Jovan leaves the Den. Confirmation on Page 8.

[WestCoastJoe]

We get Foucault's rights? We don't make the trade conditional on a signed contract? Be nice if he walks.

We are giving Olafioye away for less than peanuts.

It is hard to see this as anything less than a desperate move. Olafioye has played at a Hall of Fame level up to this time. We give him away for the rights to a player that has never been a starter in the CFL, and who is not under contract.

Even if Foucault signs with the Lions, this fan sees it as a terrible deal.

Are we in such bad shape with the cap that we have to do this?

One cannot see this as dealing from strength. It seems to be some kind of desperate rolling of the dice. We know Wally always wants to be in good shape re the cap, but this seems ridiculous, If it comes to be, as sources suggest.

Hunter Steward for left tackle. Hope he stays healthy. Hope he can play up to the level he showed prior to injury. Hope we can back him up. Hope Dan Dorazio keeps things simple for the troops. Hope they play with confidence. Hope they stay healthy. Hope. Hope. Hope.

If Hunter Steward becomes a Rock of Gibraltar, as Jovan was, this could work just fine. Hope.

Some of us have had reservations about the work of Dan Dorazio at the best of times. Hope and hope some more.

Will we adjust our pass protection schemes, or just assume we can play long ball, with minimum focus on pressure release passing, swing passes, quick passes, high percentage passes, short passes, etc.? What if JJ gets dinged, hanging in the pocket, with minimal protection or schemes designed to protect the QB? Am I being somewhat alarmist? Yup. This could crumble. Last year our O Line was low on drama, just the way one likes it. JJ was phenomenal. But I don't think both of those things are guaranteed. One could say Olafioye was about as essential to our offensive success as Jonathon Jennings.

If this is about the cap, there must have been another way to solve that problem. Wally and Jovan signed a contract in good faith by both parties, and both parties have high regard for the other. This must be about the signing of Chris Williams and Swayze Waters, one suspects. That must have changed the cap situation. If it is not about money, then put Jovan back at right tackle, and develop the young Nats at left tackle, starting with Hunter Steward.

Pretty dayum good steal for the Alouettes.

Is it April 1st? Ha ha, Lions' fans, we were just kidding. Is it a bad dream? Nope.

Some fans will defend it, of course. And they might be right. Might. Some fans will feel some alarm. Some fans might want to debate a bit. I will try not to do that. It changes nothing. Good to read and hear other points of view, however.

Just IMO ... but gotta shake my head.

[Blitz]

Obviously, Montreal believed getting a future Hall of Famer, a CFL six seasons in a row CFL All-Star, and one one of the two best offensive lineman in Leos history was a good trade for a player that they didn't project as a starter for this season and wouldn't pay more than $80,000 for.

Montreal was also willing to pay Olifioye his contract money for this season and negotiate a longer deal. Montreal was willing to pay the contract money for Olifioye that we were willing to pay last season but not anymore.

I can certainly see the wisdom of moving Hunter Stewart out to left tackle. Its his natural position. He has long arms, he's athletic, he's powerful, and he's a National who can play the position. That decision allows us to play four Nationals on the offensive line.

Obviously Wally thought that Olifioye was worth his contract money when he signed him to an extension last season. All Olifioye did, after signing that extension, was switch to left tackle and become a CFL All-Star again, while playing a new position.

Wally could have switched Olifioye back to right tackle, the position he was named CFL Best Lineman playing as well as a CFL All-Star at each season he has played right tackle. We would have had four Nationals starting on the the offensive line for 2017 and the experienced leader of the offensive line in Olifioye back playing his old spot, opening holes for the running game and protecting our quarterbacks strong side.

But Wally had to reduce salary, a scenario he shoud not have gotten himself into. Wally's choice to reduce salary was to pressure Olifioye to take a salary cut or trade him if he wouldn't. Wally's worry about having a National to back up Steward likely played into this as well.

