re: KO changes. It could have a bigger impact on the value of returners than the coverage and return teams. Regardless the punting rules won't be changing and there's a lot more punt returns than KO returns.

[Hambone]

I missed Dolegala and I guess because Cornelius was released not technically on the pending FA list.
I also neglected Dominique Davis who is on the list.

Yeah the pending FA list is just that. A list of players who as of the date it's released were on contracts set to expire in Feb. Cornelius, like Rhymes, was under contract until Feb 2025. They don't add such players to the FA Tracker because they are immediately FAs when released, not pending FAs.

[Toppy Vann]

And Montreal did just that to flip their DT ratio. They released Sewell and have agreed to terms with Calgary's Derek Wiggan.

That was quick and he has big shoes to fill.

The Alouettes released veteran American defensive tackle Almondo Sewell earlier on Thursday, signalling a potential ratio shift at the position. The team is looking to fill a void after Canadian defensive end Lwal Uguak signed with the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers last month.

Any chance he'll not stick and return as this is not an easy replacement given his productivity?

The six-foot-four, 261-pound defender earned a starting role with the Alouettes this past season, recording 17 tackles and four sacks. He had five tackles in the East Semi-Final, one tackle in the East Final, and five tackles in the 110th Grey Cup to help his club snap their championship drought.

https://3downnation.com/2024/01/30/cana ... uccaneers/

https://3downnation.com/2024/02/08/sour ... alouettes/

Good story on the CFL talent from SF coach:

San Francisco 49ers’ assistant Johnny Holland was ‘amazed at the talent’ while coaching in CFL
By 3Down Staff -February 9, 202

https://3downnation.com/2024/02/09/san- ... ng-in-cfl/

[Hambone]

The Alouettes released veteran American defensive tackle Almondo Sewell earlier on Thursday, signalling a potential ratio shift at the position. The team is looking to fill a void after Canadian defensive end Lwal Uguak signed with the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers last month.

Any chance he'll not stick and return as this is not an easy replacement given his productivity?

The six-foot-four, 261-pound defender earned a starting role with the Alouettes this past season, recording 17 tackles and four sacks. He had five tackles in the East Semi-Final, one tackle in the East Final, and five tackles in the 110th Grey Cup to help his club snap their championship drought.

Always a chance. However he does have that combination of youth (turning 24 next month) and athleticism that NFL clubs like when signing CFL guys. They may look at him as raw but being well worth keeping around on the PS to develop.

[don corleone]

Are you mixing up Awachie and Tuck? 2 of Awachie's 3 catches last year were at BC Place with the other vs Toronto. He's never caught a ball vs Montreal. I'd probably take Tuck over Awachie if it wasn't for him being 2 years older.

Hard to guess what might happen re: KO changes. It could have a bigger impact on the value of returners than the coverage and return teams. Regardless the punting rules won't be changing and there's a lot more punt returns than KO returns.

Last post on the topic:

To confuse Awachie with John Tuck would be like confusing Nick Nolte with Eddie Murphy in 48 hours.

My initial comment related to Keenan LaFrance as a pending free agent and the possibility he may not be back.

Awachie's main attributes are size and athletic ability. 30 pounds heavier than Jevon Cottoy. I may have over stated his role as a special teamer as CFL.ca has only one special teams tackle credited to him playng Edmonton on Sept 15.

I went so far as to review the game highlights hoping to find a replay for you but too many other good plays to make the reel perhaps. It was a big comeback win for the Elks and watching made me think Kevin Brown will be a contender for the rushing title this year. The other guy that had a great game was Jamal Morrow. Toronto could do worse imo. Awachie shows up on the Morrow carries.

On that note for anyone interested all game highlights can be found at CFL.ca under Video on the main header. Further note that they can be addicting.

LaFrances roster spot likely goes to a first year player. We'll see what they do.

With all due respect you have been critical of every player I have mentioned on this board so far this off season, Cam Phillips excepted, including William Stanback. I get that it is a popular thing to do on CFL forums.

[SammyGreene]

Oh boy! So with Baron's release that's about $350,000 of cap space to spend on FAs?

Farhan TSN: I’m hearing that there is a real possibility that Matthieu Betts will agree to a futures contract in the NFL with the Detroit Lions. This is not done yet, he’s not able to sign until next week, but multiple sources tell me it’s headed in that direction. #CFLFA
@SportsCentre

[Hambone]

Oh boy! So with Baron's release that's about $350,000 of cap space to spend on FAs?

Farhan TSN: I’m hearing that there is a real possibility that Matthieu Betts will agree to a futures contract in the NFL with the Detroit Lions. This is not done yet, he’s not able to sign until next week, but multiple sources tell me it’s headed in that direction. #CFLFA
@SportsCentre

I've been starting to wonder if the crickets on Betts could point to something coming thru in terms of NFL interests.

[Hambone]

I'm hoping when it comes to Stove that his 2nd achilles injury was a case of pushing too hard to come back too early from the first. If I recall the first one happened in April and the 2nd came as he was trying to make it back at the end of October. That's only 6 months to recover from an injury that typically takes 10. He's now 15 months removed from the 2nd.

[Hambone]

Maybe in hindsight this will all make sense. It seemed puzzling that BC would make the sort of offer they did to Oliviera while supposedly still courting Betts for likely even more money. I had dismissed the idea BC would be in on the other 2 backs who might be available in Stanback and Carey partly due to concerns of age and possibly declining play but mostly because I didn't think they'd have to cap room once they doled out what should have been huge or at least significant raises to Hollins, Cottoy, Hatcher, Hladik, Woods and Tuehema. Edwards-Cooper also would have been due a healthy bump. I doubt releasing Rhymes, not bringing back Lucky and redoing a couple of contracts were going to cover all that.

So while we were all concerned about Montreal and Hamilton wondering if before they made the pitch to Oliviera they didn't already know Betts was going to sign a deal with the Lions, just not the BC Lions?

[SammyGreene]

So while we were all concerned about Montreal and Hamilton wondering if before they made the pitch to Oliviera they didn't already know Betts was going to sign a deal with the Lions, just not the BC Lions?

Has me wondering too. And what prompted Baron's release? Yes, slated to make $150,000 this coming season but was 2nd on the team in sacks (8) and if you believe in the PFF numbers ranked 3rd in the league among defensive lineman.

The Lions also saved cash last season when they abruptly released Jonathon Kongbo who was due to make the same as Baron and it included a $20,000 signing bonus. They went with Tuehema on his entry deal instead after earlier releasing Shawn Lemon.

I have a hard time believing they will head into tomorrow with about $360,000 of freed up cap space from a year ago (Betts 2023 salary included) and it won't be used on experienced DE. They also need to address their secondary with some proven vets available.

[Toppy Vann]

I'd trust Farhan to get the inside scoop that if he knows, the BC Lions must have known too.


Here's the 2024 Detroit Lions Futures Contract signings to date and what it means at the end:

https://www.prideofdetroit.com/2024/1/3 ... -offseason

I don't follow the NFL closely and didn't realize how they track Futures Contracts for their teams off season until today.

In the offseason, teams are allowed to expand their active rosters to 90 players, but the rosters technically do not expand until the start of the league's new year, which coincides with the opening of free agency on March 13 in 2024.

While players currently on team’s 53-man rosters remain under contract and can’t sign with another team until mid-March, players on practice squads see their contracts expire seven days after their team completes its season. That means the players on the Lions 2023-24 practice squad were set to become “street free agents” (available to sign a contract immediately) in less than a week.

Check out the Detroit Lion contracts including Reserve/Futures. Big dollars::

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/detroit-lions/contracts/