Riders Having Fun with Free Agency

It seems the Riders are having fun with the sky is falling types on the internet.

After a relatively quiet day one of free agency, the Riders let it rip on Tuesday with Alex Hall being the biggest trophy being bagged by the team. Hall was formerly with Winnipeg in 2013 when we traded Patrick Neufield for him for the stretch cup run. Hall had 15 sacks in Winnipeg, one after being traded here, but he did get a Grey Cup ring.

Hall spent last season on the practice roster of the Carolina Panthers and either he has exhausted his NFL practice roster eligibility or decided that playing full time has a certain charm to it by signing with the Riders. Reaction to this signing has been remarkably similar to other signings, this could work out…if…

People are looking at the disparity in sacks for Hall from Winnipeg to Regina, but no less an expert than Anwar Stewart says with new Rider defensive line coach Mike Sinclair, both Hall and John Chick should get 15 sacks apiece this year. I am tempted to wager Anwar on this one just because I would love paying him on it. Hall does fit a slot and his signing may mean the Riders are not looking at Justin Hickman, formerly of the Hamilton Tiger-cats, although that would be a ballsy move on the Riders part to create the most rabid defensive line known to man.

I digress. The Riders today showed they are not repeating with Josh Bartel at punter by signing University of Saskatchewan punter Denton Kolodzinski . Kolodzinski spent five years at the U of S, made 13 of 16 field goal attempts and converted all 27 PATs. He punted for a 40.2 yard average and was named a Canada West all star.

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The Riders also signed Brad Nehring who spent five years at the U of S and get this, played centre. Nehring is 6’5” and 195 pounds. He could use some extra muscle prior to camp to better his chances. The signing of Nehring should be an indicator to guys like Dan Clark, who re-signed with the Riders late Wednesday, and Cory Watman, that the team is not handing any spots on the offensive line over to anybody. My biggest problem with our back-up offensive line, well, ok, the whole offensive line, is how injury prone they tend to be at times, so coming to camp ready to play is important.

Clark, due to his two earthshattering touchdown catches, could be moved to a tight end position, but again, he scares me because he doesn’t have the feet to keep up with faster defensive players. Centre would limit his damage unless he becomes a turnstile for defensive tackles taking off after Darian Durant.

The Riders also re-signed Scott McHenry, who broke his neck in such a way as not requiring surgery, and is expected to be ready for training camp. Whether McHenry is in the same league as Rob Bagg in coming back from injuries, and a broken neck is very serious, makes this a feel good story but another big If when it comes to helping the team.

It was not all happy introductions for the Riders yesterday as they let one and probably two players go. Brent Swain, former receiver, got his walking papers which should have been apparent when the Riders traded for Canadian Cory Watson. Swain was a tall receiver in the Jamal Richardson down the sideline and throw it to where no one else but he could get it, but I didn’t see too many of those plays last year. Swain blocked a lot, but with free agency signings, the Riders are bumping against roster limits and there is still the CFL draft to work their way through.

In theory, Swain would have been a good receiver here, but especially after Durant got injured, and the resulting mess, I guess we will never know.

The other departure is Keith Tolston who was an interesting case of a guy who burst through the line like a runaway truck, fumbled once, got benched for the rest of the season for apparently no good reason. If there was a good reason, neither Rider Coach Cory Chamblin nor Tolston were talking about it, but the whole inconsistency that marked the Riders season was epitomized in how Tolston was used, along with the backup quarterbacks. Unless the Riders have uncovered someone in their free agent camps, Anthony Allen appears to be their running back for 2015, but that is assuming he has learned how to hang onto the ball.

The Riders can say goodbye to Geroy Simon, who having completed the final year of his two year contract with the Riders helping out in the community, returns to the BC Lions to work with sponsors etc. It was kind of funny watching Simon stick around for another year in an ambassador category while being paid out his player contract which because he was no longer a player because his contract was an administration contract and therefore not under the salary cap. You can’t really quantify the intangibles and well, Simon did help them get to the Grey Cup and he did stick it to Wally Buono. That is priceless.