Lions release Rhymes

[SammyGreene]

Actually not shocked to see this development after a year ago he forced the club's hand by asking for a salary increase or trade him. Thought Hatcher's injury would perhaps avoid this but the Lions must think the $200,000 will be better spent elsewhere.
Came back from injury and was rarely targeted down the stretch — even in the Western Final after Hatcher went out early. Probably Hollins agreeing to terms triggered his release. Does this give Lucky a chance to stay on?

Dan Ralph CP: Hearing big news outta Vancouver that receiver Dominque Rhymes and B.C. Lions have mutually agreed to part ways. The 6-4, 215-pound Rhymes had 148 catches for 2,367 yards and 18 TDs over three seasons with Lions (21-23) and will garner attention in free agency.

[Hambone]

Maybe not shocking. He did miss 6 games in 2021 and 8 in 2023. At times last year he didn't seem to be his old 2022 self, perhaps due to injuries. There gets to be a point where the club simply doesn't see the player bringing the value his salary calls for.

[B.C.FAN]

Maybe not shocking. He did miss 6 games in 2021 and 8 in 2023. At times last year he didn't seem to be his old 2022 self, perhaps due to injuries. There gets to be a point where the club simply doesn't see the player bringing the value his salary calls for.

Agreed. In his prime, Rhymes was a clutch 1,000-yard-plus receiver but injuries limited his effectiveness last year. Justin McInnis and Jevon Cottoy have both been highly productive when filling in for him. Hatcher and Hollins have overtaken Rhymes as the team’s top receivers when healthy.

The Lions have 21 wide receivers on their offseason roster, including pending FAs Cottoy and Lucky Whitehead. They usually take 15 or 16 to training camp. They’re clearly preparing for some significant turnover in the receiving corps for the first time in several years.

[don corleone]

Likely they need the money to sign Betts or Cottoy and sheds further light on the Hollins deal.

Things change year to year. Rhymes made some big plays. Hope he catches on with another team.

There are going to be some good players looking for work this year. CFL really could use a tenth team.

[cromartie]

Cottoy has a very unique role in this offense, so let's set him aside.

You're going to need another lid lifter, so you aren't bringing back Lucky either.

Beyond that, I do agree that a lot of the free agent signings mean turnover. Which, honestly, is fine.

[Hambone]

Maybe not shocking. He did miss 6 games in 2021 and 8 in 2023. At times last year he didn't seem to be his old 2022 self, perhaps due to injuries. There gets to be a point where the club simply doesn't see the player bringing the value his salary calls for.

Agreed. In his prime, Rhymes was a clutch 1,000-yard-plus receiver but injuries limited his effectiveness last year. Justin McInnis and Jevon Cottoy have both been highly productive when filling in for him. Hatcher and Hollins have overtaken Rhymes as the team’s top receivers when healthy.

The Lions have 21 wide receivers on their offseason roster, including pending FAs Cottoy and Lucky Whitehead. They usually take 15 or 16 to training camp. They’re clearly preparing for some significant turnover in the receiving corps for the first time in several years.

And they still have Josh Pearson and Jamarius Way waiting in the wings both of whom were excellent in training camp in 2022 before injuries and the numbers game derailed their progress. Also there is 2023 camp standout Ayden Eberhardt. Sometimes a team gets to where they have to clear not just cap room but roster space for some younger.......and cheaper talent.

[maxlion]

Sounds like he didn’t agree to restructure his contract. In any case, signing Hatcher, Hollins and Cottoy had to be the priority as far as receivers go. I see that they have signed a couple of US receivers as well. They have been successful in finding quality receivers the last few years, which is the way you have to do it to stay competitive. I suspect Whitehead will be gone too, since Hollins and Williams provide a lot of what Whitehead did.

[DanoT]

Rhymes' release initially surprised me but on further evaluation: Last season Lions had the best receiving corps in the CFL when everyone is healthy. It takes a lot of SMS $ to pay 5 or 6 receivers what they are worth and leaves other player groups under funded, so I am thinking Rhymes is a SMS victim, and Lucky could end up in the same situation.

[don corleone]

Maybe Trevor Harris puts in a word on Rhymes behalf. I don't see too many other landing spots.

[B.C.FAN]

Farhan Lalji confirms the Lions asked Rhymes to restructure his contract and he refused. The Lions still hope to sign Cottoy but maybe not Whitehead.

https://x.com/FarhanLaljiTSN/status/174 ... 81722?s=20

[SammyGreene]

Farhan Lalji confirms the Lions asked Rhymes to restructure his contract and he refused. The Lions still hope to sign Cottoy but maybe not Whitehead.

https://x.com/FarhanLaljiTSN/status/174 ... 81722?s=20

And 3 Down Nation's John Hodge reporting Cottoy is close to being done which is huge.

The Lions are also close to reaching a contract extension with Jevon Cottoy, per source.

The Canadian receiver had a career-high 57 catches for 807 yards and four touchdowns in 2023.

What a day in the den, Lions on the verge of having 3 receivers making north of $200,000. Great they see that value in Cottoy. I thought they might be able to get Hollins for cheaper given his rather small body of work but it shows they also value him significantly.

I guess we can thank the Geno Lewis and Kenny Lawler monster deals for pushing up the value of elite receivers.

[SammyGreene]

No wonder Rhymes was so cordial in his departure from BC after being asked to take a paycut. He is now making more money after agreeing to a 2-year deal with Ottawa.

Dan Ralph
@danralphcp That was quick. Hearing WR Dominique Rhymes has agreed to terms on 2-yr deal with Ott. Rhymes and BC mutually parted ways yesterday. Ott was apparently 1 of 4 teams interested in Rhymes and is where he began his CFL career in '17. Understand deal is worth about $420k guaranteed.

[DanoT]

No wonder Rhymes was so cordial in his departure from BC after being asked to take a paycut. He is now making more money after agreeing to a 2-year deal with Ottawa.

Dan Ralph
@danralphcp That was quick. Hearing WR Dominique Rhymes has agreed to terms on 2-yr deal with Ott. Rhymes and BC mutually parted ways yesterday. Ott was apparently 1 of 4 teams interested in Rhymes and is where he began his CFL career in '17. Understand deal is worth about $420k guaranteed.

It is too bad Rhymes is no longer a Lion but I'm glad Rhymes signed with an eastern team. The Lions receiving corps was just too talented of a group to pay everyone what they are worth. Someone had to go and I have no way of knowing if moving on from Rhymes was the right choice, but, reading between the lines, it would seem re-signing Cottoy is the priority.

[don corleone]

What a day in the den, Lions on the verge of having 3 receivers making north of $200,000. Great they see that value in Cottoy. I thought they might be able to get Hollins for cheaper given his rather small body of work but it shows they also value him significantly.//quote]

Hollins deal is for $200,000? That seems like a really big number. Not knocking his game.

Shawn Bane should be so lucky.

[SammyGreene]

What a day in the den, Lions on the verge of having 3 receivers making north of $200,000. Great they see that value in Cottoy. I thought they might be able to get Hollins for cheaper given his rather small body of work but it shows they also value him significantly.//quote]

Hollins deal is for $200,000? That seems like a really big number. Not knocking his game.

Shawn Bane should be so lucky.

Hollins' deal is actually $220,000 then $230,000. Meanwhile Rhymes gets a pay raise signing for the RedBlacks $220,000/$220,000 guaranteed coming off a sub-par season. Receiver salaries have hit another level. I guess they all should be buying a round of drinks for Lewis and Lawlor.