Yikes! Lions 2024 potential free agents

[B.C.FAN]

The Lions have re-signed Global linebacker Maxime Rouyer for another two years, making him the first potential free agents to sign an extension. Rouyer is a regular contributor on special teams and is among the Lions’ French-speaking contingent on defence, including David Menard and pending FA Mathieu Betts.

[don corleone]

The Lions have re-signed Global linebacker Maxime Rouyer for another two years, making him the first potential free agents to sign an extension. Rouyer is a regular contributor on special teams and is among the Lions’ French-speaking contingent on defence, including David Menard and pending FA Mathieu Betts.

Not on defense and not to say everyone from Montreal speaks French but possible Justin McInnis is bilingual as well.

[SammyGreene]

Als GM Danny Maciocia getting some nice December work done with extensions for key mid-season defence additions and pending FAs — Shawn Lemon and Darnell Sankey. Both deals got done after Fajardo agreed to a re-structured extension that freed up cap space.
Have to feel good for Lemon who just keeps piling up the sacks at 35. May also cool off the speculation of Betts signing with his hometown team.
Can't see Maciocia wanting to the block the emergence of 2023 1st round pick Lwal Uguak who started at the other DE spot down the stretch and was impressive.

[DanoT]

To me it seemed all season that Betts was an on field extension of his rookie line coach (and future Hall of Fame) former DE John Bowman. I don't think Betts wants that relationship to end.

[B.C.FAN]

To me it seemed all season that Betts was an on field extension of his rookie line coach (and future Hall of Fame) former DE John Bowman. I don't think Betts wants that relationship to end.

Agreed. Betts has always looked up to Bowman as a player, and now as a coach. Betts and others on the D-line have come into their own under Bowman's coaching. I don't foresee any major changes in that unit.

[Hambone]

The Lions have re-signed Global linebacker Maxime Rouyer for another two years, making him the first potential free agents to sign an extension. Rouyer is a regular contributor on special teams and is among the Lions’ French-speaking contingent on defence, including David Menard and pending FA Mathieu Betts.

Not on defense and not to say everyone from Montreal speaks French but possible Justin McInnis is bilingual as well.

Not to mention Archibald, Bagayogo and Bemiy who also hail from La Belle Province.

[Hambone]

To me it seemed all season that Betts was an on field extension of his rookie line coach (and future Hall of Fame) former DE John Bowman. I don't think Betts wants that relationship to end.

What could trump that is the huge presence of family and friends who were there cheering him on when BC visited Montreal on Labour Day weekend. I couldn't see them from my upper deck perch as they were out of sight below behind the BC bench. I heard/read that they numbered about 125.

[don corleone]

Reading Rick Campbells comments about potential players knowing who will be coaching next season made me wonder which FA running backs would want to play in the offense the Lions ran last season.

Assuming RB is a question for some going into FA.

Up and comers like Dedrick Mills will be looking for a place to start and would be an excellent addition imo but curious if Kadeem Carey or William Stanback would feel the same way given the pass oriented attack that was the Lions bread and butter for much of last season. Devonte Williams played well for Ottawa last year and would be another I would consider.

I thought with the turmoil early on in Montreal Stanback may have ended up in Vancouver last season due to the VA relationship. As it turned out Walter Fletcher was the odd man out for much of the year. Fletcher also a free agent. Some might like A.J. Ouellette who may not be that expensive.

[Hambone]

Reading Rick Campbells comments about potential players knowing who will be coaching next season made me wonder which FA running backs would want to play in the offense the Lions ran last season.

Assuming RB is a question for some going into FA.

Up and comers like Dedrick Mills will be looking for a place to start and would be an excellent addition imo but curious if Kadeem Carey or William Stanback would feel the same way given the pass oriented attack that was the Lions bread and butter for much of last season. Devonte Williams played well for Ottawa last year and would be another I would consider.

I thought with the turmoil early on in Montreal Stanback may have ended up in Vancouver last season due to the VA relationship. As it turned out Walter Fletcher was the odd man out for much of the year. Fletcher also a free agent. Some might like A.J. Ouellette who may not be that expensive.

Lots of risks there. Stanback, Carey and Ouellette account for 3 of the CFL's 6 highest paid RBs in 2023. Ouellette was best value. Stanback at 29 and Carey at 31 have too much injury history to spend money on. Excellent when healthy but too much time in the tub. Stanback has missed 17 of 36 games and Carey 13 of 36 games in the last 2 years. Durability is not a strength. If you want to go after any of them then pick your poison and make the call on who you can't afford; Cottoy?, Hollins?, Hatcher?, Hladik?, Betts? Now Mills is intriguing and perhaps more affordable but I have a hunch Calgary will peg him as a higher priority than Carey.

[Toppy Vann]

Betts is the one name to watch out for with the Lions.

