Simon traded to Riders

[TheLionKing]

As nice as it would have been for the franchise to see Geroy retire as BC Lion, the reality of the CFL SMS and roster size was not going to let that happen. At the end of the day both WB/Lions and Geroy made the decision that was in each party's best interests. About the only thing I find surprising is that this trade happened on the heels of ABIII getting released. I really thought that move was an indication that Geroy was going to be re-signed.

Given everything that Geroy has accomplished during his career as a Lion it should be a no brainer to retire #81 when Geroy does decide to end his playing career.

Geroy will retire as a BC Lion. Dennis Skulsky said he will sign Simon on a one day contract to retire as a Lion.

[rb]

Good luck to Geroy. My favourite memory of him is from a game in Regina, maybe about four years ago, during which he had been thrown to only sparingly. With the Lions down by a few points and only a minute or two remaining, he broke free deep to haul in the winning TD pass, and when he got back to the sideline after being mobbed by his teammates, he passed by Wally and screamed "JUST GET ME THE F____N' BALL!!" Wally sort of did a double-take but it was all good.

A terrific player and a good guy in the community.

[MexicoLionFan]

Its a crazy moment in Lion's history, so reading the comments of frustration and opposition are understood, but not agreed with...

Wally did EVERYTHING the right way...he sat down with Geroy to discuss his new role, and a salary that would reflect this role...Geroy did not agree to it, and Wally worked out a trade to a competitive team where he will get a lot of reps (depending on whether or not he can stay healthy in Saskatchewan...I don't think he will)...what more do you want??? Courtney Taylor was an active NFL receiver before his medical issues...he is healthy now, and he was our best receiver last season in the limited time he got to play...Nick Moore was our smoothest receiver last year, and was the one guy consistently open...Shawn Gore was Lulay's favourite target and was the best at YAC...Iannuzzi is a star in the making...Ernest Jackson showed some big time flashes of talent...Akeem Foster should be starting but can't find a space available...and the Canadian on the practice roster, Keith Godding, was outstanding in pre season last year and spent all year on the practise roster...WE HAVE THE NECESSARY TALENT AT WR...and with the money that is now available, we will have enough to sign Gore and RT Jovan Olafoye...and I would MUCH rather have Gore and Olafoye, plus a 3rd round draft pick and an NFL drafted receiver in place of Simon and Bruce!

That isn't being mean or cruel, its being honest...Lulay and our Offence was at its best with Bruce and Simon out of the lineup...and when they both came back into the lineup, we got hammered in the WF...I stated before that game that they SHOULD NOT HAVE PLAYED in front of Taylor and Moore, but they did and the rest is history.

Geroy Simon is the best WR in Lion's history and one of the greatest to ever play in the CFL...he is a class person on and off the field, and he will be missed, BUT JUST NOT ON THE FIELD...and you be angry all you want with this decision, but to those who manage the Lions and know football, it was the RIGHT MOVE!

Now Wally has to get to work re signing Gore and Olafoye, be successful in FA to shore up the OLine and execute another very good CIS draft...

[TheLionKing]

It was probably a tough decision for Wally but in the end I think it's the correct move. Somewhat surprise though that Geroy was traded to a team in the same conference.

[Toppy Vann]

Beyond pissed off...If there's one dude in the league that you give free reign to, it's #81. Money issue? Find the money. Playing time? He gets it. Wants to watch the practices in street clothes, let him.

Not at all a fan of this decision, Wally.

You know he's going to absolutely light us up this year, right?

I don't always agree with some decisions (like Jason Clermont or Antonio Warren) by Wally over the years but despite not wanting seeing Geroy going to any other team I understand the Lion's brain trust and their thinking here.

I am not sure about a restructured deal and if it offended Geroy or what was offered but one insight I think I have into Wally's thinking is this:

At times it is far better to just let a player or employee move on versus have them stay at a lesser salary or reduced role. This of course varies by person but some people simply are not very good in accepting that sort of change. I think Geroy might not want any reduced role and might - unlike Paris Jackson - be happy taking that on despite knowing inside you should play more.

