Free Agent Market and Free Agent Camps

[B.C.FAN]

The respective natures of the two jobs are conducive to being able to balance both. With the Canadian stock market opening at 6:00am Pacific the day for a typical investment advisor typically begins about that time. I don't know when Lion practices start. According to the CBA they can either start between 8:30am and 9:00am or not until after 1:30pm until 4:00pm. Suffice it to say if it's the latter Iannuzzi can put in a significant portion of a day's work at the office before it's time to make the 20 minute drive from the office to the practice facility.

In recent years the Lions have always practised in the mornings. That leaves afternoons and evenings available for Iannuzzi to meet with clients, which is probably ideal for most clients.

[Hambone]

with free agency now 24 hours away, I'm curious to see who would be on everyone's free agent wish list. Wally does deserve credit for being able to retain most of his free agents. With our starting o line intact, most of our receivers returning, the only remaining big names on our list are BRooks and Yell. I would love to have both of them back, and if we do resign them we really don't have any big holes to fill. Anyway as of this morning here are the free agents I would go after:
1.Drake Nevis. He is a big nose tackle type that we really need I would love to see him play nose tackle, and if we resign Brooks to play him at 3 tech
2. One of John Ojo, Abdul Kaneh, or Emmanuel Davis. But only if we do not sign Yell first.
3. Winston Veneble, to replace Bighill although we do have some promising young internationals who deserve a shot.
Other than that we really don't have any glaring needs.

Wally's priority has always been to build from within to the point where free agency is used to fill very specific needs. Unless he has what he feels is a gaping hole he tends to lean towards players younger players as opposed to the thirtysomethings. A full third of the 133 available players are already 30. The names you mentioned all fit the typical Buono target demographic. Another thing Wally has leveraged at times is the Lions' proximity to the northwest US. BC does carry some attraction to natives of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and to a lesser extent northern California and Montana. Players like Brandon Stewart and Ben Archibald come to mind. There doesn't seem like many fit that bill other than Aaron Lavarios who played in Idaho and hails from Seattle suburb Woodinville. Bomber pending FA Khalil Bass is from Encino, CA and played at Portland State. He could be a consideration along with Venable if Wally wants a veteran to fill Bighill's spot. My gut feel is he will prefer to go with one of those young guys or perhaps another young guy yet to be signed if anything as part of normal turnover to avoid a position group from getting all old at the same time. SoleE is 30. Venable turns 30 next month. Bass turns 27 in June. Going with a younger rookie would also put him in a better position to deal with a possible Bighill return at Labour Day than if he were to sign Venable or Bass at money likely not much less than Bighill.

My gut feel is Buono's targets will be a nose tackle type such as Nevis or perhaps Euclid Cummings. He may look for a younger back to play the Anthony Allen role this year. Overall I don't see him being as active as last year. I think the bulk of his work has been done by retaining the players he did with activity on the open market being driven by making good value acquisitions; those second tier types who cost less but still have upside.

[B.C.FAN]

Brooks has been re-signed, according to Farhan Lajlji.

Farhan Lalji ‏@FarhanLaljiTSN

#BCLions have signed Mic'hael Brooks to a 2 year deal. #CFLFA @CFLonTSN

[DanoT]

Brooks has been re-signed, according to Farhan Lajlji.

Farhan Lalji ‏@FarhanLaljiTSN

#BCLions have signed Mic'hael Brooks to a 2 year deal. #CFLFA @CFLonTSN

This is great news and will soften the blow if Westerman goes elsewhere as it now looks like Turner and Brooks will be the starting DTs.

[B.C.FAN]

The remaining pieces of the puzzle seem to be falling into place.

NEWS 1130 Sports ‏@NEWS1130Sport
Marco Ianuzzi has agreed to terms with #BCLions.

NEWS 1130 Sports ‏@NEWS1130Sports
Ronnie Yell says he got new offer and is close to signing with #BCLions

That would just leave Sinkfield, Westerman and Allen to seek greener pastures elsewhere in the CFL.

[SammyGreene]

Brooks has been re-signed, according to Farhan Lajlji.

Farhan Lalji ‏@FarhanLaljiTSN

#BCLions have signed Mic'hael Brooks to a 2 year deal. #CFLFA @CFLonTSN

This is great news and will soften the blow if Westerman goes elsewhere as it now looks like Turner and Brooks will be the starting DTs.

