Yikes! Lions 2024 potential free agents

[SammyGreene]

The Bombers signed Shoen to a one year deal. They must be razor thin on their salary cap margin.

So the Bombers find the room to give Oliveira about $125,0000 raise and lockdown Schoen too when he was coming off his rookie deal with reports he was worth at least $250,000 on the open market? He must have taken a significant hometown discount on that 1-year deal.

This leaves Betts as the biggest available FA.

[squishy35]

Hladik just re-upped with the LIONS
https://www.bclions.com/2024/02/06/ben- ... 25-season/

[Hambone]

Excellent. One last big fish to go!

[firstandgoal]

Hmmmm, nice with Hladik and Stanback signed.

Hope my spidey sense is wrong but, given the coin that they likely laid out for these two, it is likely the ship has sailed on re-signing Betts.

Time will tell...

[Hambone]

The Bombers signed Shoen to a one year deal. They must be razor thin on their salary cap margin.

So the Bombers find the room to give Oliveira about $125,0000 raise and lockdown Schoen too when he was coming off his rookie deal with reports he was worth at least $250,000 on the open market? He must have taken a significant hometown discount on that 1-year deal.

This leaves Betts as the biggest available FA.

It hasn't come without pain. Bombers have lost their starting left tackle in Hardrick and one of the very best CFL DBs in Demario Houston. They also still haven't re-signed their starting safety Brandon Alexander, DE bookend Jackson Jeffcoat, starting DT Ricky Walker, starting RG Geoff Gray, starting WR Rasheed Bailey or their kicker Sergio Castillo and excellent returner Janarian Grant. That's 7 starters they don't have under wraps plus 2 specialists.

[don corleone]

Happy to see the Riders gearing up to no surprise. It's an all in year for Reynolds and O'Day.

I would bring back both Micah Johnson and Larry Dean to go along with Thurman if anyone is asking. Cooper-Edwards was also good addition so their giving Mace some tools to work with.

Both Lions and Riders play Winnipeg 3 times this year which amounts to lots of pounding with Ouelette and Stanback. They won't be easy games and likely to make a difference in the standings with home field advantage for the WF on the line.

I'm on record as predicting a good year for Stanback and hope I am right.

[Toppy Vann]

The Montreal Gazette's Herb Zurkowsky has a good article on why Stanback was not in the plans at $160,000.

William Stanback got too expensive for Alouettes, GM Maciocia says
Stanback recorded 625 carries for 3,716 yards and 11 touchdowns in 62 games with the Alouettes over five seasons.

Author of the article:Herb Zurkowsky, Montreal Gazette
Herb Zurkowsky, Montreal Gazette
Published Jan 30, 2024

Jason Maas had said after the GC apparently that one of his RBs wouldn't be back and at $160K they decided to spend differently. Not likely he'd get $160K in BC given how the GMs and HC suggest they need to spend.

With a salary cap of $5.585 million next season, Stanback simply had become too rich for the Als, according to Maciocia. While the team has been active re-signing many of its potential free agents, those efforts — and financial resources — primarily have gone to defensive players, including rush-ends Shawn Lemon and Avery Ellis, along with linebackers Tyrice Beverette and Darnell Sankey. And, although defensive-tackle Mustafa Johnson wasn’t eligible for free agency, his contract was extended in December through 2025.

https://montrealgazette.com/sports/foot ... is-request

[Toppy Vann]

Betts has interest but why is there no mention of Montreal in these stories!
Maybe they've loaded up on DEF already or silent?

This sounds kind of like Hamilton might be willing to ante up what Betts is seeking.

https://www.tsn.ca/cfl/hamilton-tiger-c ... -1.2071563

Got the answer from Farhan in the X exchanges he has with a fan. No Als interest likely.

The X chain says the Lions have been talking and know where his side sits on the money side.

marks
@Markmen77
·
Feb 4
no als for that local mvp guy?
@MTLAlouettes

Farhan Lalji
@FarhanLaljiTSN
·
Feb 4
Very unlikely

Man Athan
@ManAthan123
·
Feb 4
Based on a source or just your opinion?

Farhan Lalji
@FarhanLaljiTSN
·
Feb 4
Both

[Hambone]

$230,000 per with $120,000 up front is a sweet deal for Jermarcus Hardrick and obviously one he did not turn down. I think the Bombers push Neufeld out to Tackle to replace him.

Still say Landon Rice made more sense.

Drew Richmond will be the new starting RT in Winnipeg. He's been with them since 2019 but only saw action in 2 games. After finally drawing in for his first game in 2021 he suffered a hellacious knee injury that kept him out the entire 2022 season. Healthy again he made the Bombers roster as backup tackle in 2023 finally starting in place of Bryant when they rested him late in the season. He's still under contract for 2024.

I hate quoting myself but this didn't age well. Richmond, I suspect knowing he waa expected to replace Hardrick, tried to re-negotiate his contract up from near CFL min. He and the Bombers tried but when they couldn't get it done Richmond decided to move on from football and retired.

https://3downnation.com/2024/02/06/drew ... sive-line/

[SammyGreene]

Whoa! According to Farhan the Lions offered Oliveira a three-year escalating deal starting at $250,000 and it took Bombers president Wade Miller’s involvement to ultimately keep him in Winnipeg.
That must have been money allocated for Betts right?

[Hambone]

Whoa! According to Farhan the Lions offered Oliveira a three-year escalating deal starting at $250,000 and it took Bombers president Wade Miller’s involvement to ultimately keep him in Winnipeg.
That must have been money allocated for Betts right?

Gotta think so. Can't imagine them being able to keep Betts if they were anteing up that for Oliviera. But then again other teams can pull that off why not BC?

[B.C.FAN]

Whoa! According to Farhan the Lions offered Oliveira a three-year escalating deal starting at $250,000 and it took Bombers president Wade Miller’s involvement to ultimately keep him in Winnipeg.
That must have been money allocated for Betts right?

Gotta think so. Can't imagine them being able to keep Betts if they were anteing up that for Oliviera. But then again other teams can pull that off why not BC?

I haven't seen numbers for Stanback but Farhan says he signed "a very team-friendly deal."

[Belize City Lion]

Stanbeck (if healthy) is an upgrade, but I'm not super excited about this signing. I would have rather seen AJ Oulette in BC as the consolation prize for not getting Brady Oliviera. Gotta wonder how the Riders and Bombers are finding enough cap space for these big signings. I think the fact that there has been no news about Betts is good news for BC. If he's not going to Montreal I doubt he's going anywhere.

[Hambone]

Whoa! According to Farhan the Lions offered Oliveira a three-year escalating deal starting at $250,000 and it took Bombers president Wade Miller’s involvement to ultimately keep him in Winnipeg.
That must have been money allocated for Betts right?

Gotta think so. Can't imagine them being able to keep Betts if they were anteing up that for Oliviera. But then again other teams can pull that off why not BC?

I haven't seen numbers for Stanback but Farhan says he signed "a very team-friendly deal."

Given his injuries it could be a bit lighter on base and heavier on playtime incentives. So if he stays healthy he still gets his money.

[maxlion]

I was surprised to learn that Stanback is younger than Mizzell. I like this signing a lot. If he can stay relatively healthy, he will be a big upgrade on the running game. He can pound the ball and pick up the hard yards, which Mizzell would never be able to do. Plus he knows the game and can do the little things to make the offense run.