Facult is a left tackle. Steward is a left tackle. Steward is projected as the starter at left tackle. Trading for Facualt is not going to allow us to play more Internationals on the defensive line or at receiver if Facault is a backup. So, at this time, we have traded an incredibly talented, proven, healthy, loyal offensive lineman, one of our very best, a player who can play both tackle positions at a CFL All-Star level for essentially a backup National left tackle, who will not impact the starting ratio.

I would understand this trade much better if we were trading a six-time CFL All-Star International for a CFL National, if that National was coming here to start for us.

Yes, Facault was a CFL first round draft choice in 2015 but we could have drafted a backup National for left tackle at #3 in this year's draft or #7 in this year's draft and gotten a player of Facault's stature, so no need to trade for one.

The only way that Facault is a difference maker is if he could start at right tackle. That would give us five Nationals on the offensive line. But I don't think that is the plan. This is a season in which we have a lot of talent on offence. We would have been much stronger for 2017 with Olifioye starting, while also starting four Nationals than by having Antionio Johnson or some other International rookie playing the right tackle spot.

Facault should come cheaper than Olifioye but how much cheaper? How much will we save by trading Olifioye and his talents and proven health and character and leadership for a backup in Facault. Not enough that we couldn't have done this differently.

We signed some free agents this off-season that may have been too costly. Chris Williams will not likely be in a Leos uniform when Olifioye is still protecting his quarterback and blowing defenders off the line. Williams won't start the season and may not play for a chunk of the year, depending on how quickly he heals. He will likely be gone in two seasons.

The signing of Swayze Waters had some fans blowing Wally's horn but essentially all Wally did was outbid Hamilton for Waters. Wally shouldn't have been in the position of having to pay big bucks for a punter/kicker. All other CFL teams except for Winnipeg use Nationals for the punter/kicker position. Wally has not been able to develop one yet. He tried with O'Mahoney and Leone and failed. Whyte was traded. All other experiments have failed. Only the sigining of free agent McCallum worked out.

But signing Williams and Waters were understandable in that we needed a speed receiver to compliment Manny and Burnham even though Williams was an expensive decision. We needed a punter/kicker and Swayze has proven that he is a very good punter and decent field goal kicker. He cost us a lot of money but with a talented team for 2017, we couldn't go another season without someone reliable to kick field goals.

But we also signed free agents Buddy Jackson, Tony Burnett, DeQuin Evans, Dylan Ainsworth, and Matt Bucknor, who cost against the SMS as well as signed up Leo vet Marco Iannuzzi again as a receiver and we also have Nick Moore against the SMS.

Free agents are expensive. Did we really need to sign Tony Burnett as a free agent? Burnett is an undersized 210 pound linebacker who couldn't make our roster in 2014 and Burnett only had one sack, two forced fumbles and 56 tackles in 25 games with the Bombers in two seasons of play. The Bombers were not interested in paying Burnett the salary we offered and Dyshawn Davis looks much more suited to play the spot that Bighill left.

Buddy Jackson was released by the Calgary Stampeders after dressing for 6 games for Calgary in 2015. Jackson was also released after only starting six games for the Riders last season. Another free agent signing is questionable as well. Yes, we needed to find a replacement for Alex Bazzie but is Dequin Evans the solution as a free agent signing.

Evans was suspended twice for 4 and 8 games for breaking the NFL drug policy. He started 7 games for the Stamps in 2014, playing infrequently, and then played for Montreal last season and was injured for a chunk of the season. He has 3 CFL sacks in his CFL career - one sack while playing for Montreal.

Matt Bucknor was released by Winnipeg at the end of last season. We already have a National corner in Kenyan Parker slated for field corner and with talented Anthony Johnson did we really need to sign Bucknor? With International defensive backs as Ronnie Yell, Stephen Clarke, and Chandler Fenner on the roster and with the ability to sign talented defensive backs from down south, was the Buddy Jackson signing necessary?