A very productive weekend for the Lions with Burnham and now Brooks locked up. Wonder if Johnson re-signing in Calgary triggered the Lions to be more aggressive in keeping Brooks.

Could have sworn Craig Roh was a FA too and thought not seeing his name anywhere meant the Lions weren't interested in re-signing him. But he isn't on the CFL Free Agent Tracker. Guess he signed a 3-year deal in 2015 or I just missed him re-signing.

[B.C.FAN]

Ronnie Yell has agreed to terms, according to Justin Dunk of 3downnation.com. Wally has been busy!

The B.C. Lions have agreed to terms with veteran defensive back Ronnie Yell.

The 25-year-old Yell has played 43 games over three seasons with the B.C. Lions registering 104 tackles and four interceptions. He can play multiple positions in the secondary.

He’s just the latest in a flurry of moves by B.C. Lions general manager Wally Buono who, in addition to Yell, has reportedly locked up defensive tackle Mic’hael Brooks and Canadian receiver Marco Iannuzzi on the eve of free agency.

[WestCoastJoe]

Good news re Brooks, Yell and Iannuzzi.

In the opinion of this fan, Brooks has good at times, not necessarily great. He did make West Division All-Star in 2015.

Only 25 years old.

Possibly undersized for inside DL work, without a true nose tackle type beside him.

Sometimes listed at 6'3'' 275. Other times at 295.

A good signing though. Possible we might not even have seen the best of him.

Do we bring in a nose tackle type? Ala Tyrone Williams or Khalif Mitchell.

This fan thinks Iannuzzi has not been put in position where observers can even judge what he is capable of. Seems to have good hands. Can run after catch.

[CardiacKid]

A quick glance at the free agency tracker on the CFL site certainly gives the impression that Wally was working with the most urgency amongst his peers. I would have to say (without actually crunching the numbers) the Lions have the largest percentage of their potential free agents either resigned, extended or released...some form of resolved status.

Unsurprisingly, Toronto looks to have made little progress while Hamilton hasn't advanced much either. I will be most interested in how active the Riders will be; will their focus be on getting their FAs back in the fold or will they poach other teams (and by potential extension, have another revolving-door season)?

So is Wally the early bird that gets the worm? Namely an upgrade to the defensive line?

[B.C.FAN]

Mike Beamish sums up the flurry of Lions' activity before the deadline and predicts the Lions will not be major buyers in free agency this year.

Mike Beamish: Lions will wade cautiously into CFL free-agent pool this time around

[SammyGreene]

Ianuzzi dissing NEWS1130 saying he has not signed with the Lions yet.
Hey Marco why not just reply to one of their "40 texts" or whatever they sent you and verify your status rather than criticizing one of the few media people in this town that actually care about CFL free agency.

[DanoT]

Ianuzzi dissing NEWS1130 saying he has not signed with the Lions yet.
Hey Marco why not just reply to one of their "40 texts" or whatever they sent you and verify your status rather than criticizing one of the few media people in this town that actually care about CFL free agency.

Where or how is Iannuzzi dissing NEWS1130?

[The_Pauser]

Farhan Lalji believes the Lions could be in on Chris Williams.

[B.C.FAN]

Farhan Lalji believes the Lions could be in on Chris Williams.

That would be a huge upgrade on Sinkfield but it would also force a ratio change to bump Gore or Iannuzzi from the starting lineup if Arceneaux, Burnham and Moore are the three inside receivers. I don't see Wally making that move but I would welcome it.
UPDATE: Williams may miss the first half of the season due to injury so ratio considerations are secondary to structuring a contract that would fit under the cap and pay Williams based on games played.

[B.C.FAN]

This has been rumoured for a few days, and would complete the circle for Tony Burnett, who was pencilled in as Lions' nickelback in 2014 until he lost the job to Josh Johnson in rookie camp and never got it back. He eventually landed in Winnipeg for the past two seasons.

NEWS 1130 Sports ‏@NEWS1130Sports
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#BCLions have contacted the agent for linebacker Tony Burnett. Expect a deal to get done.

CFL free agency.

Although listed as a linebacker, Burnett is really a nickelback who played cornerback and safety at USC. He is undersized for the WILL spot but might be a good fit in a Mark Washington defence.