These things in football work one of two ways it seems. Either it rejuvenates and fires the player up or if the fit is not right and the new HC doesn't like what he is seeing can blow up and be career ending.

I am convinced that the move of Joe Smith to the Bombers for Charles Roberts ruined a good career far too soon. Granted the Bombers coaching staff was a mess then and they too got fired.

This TSN story and question is a good question that I am sure the Lions have decided is not an issue for them:

THE ROUGE: CAN LIONS OVERCOME LOSS OF VETERAN LEADERSHIP?

BEN FISHER, TSN.CA

That said, the move wasn't entirely out of the blue. Simon will turn 38 next season and injuries limited him to 54 catches and 700 yards last year, the first time in 10 years the Maryland product didn't eclipse the 1,000-yard receiving mark.

Removing Simon's large salary from the books also helps afford necessary contract extensions that GM Wally Buono had to give out, such as the one given to quarterback Travis Lulay that will keep him in BC through 2015.

Still, Simon is a well-respected veteran in the league and a legend in Vancouver. The slotback is just 29 catches shy of former Alouette Ben Cahoon's CFL-record 1,017 career receptions, a record he'll more than likely break while wearing a green jersey.

http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=414376

I do think this is a sad issue to think how the SMS is such a driver of these moves.

[joewillie63]

I wish Geroy all the best with the riders. He was the best receiver in the CFL for years,but has lost a step or two in my opinion.

On a personal brighter note my wife just presented me with a Willie Fleming retro-jersey. Too cool. Now I have to figure out how to get Willie to sign it.

[Johnnycopy]

Yep, it's now official. WOW!!

In exchange, the Riders have sent import receiver Justin Harper and a 3rd Round pick in the 2014 Canadian College Draft to the B.C. Lions.

http://www.riderville.com/article/rider ... eroy-simon

Who the heck is Justin Harper ?

A reciever who looked ok in pre season, then couldnt crack the lineup during the year. Expectation was he was going to get cut.

[TheLionKing]

Thanks for the info. I would have liked to see a young Canadian offensive lineman coming back but I guess Brendan Taman wasn't going for that deal.

[Hawkballer 14]

Gonna be a bigger crowd than usual for the first Riders game. Should be fun. I hope they mic up both Simon and Banks for that game.

Cheers,

James

Please make that happen. KB24 v 81, could sell that trashtalk on PPV.

[Hawkballer 14]

Thanks for the info. I would have liked to see a young Canadian offensive lineman coming back but I guess Brendan Taman wasn't going for that deal.

Wally probably asked, but Brendan said: "Would you rather have to release him and get nothing in return?"

Of all the teams, it HAD to be the Riders....

[TheLionKing]

Of all the teams, it HAD to be the Riders....

Ditto

[Caveman_2]

Sorry Lions fans but I'm really looking forward to the first one of these...

[Blitz]

I was shocked at the news of the trade. I didn't anticipate any team trading for Geroy and if a team wanted him they would wait for his release. I''m pleased that we got a big wide receiver with potential and a third round draft choice.

This trade works out well for both parties. Geroy did not want to be a depth player and mentor fo this season. He will get to play and likely break a nunber of the records that he wants to break. Those next records he breaks will happen in a Rider uniform and for us Leo fans there will be a sadness to that. Geroy still feels that he is a primary starting receiver in the league and will get a chance to prove so.

For our Leos the time was now to go with a younger set of receivers who have tremendous potential. Courtney Taylor and Nick Moore need to play and we will have two big, fast, strong receivers (and likely more) competing for the short side wide receiver spot. The trade also frees up SMS space to sign a free agent lineman and to sign others. The trade allows us to address an important need on the offensive line. Lulay's new contract also impacted the SMS.

Once Geroy retires, he will return to B.C. and will surely be recognized at B.C. Place as one of our great Leos ever, as he deserves to be.

