2022 Free Agents - BC Targets - Top 5

[CrazyCanuck89]

Wow what great signings we've done well. With Isaac Harker signing I think it puts O'Connor as number ,3 so Rourke will start backed up by Harker. I looked at some college video on Harker. Great arm, good runner and sees down field really well. Looks like a good fit for cfl. Also with his master's degree he will probably have a good life in bc after football. Everything I see and hear about him is positive. Hopefully he lives up to his press clippings.

Both kinda became third stringers for their other teams. Harker's average play does on no indicate he will be second string.

[DanoT]

Wow what great signings we've done well. With Isaac Harker signing I think it puts O'Connor as number ,3 so Rourke will start backed up by Harker. I looked at some college video on Harker. Great arm, good runner and sees down field really well. Looks like a good fit for cfl. Also with his master's degree he will probably have a good life in bc after football. Everything I see and hear about him is positive. Hopefully he lives up to his press clippings.

Both kinda became third stringers for their other teams. Harker's average play does on no indicate he will be second string.

O'Conner's Canadian passport and 6'5" 223lb size means Lions can use him as a short yardage QB without platooning a Canadian at another position in order to maintain the Ratio. Same applies if Rourke were to get injured and O'Conner comes in as a hopefully seamless in game replacement.

IMO, Harker would have to have an extraordinarily good TC to get to dress for games. And even then he would be dressing, not playing.

[SammyGreene]

My top 5 free agent signings. I will include extending our own guys since that is hardly a certainty.

1. Lucky Whitehead: a dynamic game-breaking player who also happens to a have a marketable personality. A 2 year deal to boot.

2. Stove Richardson: Addresses one of our greatest needs and is just 25. Think we got lucky the Bombers had so many key free agents that are over 30 and are in a win now mode. Also that extra cap room came in handy!

3. Joven Cottoy: getting him signed to a 2-year deal was a wonderful surprise as I thought he would go through the NFL tryout process a little longer. Another 25-year-old that will be a big part of the future.

4. Loucheiz Purifoy: a welcome return to versatile player who will also bring much needed veteran leadership to his former team that hasn’t had a lot of success in the last few years.

5. Sean Whyte: ok he fell in the Lions lap thanks to his firefighting career back home in White Rock. But FG kicking was a gongshow last year and cost us at least 2 games. He is also genuinely excited to be back and gives us our first national kicker since McCallum retired 8 years ago.
HM: Bryan Burnham, David Menard, Delvin Breaux

[DanoT]

Delvin Breaux is a big surprise that came out of nowhere as you would think that a guy coming out of retirement would return to his former team where he had all his past success and friends, etc. So I wonder if Lions DC, Ryan Philips had a role in Breaux's signing? I don't know if they had any sort of friendship when Philips was a player, but I am going to speculate that Breaux, as one of the top CFL DBs in his prime, and Philips, a top notch cover guy, had a mutual respect/admiration even though they were opponents.

Another big surprise is the return of David Menard. Playing for the Als in his home province, where I am sure sports reporters were happy they could talk to an Als player in French, he has a career year and the CFL Eastern Most Outstanding Canadian award. So why does he return to BC? Could it be coaching? Both HC Khari Jones and DC Barron Miles are top notch in my books. D line coach Greg Quick could be the reason but while his name seems kinda familiar, I don't really know anything about him.

[Reg18]

Farhans reports have been right on the money,! Ibelievehecosches a minor football team in vampncouver area.ithink the players respect him and are willing to share info. Just a gppd guy doing good work

[Reg18]

Wow,! So many good players signing with the lions. Our braintrust have been doing a great job! Camp will be very competitive. I see the QB competition will be Rourke and Harker fighting it out for the starters job. I watched tape onHarker and he looks kpkike he will be gunning to start. Which is the way it should be. Good arm and a good motor. We should have a good offense. And getting Whyte purifoy and Menard all all good moves. And Mathieu ?Betts looks like he has a lot of upside. It's all looking good

[Gridiron Ernie]

As the dust of Free Agency settles, a couple of the likely position-combos have me pretty interested, i.e. intrigued to see how it pans out: namely the anticipated Nationals Menard/Betts rotation at one end of the D-line, and the National tandem QBs. I'm really happy for this proposed 1A & 1B experiment at pivot with Rourke as starter. (But with fingers crossed, and will be holding my breath come the season, wondering if our O-line will keep them alive! The young QBs need more than just a fleet of stellar pass-catchers to make things happen.)
That said, yes, agreed, those couple of 2-year contracts at receiver are pretty nifty; Cottoy and Whitehead. And, well, if Burnham only makes the list as HM on anyone's list, I'll emphasize the HONOURABLE and make it more than a mention in my book! #16 will be a hugely necessary ingredient in Lions upcoming success.

[Hambone]

I think the 1a and 1b QB thing was based on the supposition 1b would bring more experience. With O'Connor and now Harker being added I think it's more like 1 and 2a and 2b. In adding O'Connor instead of a Trevor Harris they said volumes about their belief in Rourke. Belize City made an outstanding observation about how Rourke might feel like he'd be looking over his shoulder afraid to make a mistake if Harris was that 1b.

Seems to me Rhymes also signed for 2 years.

[David]

I see the QB competition will be Rourke and Harker fighting it out for the starters job.

