Free Agency done, now for the CFL Combine and Draft

Ouellette is also shaping up to be a fan favorite with his long blond hair, the similarities to Thor, including a green hammer I got him to sign at his first autograph session in Riderville. The Rider fan base needed to get excited and Ouellette will fit that bill. He plans to bring up his camper from Ohio and asked around on social media on where he could park it and if anyone could look after his dogs when he was on the road with the Riders.

Another big signing, in a literal, if not psychic sense, was right tackle Jemarcus (Yoshi) Hardrick. Once upon a time I had Hardrick’s Rider jersey and when he went to Winnipeg, he was part of a punishing offensive line. However, Winnipeg let him go because despite their ability to get their players to sign for less, they were going to have to bite the bullet and pay players like Brady Olivera and Dalton Schoen.

In meeting their price, and with one eye towards the Bombers hosting the 2025 Grey Cup, the Bombers are looking to try to keep their better players together for the dream of a home team playing in the Grey Cup.

The signing makes the Riders offensive line much more suited for a power running game and offensive linemen love to run block because they are moving forward and hitting people instead of dropping back in pass protection. It also upgrades the Rider culture as Rider Head Coach Corey Mace looks to bring in a winning culture that does not tolerate slacking off as the Riders excelled in last season.

The Riders offensive line also picked up Ryan Sceviour, formerly of the Stampeders and a player that Mace was very familiar with when he was in Calgary. Sceviour’s signing raises the possibility of the Riders going with four Canadians on the offensive line but the Riders also signed Jonathon Hubbard, a left tackle who was an undrafted signing of the Miami Dolphins in 2020, then signed with Tampa Bay in 2021 and 2022. Left tackle is an important position because it is responsible for watching quarterback Trevor Harris’ blind side and keeping him upright against a pass rush. Another major signing was Jameer Thurman, 6 ‘ 227 lbs, the middle linebacker formerly of Hamilton and Calgary (where Mace knew him well) who will take over from Larry Dean in the middle.

Thurman will hopefully stiffen the Riders defense from opposing running games that ran through the Riders like grass through a goose. The Riders signed defensive lineman Elijah Ponder, 6”3 265 lbs. Ponder played with the Cincinnati Bearcats and lined up as a defensive end, defensive tackle and even an outside linebacker. It will be interesting to see how he adapts to the Canadian game and if he can fill all the positions professionally that he did in college.

The Riders also signed defensive end Malik Carney, 6’3 245 lbs, from Hamilton who also was in Calgary where Mace got to know him.

Carney had a pretty good season in Hamilton and I suspect the Riders will be looking at various rotations depending on on-field situations and perhaps injuries. Speaking of rotational situation, the Riders re-signed defensive tackle Micah Johnson. Johnson made it through a season with no injuries and is likely going to be on a pitch count, which means he will be limited to a number of plays to avoid potential injury and to keep him fresh for situations the Riders need to plug the middle, like against Winnipeg. The Riders let Micah Teitz go in free agency to Calgary, after a so-so career that last season saw him take the worst angles to tackle players possible.

To replace him, they raided the Ottawa Redblacks for Canadian linebacker Adam Auclair who seems more mobile than Teitz.

Jalon Edwards-Cooper was signed as a defensive back from the BC Lions and should be able to replace Nic Marshall without the laziness that Marshall, now facing gun charges in the US, demonstrated on an ongoing basis last season. Edwards-Cooper will likely be the shutdown corner for the Riders. The Riders brought back Samuel Emilus who had NFL interest from Arizona and Green Bay in addition to Shawn Bane Jr. who was probably looking at Tim White requests for salary increases before signing for a more team friendly number.

Bane brings some speed to the Rider receiving corps and another year working with Trevor Harris and Marc Mueller, who was in Calgary the same time as Bane, will be interesting to see how Mueller uses Bane.

The Riders extended Canadian Logan Ferland on the offensive line and Ferland made a major step forward last year and has a nasty streak the offensive line desperately needs. The Riders recruiting will see them bring in players like Marcus Murphy, a defensive back from Mississippi State; Nick Nelson, 5’11, 205 lbs, a defensive back who was drafted by the Raiders in 2018, played a couple of years with them. So at an autograph signing featuring Ouellette, Mace was there with his two children and took questions and posed for pictures with fans.

I asked Mace what the team focus is now, and he mentioned the CFL Combine with the CFL Invitational Combine set for March 8 and the CFL Combine set for March 19-24 in Winnipeg. Having taken in the CFL Combine in Regina, I strongly urge CFL fans in Winnipeg to take in the Combine and use their armchair GM and head coach abilities to judge the talent and who their respective teams might want to consider.

Following the Combine will be the 2024 CFL draft and Global Draft on April 30 with the global Draft set for 11 am ET and the CFL draft set for 8 pm ET.

Rookie camps will open on May 8 with first year players taking the field along with quarterbacks. Rosters will need to reduced to 85 players, not including draft choices and territorial picks on May 11 and training camps opening on May 12.