For a brief moment I thought Marshall Ferguson was suggesting he may have heard inklings of Als interest in Betts but this sounds more like he's just matching the quality of the player with his home town which even a novice like myself could do. As I read this, he's just stating facts as opposed to when Farhan or Dave Naylor go on Twitter saying they're hearing something. If the latter, I'd be very concerned.

I'm assuming Rick Campbell knows his Canadian geography here too and has Betts on the top of his list to get signed which I thought I read was Betts' view too. However, an agent might tell him to wait for free agency if you want more!!!

stated:

It’s simple to say Mathieu Betts needs to be retained by the Lions after a record-setting season, breaking the Canadian sack record, but he was much more than just a number. I fear for BC fans that Danny Maciocia and the Alouettes will see even greater value in bringing the immense talent home to Quebec.

[Toppy Vann]

Who should BC look to sign on other teams?

Among the most intriguing of other teams are Hamilton's Tim White and Matthew Shiltz (QB).
The latter might have a better shot staying put but other than getting hurt, I'd take him over the Lions back ups.
No. 3 at QB should be a QB they can develop.

[don corleone]

Curious what the obligation is to Keon Hatcher being injured in the playoff game and on an expiring contract? Very possible he could miss the entire 2024 season.

Most unfortunate for Hatcher who had a great year and could have been looking at a good raise in pay.

Might be an idea to bring back Bryan Burnham. One money catch and the fans bring the house down.

As for QB; all the talk about Dru Brown has me looking hard at Taylor Cornelius who played ahead of Brown at Oklahoma State. Could be Chris Jones was not wrong and in some ways unfortunate that so few game reps are available in order to give both Tre Ford and Cornelius the developmental time they need. That said, good situation in the event of an injury.

[DanoT]

Betts is the one name to watch out for with the Lions.

For a brief moment I thought Marshall Ferguson was suggesting he may have heard inklings of Als interest in Betts but this sounds more like he's just matching the quality of the player with his home town which even a novice like myself could do. As I read this, he's just stating facts as opposed to when Farhan or Dave Naylor go on Twitter saying they're hearing something. If the latter, I'd be very concerned.

I'm assuming Rick Campbell knows his Canadian geography here too and has Betts on the top of his list to get signed which I thought I read was Betts' view too. However, an agent might tell him to wait for free agency if you want more!!!

stated:

It’s simple to say Mathieu Betts needs to be retained by the Lions after a record-setting season, breaking the Canadian sack record, but he was much more than just a number. I fear for BC fans that Danny Maciocia and the Alouettes will see even greater value in bringing the immense talent home to Quebec.

My guess is that Betts' D line coach, former all star DE and future HoFer John Bowman, will be the deciding factor for Betts to re-sign with the Lions.

[Hambone]

Curious what the obligation is to Keon Hatcher being injured in the playoff game and on an expiring contract? Very possible he could miss the entire 2024 season.

Most unfortunate for Hatcher who had a great year and could have been looking at a good raise in pay.

Might be an idea to bring back Bryan Burnham. One money catch and the fans bring the house down.

As for QB; all the talk about Dru Brown has me looking hard at Taylor Cornelius who played ahead of Brown at Oklahoma State. Could be Chris Jones was not wrong and in some ways unfortunate that so few game reps are available in order to give both Tre Ford and Cornelius the developmental time they need. That said, good situation in the event of an injury.

I don't think Hatcher will miss the whole season but likely a good chunk of it. He could be back by Labour Day. There is no obligation or urgency but they could easily sign him to a solid deal that of course wouldn't kick in until he does return.

Nice thought on Burnham. However he was very much at peace with the decision to retire well before anybody knew he would. I can't find the article but he had a very busy post-retirement life lined up between finishing off his Masters Degree and helping his wife raise 3 young foster kids. He sounded like a guy absolutely stoked to be a stay-at-home dad and family man.

Jones would absolutely love anybody to take Cornelius' contract off his hands. Cornelius is scheduled to get a $100K roster bonus in Jan with a report and pass medical bonus of $46.5K before training camp. His base salary for 2024 is $200K of which half is guaranteed. All told Cornelius stands to make $370K in hard money in 2024. TQhat just doesn't mesh with Adams current salary which could get redone before the season starts.

[B.C.FAN]

I expect the Lions to prioritize re-signing their own free agents. I can’t see them spending on proven starters from other teams, especially at receiver and running back. The fact they wouldn’t spend $130,000 to retain James Butler last year shows that they’re not interested in landing a proven starter. The biggest question mark in free agency is the status of Keon Hatcher, who had Achilles surgery last month and will likely miss some or all of the 2024 season. I hope they can retain his rights but I don’t expect anyone to pay top dollar for a player with an uncertain future.