Absolutely ZERO chance of this happening. Rourke is our #1 in 2022. Full stop.

Harker is smart but lacks the physical gifts. Will battle it out with O'Connor for #2 but I believe it will be O'Connor's to lose. In other words, the depth chart will be Rourke, O'Connor, Harker and likely a prospect (most teams like a developmental QB at #3 but given their inexperience at QB, I see McEvoy and Campbell keeping the pecking order as stated).


DH

[Hambone]

I see the QB competition will be Rourke and Harker fighting it out for the starters job.

Absolutely ZERO chance of this happening. Rourke is our #1 in 2022. Full stop.

Harker is smart but lacks the physical gifts. Will battle it out with O'Connor for #2 but I believe it will be O'Connor's to lose. In other words, the depth chart will be Rourke, O'Connor, Harker and likely a prospect (most teams like a developmental QB at #3 but given their inexperience at QB, I see McEvoy and Campbell keeping the pecking order as stated).


DH

Fully agree David. They will likely bring 5 QBs to camp. They have a 4th on the roster now, Kevin Thomson from Ricky Ray's alma mater Sacramento State. I'd peg the odds of him being on the camp roster at 50/50. They no doubt have other prospects on their radar. In camp though I think Harker will have more competition trying to hold onto the #3 PR spot than O'Connor will feel from Harker. Whichever way it unfolds having to compete for spots is a good thing.

[Gridiron Ernie]

Too early to know particulars of how the QB position will play out in full, as to who's backup to Rourke, and indeed, as has been reasonably suggested (Hambone), perhaps it's no longer that aforementioned 1A & 1B equation, but kinda' interesting to read Warren Moon's take on a Canadian duo nonetheless. Moon and O'Connor have a connection I wasn't aware of. https://3downnation.com/2022/02/11/i-lo ... an-qb-duo/ BTW, I personally don't see Harker as a significant signing, i.e. I can easily imagine him being a training camp casualty as some of the other still-unknown Americans show their stuff. I'm not sure his limited experience in the CFL is worth all that much. He didn't shine when he had his chances so far as I can recall.

[KnowItAll]

I see the QB competition will be Rourke and Harker fighting it out for the starters job.

Absolutely ZERO chance of this happening. Rourke is our #1 in 2022. Full stop.

Harker is smart but lacks the physical gifts. Will battle it out with O'Connor for #2 but I believe it will be O'Connor's to lose. In other words, the depth chart will be Rourke, O'Connor, Harker and likely a prospect (most teams like a developmental QB at #3 but given their inexperience at QB, I see McEvoy and Campbell keeping the pecking order as stated).


DH

Fully agree David. They will likely bring 5 QBs to camp. They have a 4th on the roster now, Kevin Thomson from Ricky Ray's alma mater Sacramento State. I'd peg the odds of him being on the camp roster at 50/50. They no doubt have other prospects on their radar. In camp though I think Harker will have more competition trying to hold onto the #3 PR spot than O'Connor will feel from Harker. Whichever way it unfolds having to compete for spots is a good thing.

I would like them to bring 5 quality olinemen to camp

[maxlion]

It is interesting reading all of the predictions and hopes about the team this year. No doubt that they have significantly strengthened the team thanks in no small part to having a Canadian QB on a rookie salary.

It is unprecedented in the salary cap era to pay the Qb at the lowest end of the pay scale.

Passport is not irrelevant insofar as there is a ratio advantage, but performance is what matters. Winnipeg showed that a team can win with Nationals at RB. Why not QB?

None of our QBs have any significant track record of performance at the pro level. The coaches have confidence in Rourke, which is encouraging, but not many Qbs have been successful in this league without more seasoning. It is a big risk.

This is truly a unique situation. We are putting all the cap money into the team around the Qb rather than to the Qb. It is fun and exciting to watch, and if they are successful, it may change the way the CFL teams build their teams.

I have no idea if this will work. I will be watching and cheering for Rourke.

[DanoT]

In 1972 a rookie QB named Chuck Ealey lead the TiCats to a Grey Cup championship (I was at the game in Hamilton). He was surrounded by 3 future HOF receivers including a rookie Canadian TE named Tony Gabriel and a couple other guys named Garney Henley and Tommy Joe Coffee.

Rourke has one for sure future HOF receiver in Burnham and a couple of potentials in Cottoy and Whitehead.

It's possible.

[B.C.FAN]

Having watched Rourke in training camp and during the season, I'm excited to see him open up the offence in a way the Lions didn't see under Reilly, who had become an immobile pocket passer in the latter stages of his career. Rourke's inexperience will no doubt result in some growing pains, as the interception totals from his rookie season show. But his skills as a runner and passer are first rate and he has plenty of experience in this offence and with these receivers. At the first scrimmage of training camp last year, Rourke took fourth team reps. By the next week, he was splitting first team reps with Will Arndt, who was released shortly afterwards. Rourke continued to take first team reps in practice for most of the season since Reilly's reps were limited.

During the season, I was itching to see him get more playing time. His arm strength and running ability make him hard to defend. He ran for three TDs in the season finale against Edmonton and passed for 359 yards and a TD. Like Lucky Whitehead, he's a big-play threat every time he touches the ball. I'm ready for excitement.