We signed Nick Moore as our fourth receiver. He is more expensive than starting a rookie National. As the outside slot receiver, I like Nick Moore. He's silky smooth. But he's been injured a lot. We could have gone less expensiv e in that spot and there are many quality Internationals that could play a complimentary receiver position in our receiving lineup.

Most CFL teams would rather put their SMS money towards a very talented International offensive lineman than at the non-go-to receiver position. Ottawa was not willing to shell out bigger bucks for Chris Williams or Ernest Jackson, for example. We definitely did not need to go with Moore this season and could have used the money we will pay him to go towards continuing with Olifioye.

Finally, Marco Iannuzzi, as a six year National starter, costs more money than going with an Adekolu, Blazsco, or a Shaq Johnson. Iannuzzi has started since the 2011 season and during that entire stretch of 98 games, he has 107 receptions for 1,237 yards. It was time to transition to a younger National receiver.

When I look at those most of those signings, we would not be up against the cap if we had not signed two or three of them and most of them will not be difference makers and will likely be released in the future. Yet signing them, right now, has put us up against the cap and therefore pushed Buono to attempt to force a great offensive lineman to take a salary cut or be traded.

Perhaps, in the long run, this will work out, should Facault ever become a starter here in B.C. But right now he is a back up left tackle.

For 2017, we will be going with Antonio Johnson at right tackle or some other unproven International will beat him out, Olifioye will likely play many more seasons at a high level, and Facault will be backing up Steward, rather than having Olifioye here. We could have drafted for that backup left tackle spot.

This trade, as far as a starting lineup goes, for 2017, makes us weaker, not stronger. It trades away our best offensive lineman of the past six seasons and one of our all time great unnecessarily, except for the SMS scenario that Wally should not have gotten us in, so that we needed to reduce the salary of such a key player. Not good SMS management in my opinion. Should not have been necessary.

I also agree with David that this upcoming trade should have been big news in the media. Olifioye is one of our most decorated Leos of all time, in terms of recognition, awards, all-star nods, etc. He is in his prime as an offensive lineman and great offensive lineman are gold. The only International offensive lineman who come close to Olifioye's talent are Stanley Bryant and Derrick Dennis and both bolted for greener dollars whereas Olifioye has remained a loyal Leo.

Lets hope this all work out for us. Right now, it doesn't make any sense other than dollars. A team should not be in a situation where it has to ask such a great Leo, who wanted to be here and who was under contract, healthy, coming off another great season, to have to take a pay cut or be traded.

You win in the trenches.

[CardiacKid]

There needed to be waaaaaaay more meat on the bone with this deal. There needed to be extra bodies heading West if this was to be something better than pure highway robbery on the part of the Als. Additional O-linemen as injury cover, Gabriel Knapton for the dline, Chris Ackie for National depth....something.

Reed has to be rubbing his hands with glee on this.

And 9 times out 10 I think Wally gets it right with moving vets on but this has the stench of being a panic sell.

Baring Foucault becoming the next Chris Walby, we was robbed.

[OV - 54:40]

I agree this is a very suspect deal; and why wouldn't Wally find a way to keep a repeat all-star OT in the fold? - unless Jovan has some sort of new or re-emerging health issue that makes him questionable / this looks like Wally thinking he always knows best when to get rid of older or expensive players. We shall see.

Blitz - not sure where you get Foucault is only a left OT from? - that is not some written in stone thing - if Olifoyae can play at both OT spots - an OT talent should be able to adapt to either side IMO, and Foucault had a start in the NFL for the Panthers at OT (and their website back then says he played both left & right OT) = he might prove to be a great CFL OT yet, but is quite unproven. Him and Steward forming a strong NI duo at OT (Bourke & Perrett did it for the Als for years) would be sweet, but I still would rather have a proven vet like Jovan O starting and not be giving him away.

