2021 CFL free agency

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B.C.FAN
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The Lions have 38 players on the official list of pending CFL free agents, including receivers Bryan Burnham, Dominique Rhymes, Shaq Johnson and Caleb Holley, running backs John White, Brandon Rutley, Chris Rainey, Wayne Moore and Jamel Lyles and defensive linemen Micah Johnson, Claudell Louis, Chris Casher, Jonathan Newsome and Darius Allen.

That doesn't include players such as kicker Sergio Castillo who opted out of their contracts and might not return if they can stick in the NFL.

According to 3downnation.com, a moratorium on the re-signing of players by teams will be lifted on Monday, Dec. 7 at noon ET. The league’s free agency period – during which teams can sign any player whose CFL contract has expired – will open Tuesday, Feb. 9 at noon ET, which is two days after the Super Bowl.

Here's the full free-agent tracker:
https://www.cfl.ca/fa21/
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Islander
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Going through this list quickly, my first reaction is to feel really disappointed that none of the 1 year contracts the lions were able to sign were able to play. It's tough to imagine all of them coming back again, especially with Hervey gone. He was aggressive in free agency. With the economic landscape being what is it (bad) I wonder how many on that list will remain with their respective teams? Related to all of this, I wonder who our new GM will be? Will the Lios wait and see if they are bought/sold? I'm still hoping that Geroy Simon ends up as the guy. Would be a good PR move and he seems like a sound choice in many respects.
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David
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Islander wrote:
Sat Dec 05, 2020 11:14 pm
Related to all of this, I wonder who our new GM will be? Will the Lios wait and see if they are bought/sold? I'm still hoping that Geroy Simon ends up as the guy. Would be a good PR move and he seems like a sound choice in many respects.
Rick LeLacheur mentioned a couple of weeks ago in a radio interview on TSN1040 that the GM job will be jointly held by Neil McEvoy and HC Rick Campbell. No word on Geroy. I assume his role remains status quo.


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Hambone
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David wrote:
Sat Dec 05, 2020 11:31 pm
Islander wrote:
Sat Dec 05, 2020 11:14 pm
Related to all of this, I wonder who our new GM will be? Will the Lios wait and see if they are bought/sold? I'm still hoping that Geroy Simon ends up as the guy. Would be a good PR move and he seems like a sound choice in many respects.
Rick LeLacheur mentioned a couple of weeks ago in a radio interview on TSN1040 that the GM job will be jointly held by Neil McEvoy and HC Rick Campbell. No word on Geroy. I assume his role remains status quo.


DH :cool:
Probably the simplest and most economical solution for now. Who knows when a return to play might happen or what sort of football ops rules cap or manpower limits they might have to operate under. Better for now to operate status quo and decide how of if they want to permanently replace Hervey's GM position.
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David
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I was a little shocked at first that we weren't going outside the organization at such a critical time (with so much uncertainty and upheaval). But the more I think about it, the more Neil McEvoy deserves a crack at this. He's been working with the organization for so long and under a pretty astute GM in Wally Buono. He knows personnel inside and out. Has probably negotiated more contracts than I've had hot dinners. Plus he will be working alongside another CFL vet in Rick Campbell so we should be okay.

The only part I worry about is that Ed had a really great ability to lure FAs here. Not sure if Neil and Rick can be as influential. But let's give it a shot and see. :popcorn:


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Gridiron Ernie
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Looks like we've kinda' hijacked B.C.FAN's "free agency" thread, but since we're on this tangent -- here's (see link) the finalized football operations and coaching staff info for 2021 (minor staff change sees Danny O'Brien taking over running backs coach, after Beau Walker quit this past summer). Meanwhile, as already suggested elsewhere, Geroy has moved from Canadian draft and prospects to State-side focus. https://www.bclions.com/2020/12/07/camp ... voy-co-gm/
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Followup note -- should have mentioned "Global scouting" responsibilities for Geroy as well, alongside assisting Rigmaiden with aforementioned American scouting.
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I'm thinking now that they can start signing and extending players one of the first things Rick and Neil will address is the Reilly grievance. I think they will try to roll that negotiation into a renegotiation of the remainder of his contract at a reduced salary. If teams are going to try operating closer to the cap floor than ceiling Reilly has to accept that sticking to his guns on his current contract will only hurt the Lions' cause in adding pieces to make the club better.

One promising thing is that I see what appears to be 4/5 of the my projected starting OL are not on the list of pending FAs. Those would be Steward, Godber, Chungh and Matthews.
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David
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Gridiron Ernie wrote:
Mon Dec 07, 2020 1:12 pm
(minor staff change sees Danny O'Brien taking over running backs coach, after Beau Walker quit this past summer).
Thanks for reporting that Ernie. I seem to recall on the coaches conference that Danny has relocated to the Lower Mainland and is spending winter here. Seems dedicated to the club and area which is encouraging.