[WestCoastJoe]

Willes: 'Emotionally, I'm still a B.C. Lion,' says choked Geroy on going to Saskatchewan. 'That's what's tough'

By Ed Willes, The Province January 24, 2013

Willes: 'Emotionally, I'm still a B.C. Lion,' says choked Geroy on going to Saskatchewan. 'That's what's tough'

In over 20 years as a coach and general manager in the CFL, Wally Buono had never done this for another player.

He didn’t do it for Doug Flutie, Allen Pitts or Alondra Johnson in Calgary. He didn’t do it when Dave Dickenson left the B.C. Lions. And he didn’t do it last year when Brent Johnson retired after a storybook finish to his career with the Leos.

All those players had bled for Buono. All were a huge part of his success. And in all those cases, a decision was made, and Buono moved on.

But not this time.

Not with Geroy Simon.

"There aren’t too many guys who’ve had this kind of influence on the fans, the organization, the market," said the B.C. Lions’ general manager. "Geroy is a superstar on the field and off the field. Just because we couldn’t come to an agreement doesn’t mean you discard him and move on."

Even though that, in effect, is what happened on Thursday.

"This is a tough day," Simon said in a private moment. "I’m leaving the place I’ve been the last 12 years. This is all I’ve known.

"I’ve got a special relationship with (the Lions) and that’s not going to change. We did it this way because we didn’t want it to look like there are any bad feelings. There aren’t. It’s something that had to be done."

And now he moves on to Saskatchewan — and football fans in this province are left to wonder at what they’ve lost.

On a strange day, it was a strange sight to see Buono and Simon, sitting side by side, expressing their unconditional love and respect for each other while the great receiver’s playing career was ending in this town.

In his opening remarks, Buono said he felt like he was attending a funeral. Later, he said it was like a great marriage that ends amicably, with the parties going their separate ways.

In reality, it was a bit of both. It was also a love-in for Simon, who leaves as the greatest Lion of them all.

But, for all the emotion of this day, there was still one question hanging in the air: Did it have to come to this? And, despite some sincere attempts by both Buono and Simon to explain the situation, that one was never fully answered.

This, after all, wasn’t the wrong football decision. The law of diminishing returns was setting in with Simon last year and the issue became how quickly his marvelous skills would erode. Buono would have loved to have him back in a reduced role at a reduced salary.

But, Simon being Simon, said he’s still "a 1,500-yard receiver," and you don’t have the career he’s had unless you have a great deal of pride, ego and confidence.

"I don’t accept mediocrity," he said. "So, yeah, because I wasn’t going to accept a mediocre role it led to this.

"I was never told exactly what (that role would be). (The reduced) salary woke me up. There were a lot of parts to this."

That, at least, was the football aspect of this decision and Buono is seldom wrong when he assesses a player’s expiry date. But there were also a lot of parts to this from the Lions’ point of view, and that’s what made this day and this decision so difficult.

One of Buono’s first moves with the Lions was to make Simon the feature receiver in his offence. During their nine years together, the Lions went 101-60-1, won two Grey Cups and Simon became the CFL’s all-time leader in receiving yards. They built something, these two men, something strong, and it wasn’t easy to walk away from it.

"Will there be another Superman?" Buono said, referring to Simon’s gridiron alter-ego. "I don’t think so."

Simon, for his part, talked about his 12 years with the Lions, his relationships with longtime teammates Dante Marsh, Korey Banks, Angus Reid and Johnson. You can throw trainer Bill Reichelt and equipment manager Kato Kasuya in there, too.

"They’re not blood," Simon said. "But they’re like my brothers. We’re friends for life. I’ll miss that more than anything."

But, like so many things, it’s all changed after Thursday.

"You have to separate the emotional side from the business side," Simon said. "Emotionally, I’m still a B.C. Lion. That’s what’s tough."

Tough on him. Tough on Buono. And tough on every football fan in this province.

Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/sports/Wille ... z2J02xxZLB