[maxlion]

As with any trade, there are question marks that only time will provide the answers to. Will Olafioye continue his all-star level play? For how long? Will Foucault reach his potential? Will we be able to keep him here for the longterm?

No doubt there is some risk, but hard to pass up the opportunity to acquire a younger, cheaper, and potentially outstanding National o lineman. No one is suggesting that Foucault is better than Olafioye, but the team may very well be better with Foucault than Olafioye.

Gutsy move by Wally. I like the trade. Got to make tough decisions if you want to be on top.

[Hambone]

As with any trade, there are question marks that only time will provide the answers to. Will Olafioye continue his all-star level play? For how long? Will Foucault reach his potential? Will we be able to keep him here for the longterm?

No doubt there is some risk, but hard to pass up the opportunity to acquire a younger, cheaper, and potentially outstanding National o lineman. No one is suggesting that Foucault is better than Olafioye, but the team may very well be better with Foucault than Olafioye.

Gutsy move by Wally. I like the trade. Got to make tough decisions if you want to be on top.

I'm sitting here at home looking at my Jovan Olafioye game worn helmet and jersey that I bought last year and I'm OK with the deal. As far as I'm concerned this move is driven by ratio, not SMS. There may be some SMS gains but I see them as residual benefit. I think of it as being a trade of Olafioye and Gore or Iannuzzi for Foucault and Williams or Moore. If Gore up and retires then remove his name and insert Adekolu, Blazko or Shaq J.

[DanoT]

As with any trade, there are question marks that only time will provide the answers to. Will Olafioye continue his all-star level play? For how long? Will Foucault reach his potential? Will we be able to keep him here for the longterm?

No doubt there is some risk, but hard to pass up the opportunity to acquire a younger, cheaper, and potentially outstanding National o lineman. No one is suggesting that Foucault is better than Olafioye, but the team may very well be better with Foucault than Olafioye.

Gutsy move by Wally. I like the trade. Got to make tough decisions if you want to be on top.

I'm sitting here at home looking at my Jovan Olafioye game worn helmet and jersey that I bought last year and I'm OK with the deal. As far as I'm concerned this move is driven by ratio, not SMS. There may be some SMS gains but I see them as residual benefit. I think of it as being a trade of Olafioye and Gore or Iannuzzi for Foucault and Williams or Moore. If Gore up and retires then remove his name and insert Adekolu, Blazko or Shaq J.

I am inclined to agree with you Hambone that this trade is mostly about the ratio. At first glance this looks like a risky move by Wally, moving on from one of the best OT in Lion history and replacing him with a backup for Steward at LT who you hope becomes a starter/star.

My inclination would be to play Steward at LT and Olafioye at RT and then draft a OT with the 3rd pick in the draft that a NAT.OT backup. However that is the more risky maneuver and by comparison Wally's trading Olafioye insures a NAT. OT in Foucalt that can most likely start if need be.

So, going forward, for 2017 the starting Oline is weaker, but depth is stronger.

[JohnHenry]

The Lions needed to make H. Steward the starter at LT. But they didn't want to pay Olifioyie $200k to play RT and needed to reneg or trade him away. The Lions also needed a National backup for Steward at LT, hence the Focault trade.

Perhaps the Lions should have got more in return for the six-time All-Star (the Lions also threw in a neg-lister the Als wanted) but the trade might have killed two birds with one stone...albeit weakening the OL this season.

The team mighthave been blindsided by the potential retirement of S. Gore. Losing Westerman (and Lokombo) meant the Lions needed another National starter...or two. They could insert another National OG to replace Steward, but that still leaves two National starters on defence.

On the face of it, the trade looks a bit one-sided in favour of the Als. Perhaps in hindsight it will make sense...with Wally calling in a future favour after making the Als rookie GM look good?

[OV - 54:40]

I really don't get the whole "ratio problem" thinking that Wally seems to be going with here and others seem to be agreeing with?

