If you blinked you missed contract renegotiated

Then on December 13, Brendan LaBatte was also deleted from the active roster and listed as a free agent, then was listed as being added to the roster.

Finally, on December 19 Bo Levi Mitchell of the Stampeders was listed as deleted from the active roster and then was listed as being added to the active roster.

These listings are all similar and what they mean is that the players renegotiated their current contracts with their respective clubs and released or listed as free agents but once a new contract was agreed to, they were listed as being added to the active roster.

Renegotiating contracts take place either asking for players to take less so the team can fit under the salary cap without penalty, or if there is extra money, it can be directed to players under the current year’s cap.

So in the case of the Riders, the trade of Zach Collaros to the Toronto Argonauts freed up an undetermined amount of cash which could be spread around to various players. It could also in the case of LaBatte be a case of a renegotiated contract which freed up some money to perhaps pay Philip Blake or Dariusz Bladek, both of whom are Canadian offensive line free agents.

In the case of Mitchell, it seems the killing that Mitchell made in free agency may have had an impact in bringing in players to Calgary and Mitchell may have reworked his contract, considering his injury last year, to free up some money to bring in reinforcements. When you keep in mind that CFL free agents last year signed before the new collective bargaining agreement was agreed to, there may be some adjustments required to make everything work this year.

So then a player like Mithcell is listed as delected from the active roster and becoming a free agent, that means his contract is no longer in effect and when he is listed as added to the active roster, that indicates a new contract has been agreed to and registered with the league. This would be something worth following for CFL fans over the next couple of months as teams move toward the Feb. 11 free agency kick off.

I was struck by the listing of Mitchell and LaBatte and wondered what it meant until I asked the right question of the right person and got an idea of what was going on in plain sight on the transaction pages. This kind of maneuvering in plain sight behind the scenes adds another item of interest for CFL fans as they await the shakedown in coaches and assistant coaches and what it means for their respective clubs.

For example, Montreal has suspended its search for a GM because with the seeming inability of the team to figure out who its new owner(s) will be, putting a GM in place without the input of the new owners, if they are willing to step forward, is not a sensible idea in these days of a cap on football operations.

So Montreal in the meantime brought in former Hamilton head coach and Rider offensive coordinator Marcel Bellefeuille to serve as the teams offensive line coach. Bob Slowik, who was brought in as the defensive coordinator last year with no CFL experience returns as the defensive coordinator while Todd Howard returns as defensive line coach and Robert Gordon is the receivers coach.

The hiring of Paul LaPolice in Ottawa as the head coach was followed by the announcement that Mike Benevedes is now the defensive coordinator, replacing Noel Thorpe who once upon a time was being touted as a potential head coach. Benevedes had a not bad run as an analyst on TSN and I suspect that LaPolice, who also served as a TSN analyst after he was let go as Bomber head coach, saw a kindred spirit in Benevedes.

So if Thorpe was let go in Ottawa, is there a likely spot where he will land? There are two locations to consider in Edmonton and Toronto. Scott Milanovich taking the reins in Edmonton led to the resignation of Philip Lolley as defensive coordinator, which was kind of surprising since he managed to get a pretty good rush out of the Eskimos considering they had a defensive secondary made out of Swiss cheese.

However it seems Lolley may have a family member with medical issues and his resignation is understandable in that circumstance. However, that brings up an opening and considering that Milanovich and Thorpe had worked in Montreal, a reunion in Edmonton is not entirely out of the question.

Putting Thorpe in charge of an impressive Edmonton defensive front and getting them unleashed would seem to be a natural step for Milanovich and the Eskimos. The Montreal defenses that Thorpe ran back in the day were renowned for their pass rush and physical play so if the union of Milanovich and quarterback Trevor Harris seems like a natural, so does the union of Thorpe and the Eskimo defense.

The other potential landing spot for Thorpe might be Toronto where Ryan Dinwiddie has been placed in charge by Mike Clemons to build a winning team culture – at least on offense. On defense the Argos have former Montreal linebacker Bear Woods, who Thorpe would know well, but it seems that Dinwiddie and the Argos may be looking at former BC head coach DeVone Claybrooks to pick up the pieces of the Argo defense and lead them back to respectability.