On that note, Kelly Bates gave a shout out to his O-line guys for being so dedicated. Many of them were training here in the off-season. I recall seeing video of guys like Joel Figueroa working out at the Surrey facility.


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David wrote:
Sun Dec 06, 2020 10:16 pm

The only part I worry about is that Ed had a really great ability to lure FAs here. Not sure if Neil and Rick can be as influential. But let's give it a shot and see. :popcorn:
DH :cool:
I think that Hervey had certainly inked some very good FA's to contracts for this "lost" season. It will be a very real test for the new "combined" GM's to see who they re-sign, especially on the defensive line. I had high hopes for an actual pass rush this season and if they can bring back every FA that was signed on the Defensive line, I'll be very impressed. Alas, I expect that Micah Johnson will not be available at a reduced amount so it does look like change is afoot. But even one of Johnson or Casher would be a success.... given Casher's age, he's the one I would focus on first.

I wish the Co-GM's success....... but I'm cautious.... and adopting a wait and see approach.
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Dusty wrote:
Tue Dec 08, 2020 8:57 am
David wrote:
Sun Dec 06, 2020 10:16 pm

The only part I worry about is that Ed had a really great ability to lure FAs here. Not sure if Neil and Rick can be as influential. But let's give it a shot and see. :popcorn:
DH :cool:
I think that Hervey had certainly inked some very good FA's to contracts for this "lost" season. It will be a very real test for the new "combined" GM's to see who they re-sign, especially on the defensive line. I had high hopes for an actual pass rush this season and if they can bring back every FA that was signed on the Defensive line, I'll be very impressed. Alas, I expect that Micah Johnson will not be available at a reduced amount so it does look like change is afoot. But even one of Johnson or Casher would be a success.... given Casher's age, he's the one I would focus on first.

I wish the Co-GM's success....... but I'm cautious.... and adopting a wait and see approach.
I think there was more Campbell influence on last year's signings than he might be getting credit for. The GM's job is to sell the players on what they are trying to build. However the coaching staff becomes a big part of what the GM is selling. 5 players signed from other clubs followed Campbell from Ottawa. Johnson has a history with Campbell albeit quite some time ago. Campbell was Calgary's DC in Micah's rookie season. Rainey and Davis departed under Hervey but nonetheless returned. Derek Jones is an SFU grad.

What I'm curious about is how many players who signed last year did so as mercenaries and how many were truly happy to land in BC with the new staff and feel like they have some unfinished business to take care of. Most should be under the realization there isn't going to be more money out there across the league. If there is truth to the rumour teams will try to operate closer to the SMS floor than ceiling there will be less. If they can get within 5% or 10% of their last deal they should probably jump at it.
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B.C.FAN
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With Rick Campbell serving as defensive coordinator in addition to head coach and co-GM, I expect him to pay particular attention to the defensive line. I suspect he spent a lot of time in 2020 scheming ways to get at the QB, and Micah Johnson would have figured prominently in those schemes. He will likely be Campbell’s No. 1 priority on that side of the ball.
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David
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I agree with Hambone that getting Reilly's contract sorted out should be priority 1. Hard to know what you have to spend elsewhere until this is settled. I didn't think $725K was really sustainable during the good old days, let alone after a shutdown season due to a pandemic.

Getting Reilly and Burnham done (priorities) will give mgt a clearer picture of what is left in the budget to get other FAs signed. Hopefully, it will show other FAs signs of stability on the West Coast as well.


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Not directly free-agent news as he was under contract, but the Lions released QB Ricky Lloyd today, according to a social media post from his father. The Lions still have Mike Reilly, Nathan Rourke, Vinny Testaverde Jr. and K.J. Carta-Samuels under contract, as well as pending free agents Will Arndt and Grant Kraemer.
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B.C.FAN wrote:
Thu Dec 10, 2020 2:00 pm
Not directly free-agent news as he was under contract, but the Lions released QB Ricky Lloyd today, according to a social media post from his father. The Lions still have Mike Reilly, Nathan Rourke, Vinny Testaverde Jr. and K.J. Carta-Samuels under contract, as well as pending free agents Will Arndt and Grant Kraemer.
If I was a betting man I'd wager Arndt gets signed ahead of Kraemer to give a vet presence behind Reilly. Barring injury and assuming we do get a season Reilly, Arndt and Rourke would break camp with the team.
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