They want Foucault as depth/1-2 punch to go with Steward at one NI OT spot? Could have kept Jovon and instead drafted a good OT prospect to back-up Steward. And anyways, there are lots of potential NI starters on the roster now, plus good position in the draft to add to them - even with Wally's 7 only need apply thinking. Even if Gore is not available or Iannuzzi is not really a starter, there is Blazko or Shaq Johnson or Adekolu available to step-in for at least one NI starting receiver (or a draft pick from a decent crop this year) - do they really want/need iffy hands and probably fairly costly Moore as a 4th import receiver who is not going to see a lot of passes with Burnham, Manny and Williams ahead of him as much better receivers ?

And on D - Menard is very good / under-rated and can play some reps at both DE & DT (IMO he is that strong to play some 3 tech reps at DT), and they could draft both a DT and a DE from very strong crops there this year to have at least one NI on the D-line at all times (Forde available too) or maybe 2; 3 safeties already in the fold - one of the vets or young Thompson should be able to win and hold down that job pretty well, IMO. And Keenan Parker is a possibility at wide-side corner - guy has speed and some experience now and might be able to man that spot? Another possibility is getting to draft one of the good LBs (Mulumba or one of the Herdman twins) and giving them a real shot to play where Bighill was ?

4 NI O-linemen starters (with Jovon still there), plus one or 2 NI receivers; then one or two NI starters on the D-line; plus a safety, plus maybe Parker (backed by a draft pick like Woodson or Hoover or Laurensse) at CB = lots of possibilites for at least 7 NI starters. Did Wally take note of the RedBlacks winning the GC last year with a combo/assortment of 10 to 12 NIs playing regularly on O & D ?

[Hambone]

The Lions needed to make H. Steward the starter at LT. But they didn't want to pay Olifioyie $200k to play RT and needed to reneg or trade him away. The Lions also needed a National backup for Steward at LT, hence the Focault trade.

Perhaps the Lions should have got more in return for the six-time All-Star (the Lions also threw in a neg-lister the Als wanted) but the trade might have killed two birds with one stone...albeit weakening the OL this season.

The team mighthave been blindsided by the potential retirement of S. Gore. Losing Westerman (and Lokombo) meant the Lions needed another National starter...or two. They could insert another National OG to replace Steward, but that still leaves two National starters on defence.

On the face of it, the trade looks a bit one-sided in favour of the Als. Perhaps in hindsight it will make sense...with Wally calling in a future favour after making the Als rookie GM look good?

I think Plan A would be Foucault at LT, Steward at LG, Husband at C and Fabien at RG unless Vaillancourt beats him out. Loser between Fabien and Vaillancourt would be the backup for both guard positions and possibly centre. Plan B would be Steward at LT with Foucault backing him up, Vaillancourt and Fabien at the guard positions and Husband at centre. I also had the same thought as you re: Steward going to LT and Olafioye back to RT. Paying $200K for an INT to play RT is not good SMS value. It's overpaying. If a team is going to make a guy the highest paid INT OL in the CFL he better be playing LT and he better be winning an All-CFL All-Star award at minimum.

[David]

They want Foucault as depth/1-2 punch to go with Steward at one NI OT spot? Could have kept Jovon and instead drafted a good OT prospect to back-up Steward.

They could have also waited on 2015 draft pick Brett Boyko who, despite finding regular employment on NFL practice squads, has not seen any real traction down there. His transition to Canadian football as a tackle seem imminent, at some point at least, if not later this year.


DH

[B.C.FAN]

Paying $200K for an INT to play RT is not good SMS value. It's overpaying.

Agreed. It looks like he Lions are trying to transition to four national linemen to accommodate everyone in their high-powered international receiving corps, and Foucault is the key to that transition. Boyko's arrival (sooner or later) would give the Lions a chance to start five national O-linemen for the first time in over a decade.