Ottawa also announced Alex Suber has been brought in as a receivers coach and LaPolice knows Suber well from when Suber played for him in Winnipeg. Suber played in the league from 2010-2015, including a stint in Saskatchewan, but went into coaching and was a Rider guest coach in 2017.

Ottawa also announced the signing of Kevin Anderson, a former Winnipeg back-up quarterback last season. While Ottawa also has Dominique Davis and Jon Jennings under contract, expect to see Ottawa be active in free agency trying to pick up a quarterback like say, Matt Nichols?

It will be interesting to see how Ottawa constructs a defense under Benevedes. He was the defensive coordinator under Wally Buono and was tapped to replaced Buono when he initially retired from coaching. However, whether Buono cast a long shadow and inhibited what Benevedes might have wanted to do as head is perhaps a question to be answered next Grey Cup in some hospitality room with BC Lion fans.

So the big question in Ottawa will be player personnel with the coaching more of less settled. In Montreal the question is whether Montreal can conjure up a pass rush that left it standing befuddled on the sideline in the eastern semi-final.

In Toronto the Argos need to establish an identity on defense by naming a coordinator and deciding who will quarterback the team. McLeod Bethel Thompson led the CFL with touchdown passesand while he may be older than ideal for a team looking to rebuild around a quarterback, if he had a competent offensive coordinator the Argos could conceivably surprise like Montreal did.

In Hamilton the first question is whether or not the Cats move on from Jeremiah Masoli and go with the cap friendly Dane Evans. Masoli is a free agent and moving into a situation where he can take the reins and lead a team, hopefully to a Grey Cup. If Masoli goes, he could end up in Ottawa or Toronto, with Ottawa probably being the better locale with the coaching of LaPolice. Dinwiddie may be a good offensive mind, but serving as the Stamps QB coach under Dave Dickenson doesn’t really do much to help him stand out on his own as an offensive mind.

In Winnipeg, the Bombers may lose Chris Streveler to the NFL who is looking at him as a potential wildcat type player who can run wild or even complete one in three passes. The Bombers could also lose Matt Nichols and Zach Collaros, all of whom are free agents. Collaros was assumed to be going back to Toronto following his Grey Cup win in Winnipeg, but if Winnipeg makes him an offer he can’t refuse, like being a starter, then Collaros may think Buck Pierce as an offensive coordinator would not be a bad person to play under, seeing how Pierce was the Zach Collaros of his time with the head injuries.

Winnipeg may have to deal with the loss of players like Willie Jefferson who impressed the Miami Dolphins at what sounded like a CFL all star workout. On the other hand, if Jefferson goes south, that frees up salary for free agents and it will be interesting to see how Winnipeg adjusts to the newfound role of defending Grey Cup Champion.

In Riderville, the Riders coaching staff is likely to be unveiled Christmas week and the rumours abound that either Ricky Ray or Jarious Jackson will emerge as the Riders new quarterback coach. It seems Steve Walsh will be moving on following two seasons in Riderville and honestly, Cody Fajardo will likely benefit more from having Ray as quarterback coach to continue to teach him how to be a winning quarterback and not a one season wonder.

The Riders may look at bolstering their back up quarterback situation when looking at 2019 and how every starting quarterback went down at one point or another. Isaac Harker did win the division clinching game for the Riders against the Eskimos, but Harker needs to bulk up a bit because if he on the field and gets hit consistently, his frame is not built to handle those kinds of hints.

In Calgary, it seems the Stampeders may be looking at more assistant coaches moving on to other opportunities and if that is the case, then that will be a good test of the model that John Hufnagel has built for this club of next man up and consistent play. The move to renegotiate Mitchell’s contract to free up money for free agency is a smart move to avoid having a team revolving solely around Mitchell and having more offensive balance.

In Edmonton the defensive coordinator position is yet to be determined, but Thorpe seems to be a natural there. The Eskimos will have a number of free agent questions in their defensive backfield and it will be interesting to see if Thorpe comes in, how the Eskimos proceed in free agency.

Finally in BC the Lions are looking to find an offensive coordinator and losing Jason Maas to the Riders was the first kick the Lions took. Jackson may stay in BC as the offensive coordinator, but it will take a bit more for the Lions to emerge from their cat nap and make noise as a Grey Cup contender.

by Greg Urbanoski

If you blinked you missed contract renegotiated

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