On May 14 rosters will have to be reduced to 75 players excluding draft picks and territorial pics, with training camps ending June 1.

So after free agency, there is a fairly good idea of how the Riders roster is shaping up. On the offensive line, one possible option would see Hubbard at left tackle, Philip Blake at left guard, Peter Godber at center, Logan Ferland at right guard and Hardrick at right tackle. The signing of Sceviour presents the Riders with a lineup of Blake at left tackle, Ferland at left guard, Godber at center, Sceviour at right guard and Hardrick at right tackle.

The receiving corps might consist of Jerreth Sterns at one wide receiver spot, Emilus at the other. Slotbacks look like they might consist of Bane, Kian Schaefer-Baker and Brayden Lenius. Ouellette will be the running back with Bruno LaBelle at fullback, Brent Lauther at kicker, Adam Korshak at punter and Jorgen Hus at long snapper.

On the defensive line it looks like Bryan Cox Jr. at defensive end, Mica Johnson and Anthony Lanier II at defensive tackles, and Carney at the other defensive end spot. The linebacking corps would appear to consist of Auclair, Thurman and C.J. Reavis.

The early line on the defensive secondary is Mark Fields II at cornerback, Edwards-Cooper at the other cornerback spot, Rolan Milligan at defensive halfback, Amari Henderson at the other halfback position and Jayden Dalke at safety.

Now this is just after free agency and does not reflect a few crucial facts.

First, who do the Riders draft, do they get those draft picks in camp and where would they play? The second is this will be one of the more competitive camps where Mace will set his expectations on the team and establish there is a new sheriff in town. So expect fluidity in projected starting lineups at least until the season opener. Players will either rise to the challenge or not, and that is the human element of football, not necessarily the analytical side.

When it comes to former Riders, Jake Dolegala who won the hearts of Rider fan with his size and his garbage time play, is now a back up prospect in BC along with former Bomber third down specialist QB Dakota Prukop with Vernon Adams Jr. extended as the Lions starting quarterback for two more years. BC also signed former Rider defensive lineman Pete Robertson who had his moments but was not consistent enough and besides, wore #45 that is now Ouellette’s number.

BC also signed William Stanback who was let go by Montreal in a cap move and provided he stay healthy, should give BC a good physical running game. BC lost Matthieu Betts to the Detroit Lions where Betts is banking on his ability to land an NFL roster spot on a team that needs a pass rush complement to Aidan Hutchinson.

Calgary had Dedrick Mills at running back and managed to snag defensive back Demerio Houston from Winnpeg. As noted they added Teitz who hails from Calgary so the Stampeders are trying to increase sales from the Teitz family.

In Edmonton the Elk’s big signing was McLeod Bethel Thompson and trading Jake Ceresna to Toronto for receiver Kurleigh Gittens to provide Bethel-Thompson with some security going back to their Toronto days. The addition of Bethel-Thompson raises an interesting question about Tre Ford, the Canadian QB who gave the Elk a better look than Cornelius Taylor but apparently is not Chris Jones cup of tea.

The question arise would the Elk, facing massive pressure to make the playoffs, consider trading Ford to another team for say, draft capital?

This draft is said to be deep in offensive linemen, although it might be fair to say a number would be interested in exploring their NFL options. Jones might be interested in the third overall pick currently held by the Riders and the Riders price for that might be Ford. Ford provides a more mobile option for the Riders at back up, and the Riders did enjoy some success with Canadian QB Brandon Bridge who was probably damaged by the way Jones jerked him in and out of the huddle. If Ford has his head on straight, and he is on the last year of his contract, he would be an intriguing trade choice, but it would be up to Mace and Mueller to do their due diligence before even considering such a move.

In Winnipeg, the City that God Forgot, the lugnuts at Princess Auto Stadium, formerly Incestuous Field, managed to keep some of the band together, but lost Hardwick, Houston, Jeff Jeffcoat to retirement but bringing back Chris Streveler to lend some color and questionable fashion choices at back up quarterback.

To show the ambiguity around the 2023 Riders, Tevin Jones was signed by Montreal as a receiver and while Jones had a good season in Riderville, he struck me as one of those players who either didn’t know the playbook or took too may plays off when he was not the star attraction on a specific play.

The CFL pre free agency tampering period made free agency more anticlimactic with fans getting an idea of what their teams were getting.

It took a fair amount of suspense out of the actual free agency period but it seemed teams focused on free agency on circling back and nabbing players from their own roster that they could not fill in otherwise or grabbing less high profile players from other teams to fill roster spots left vacant by players moving on.

For the Riders, it was a good two weeks, but keep this in mind, the Grey Cup is won in November, not February. For CFL fans though, it is fun to follow the moves and see how their teams are going to be constructed for the 2024 season. Next stop, CFL Combine!

by Greg Urbanoski

Free Agency done, now for the CFL Combine and Draft

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