[CardiacKid]

Mike Beamish still seems somewhat skeptical despite various sources reporting it's a done deal.

I just pray Foucault isn't the 2nd coming of Levi Adcock otherwise we might be seeing Keith Price as the starting QB while JJ10 and Travis get their heads reattached.

I get the notion of the ratio and if Foucault pans out as a solid piece of the Oline (not even necessarily in Jovan's league) then a strong case can be made that Wally did a smart piece of business. As a previous poster said, trading an International lineman for a National one makes sense.

But right now, I can't shake this distinct feeling of scepticism.

[Blitz]

The Lions needed to make H. Steward the starter at LT. But they didn't want to pay Olifioyie $200k to play RT and needed to reneg or trade him away. The Lions also needed a National backup for Steward at LT, hence the Focault trade.

Perhaps the Lions should have got more in return for the six-time All-Star (the Lions also threw in a neg-lister the Als wanted) but the trade might have killed two birds with one stone...albeit weakening the OL this season.

The team mighthave been blindsided by the potential retirement of S. Gore. Losing Westerman (and Lokombo) meant the Lions needed another National starter...or two. They could insert another National OG to replace Steward, but that still leaves two National starters on defence.

On the face of it, the trade looks a bit one-sided in favour of the Als. Perhaps in hindsight it will make sense...with Wally calling in a future favour after making the Als rookie GM look good?

I think Plan A would be Foucault at LT, Steward at LG, Husband at C and Fabien at RG unless Vaillancourt beats him out. Loser between Fabien and Vaillancourt would be the backup for both guard positions and possibly centre. Plan B would be Steward at LT with Foucault backing him up, Vaillancourt and Fabien at the guard positions and Husband at centre. I also had the same thought as you re: Steward going to LT and Olafioye back to RT. Paying $200K for an INT to play RT is not good SMS value. It's overpaying. If a team is going to make a guy the highest paid INT OL in the CFL he better be playing LT and he better be winning an All-CFL All-Star award at minimum.

Perhaps the Lions should have got more in return for the six-time All-Star (the Lions also threw in a neg-lister the Als wanted) but the trade might have killed two birds with one stone...albeit weakening the OL this season.

Its complete spin for anyone to say the major motivator of this trade was for ratio reasons unless Facault is moved to right tackle. Wally said he wanted to start 4 Nationals on the offensive line this season. That means one International tackle and at this point of the season that means right tackle. The plan was to move Steward to left tackle and opening up a spot for 2016 first round draft choice Charles Vailencourt at right guard.

Wally said he wanted to start four Nationals on the offensive line. He never looked at trading for Olifioye until he signed other free agents. Olifioye would not be on the trade block if he was wiliing to take a pay cut.

The Lions needed to make H. Steward the starter at LT. But they didn't want to pay Olifioyie $200k to play RT and needed to reneg or trade him away. The Lions also needed a National backup for Steward at LT, hence the Focault trade.

The above quote is the essence of the reason for the trade.

Would I pay Olifioye $200,000 to be a starting right tackle. Yes, I would. He's a 6 time CFL All-Star. He's been a CFL All-Star every season. He has started 129 games in a row for us. He is not only one of our most impressive and talented offensive lineman of all time but he is also very reliable. Olifioye could start at right tackle and if Steward got hurt, we could shift Olifioye to left tackle. We could have drafted a National offensive lineman at #3 or #7 as a backup left and right tackle. There are some very good offensive lineman in this draft including Geoff Gray, Dariusz Bladek, Qadr Spooner, Jean-Simon Roy, and Jeremy Zver.

I would much rather be paying Olifioye $200,000 because he not only be be a starter on our offensive line but an exceptional as welll as flexible starter who would make our team better for 2017 than the alternative of not being here this season and forward. Wally didn't ask Lulay to take a pay cut and he is paid more than $200,000 to be a backup quarterback. Lulay has been hurt often since 2012, he is not needed to mentor Jennings this season, and Lulay, in a backup role last year, had a quarterback efficiency average of 80.9.

Quarterbacks as Rakeem Cato, Dan Lefevour, Vernon Adams Jr. James Franklin, Brock Jensen had better quarterback efficency averages. Lulay will likely be long gone when Olifioye is still playing and its time that our Leos developed a backup quarterback rather than paying such a high salary for a backup quarterback. Most CFL teams, including Calgary, do not choose to spend that kind of money on a backup quarterback and we won't be able to afford Lulay anyway, at the end of this season, if we want to keep Jonathan Jennings.

David wrote:

Wow. In the words of the great chanteuse Peggy Lee, "is that all there is?" No disrespect to David Foucault 'cause I haven't even seen him play, but I was expecting a lot more. So this essentially comes down to one of the greatest linemen to ever don orange and black, in the prime of his career for....a prospect (a good one, make no mistake, but still a prospect as he's never played a down in the CFL).

Wally could have chosen to ask Lulay for a pay cut instead of Olifioye or asked both to take a pay cut, which might have minimized the impact and perhaps been more conducive to keep Olifioye here.

I think it would have been wiser to keep Olifioye, draft a backup National tackle in this year's draft. Boyko is also likely in the wings for the following season. I understand that Wally had to pay dearly for Chris Williams, Swayze Waters as well as Sol E. and Burnham.
But I think it would have been wiser for Wally to not pay a price for some free agents that we signed, of which some may not be starters this season anyway or at least become players that turn out to be gems and that includes the likes of Evans, Bucknor, Jackson, and Tony Burnett. We also could have gone cheaper than sign Nick Moore again.

While some may turn out ok, I believe your dollars are spent most wisely, after the quarterback position, on the offensive and defensive line. That is a place that Wally doesn't like to spend much money. We lost Jabar Westerman to free agency because its not an area that Wally will spend much SMS cap money on.

On top of money, Wally's anxiety about playing a National at certain positions also places him in a weakened mindset. Wally wants to go with four Internationals on the offensive line but he could have done that last season. He could have moved Steward out to left tackle last year, left Olifioye at right tackle, and not singed the infamous Levy Adcock.

In terms of money, Wally is reluctant to pay market value for his offensive linemen, even though offensive line is so important. Steward only signed for this season and he will want market value at the end of this year, if he starts, remains healthy, and plays well. Its not a good place to short change players.

The only way that this trade makes sense to me, is if Facault can come here and emerge as a starting offensive lineman that enables us to play five Nationals on the offensive line. That means either Facualt or Steward plays right tackle. If we lose Steward at the end of this season, then it may look wise but it really won't be. Wally should have a talented offensive lineman like Steward, who can now play guard as well as tackle, locked up for more than one season.

If not, trading one of our very best offensive lineman in history for a backup National is not a wise trade. From a SMS perspective, there are wiser ways to deal with the dollars but Wally is determined to trade Olifioye based on those dollars. If the trade for Facult does not happen, Wally is shopping Olifioye to other CFL teams.

The Seattle Seahawks decided to trade Matt Unger and go cheap on their offensive line for 2016. It cost them dearly. Wally has wanted to go cheap with our offensive line while paying big dollars for our skilled positions.

What does please me, is that this potential trade has generated a lot of discussion on Lionbackers. No matter whether one favors the trade or not, there have been a lot of posts generated about the trade of an offensive lineman. It reflects the deep understanding of the game of football and the importance of offensive line play.

Its good to read so many thoughtful posts on both sides of this potential huge trade.

[Qman]

Wally could have chosen to ask Lulay for a pay cut instead of Olifioye or asked both to take a pay cut, which might have minimized the impact and perhaps been more conducive to keep Olifioye here.

don't even have to have take a pay cut. Just 6-game him (he is not playing anyways), he gets to keep all the cash and you get cap relief. if JJ10 gets hurt, pull him off the six game list.