2025-2026 Offseason thread

[adb]

I don't disagree, and have argued similar throughout the year that Fajardo didn't bring as much more to the table as people think in terms of actual individual performance, though I suspect he probably had a positive influence on the team culture.

However, with the public commentary from Ed and MK, I'd suspect that ship has sailed, so I'm looking forward instead of reverse and hope they at least look at the guys that are at least similar in production to him so far in their careers instead of taking a major step back. Really hoping Powell is the guy as he's not going to get much opportunity in Hamilton next year and maybe Hervey has a relationship with him from his time there

Yeah unfortunately I think you are right. Don't see how they would be able to mend fences now with what's been said. Powell would be good. I also thought I saw a lot out of Crum in a few games last season. I particularly remember the near crumback he was almost able to manufacture in that game late in the year at BC Place where Brown looked ineffective and he came in for him. Wouldn't mind him either.

[Hammer24]

I'm going to go against popular opinion here and say we should renegotiate Ford's contract and keep him. I'm not convinced he isn't capable of being a #1 QB in the future. He did pretty well considering he had no decent mentor other than Fajardo last year. Even last year a few of the early losses were because of poor play by the defense.

That's a reasonable suggestion. Simple fact is Ford will not find an opportunity anywhere in the CFL where he can compete for #1 in 2026. Elks cannot justify keeping under existing terms. Given nobody is in the market for a QB1 his contract as it stands is untradeable despite its $257K base. He did receive a $100K signing bonus last year which usually converts to an equal roster bonus in subsequent years. For Ed that's almost a poison pill.

For Ed I think his options are to:
a) stick with the contact as is - IMO this is not an option.
b) seek to renegotiate with Ford to significantly reduce the hard money hit in exchange for more money in play time incentives.
c) grant Ford's agent permission to talk to other teams to see if he can come to new terms to facilitate a trade.
d) outright release Ford.

Ford's options would appear to be;
a) work with Ed to rework his deal to be more in line with a QB2; get his hard money down to around $150K but with incentives that could get him back up closer to the max value he had last year should Fajardo get hurt for a significant period.
b) let Ed release him to free agency and see what the market will bear.
c) if Ed takes option c) above see if he can facilitate a trade by agreeing to new terms elsewhere.

For both EE and TF a change of scenery might be best. As far aa a shot at #1 beyond this year the best possibilities likely lie in ironically Edmonton followed by Saskatchewan and Winnipeg. After that maybe Ottawa. BC, Calgary, Hamilton, Toronto and Montreal appear to be committed to their long term QB1 solutions for at least the next 2 years.

[bone]

I'm going to go against popular opinion here and say we should renegotiate Ford's contract and keep him. I'm not convinced he isn't capable of being a #1 QB in the future. He did pretty well considering he had no decent mentor other than Fajardo last year. Even last year a few of the early losses were because of poor play by the defense.

I don't disagree, and have argued similar throughout the year that Fajardo didn't bring as much more to the table as people think in terms of actual individual performance, though I suspect he probably had a positive influence on the team culture.

However, with the public commentary from Ed and MK, I'd suspect that ship has sailed, so I'm looking forward instead of reverse and hope they at least look at the guys that are at least similar in production to him so far in their careers instead of taking a major step back. Really hoping Powell is the guy as he's not going to get much opportunity in Hamilton next year and maybe Hervey has a relationship with him from his time there

[Hammer24]

Thanks for the verbiage from the CBA. It is a loop hole that could lead to teams taking advantage of the cap. I wonder how they are going to account for this? I know we had a bunch of players at our practice and I was told by the team that they would be paying them to come (our board approved funds to bring pro help in). Is there a per hour dollar figure they go by? Is it the same for every player or is there a scale based on their wage?

We don't want to get ourselves in an MLB situation, obviously at a much smaller scale, where owners with deep pockets can give their teams a huge advantage.

I don't think one can simplify it down to a per hour figure because there's such a wide array of things players do in the community. Obviously the value behind having the star QB provide their time and effort for an event or is far greater than if a depth player did the same. No idea what sort of programs the Elks promote. Lions have their signature school programs. Many are held in the Lower Mainland but they are also put on literally all over the province. The players who speak in these things have to spend time learning the content and believe in the message. For those doing them away from the Vancouver area they have to be committed to being on the road for 3 or 4 days per out of town trip.

IMO this concept is about encouraging teams to actually spend money on marketing by getting the impact players involved AND compensating them more than meal and gas money to participate. For a league long accused of failing to market itself and its players this is long overdue. In the past all they could hope for is willing volunteers who more often than not were the lesser lights on the team who just happened to life full time in the market. Full marks to those who willingly helped out. Seems to me years ago the CBA allowed players to receive a max of $2000 for community efforts.

We'll just have to see what the audit produces to see if anybody has failed to live up to the spirit of the CBA.

[Eskie54]

For comparison sake, Tre Ford is 359/534 (67.2%) 4651 yards, 29 TDs and 19 INT with a 10-13 record as a starter.

Comparing him to everyone on this list, I don't see how he doesn't get a contract from someone. I'd be surprised if Calgary didn't have an offer on his agents desk within 24 hours of him being released as they have nothing of substance right now, and he's stylistically a decent match for Adams. Hamilton might be interested with him being a local assuming they can't convince Powell to stay. Tre's best games were vs. Sask, so I could see them showing interest as well if they weren't impressed with Maier.
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I'm going to go against popular opinion here and say we should renegotiate Ford's contract and keep him. I'm not convinced he isn't capable of being a #1 QB in the future. He did pretty well considering he had no decent mentor other than Fajardo last year. Even last year a few of the early losses were because of poor play by the defense.

[Looner]

We'll have to see where the audit of the marketing money leads. There is supposed to be one done sometime in the spring, likely as part of the SMS audit. I assume the expectation is that all teams will have to provide details of what marketing efforts players did to earn that money.

Rourke of course is the most contentious. Whether he proves to earn all of that $200K remains to be seen but there's a long list of charitable events, speaking engagements, football clinics, commercials and autograph sessions he's participated in and is still participating in this month. He isn't just the face of the franchise on the field. He's the absolute face of the franchise out in the community. Back in March he spent 3 days up in northwest BC leading sessions of BC's signature Be More Than a Bystander program at schools in Hazleton and Smithers area. He'll be at Guildford Mall this weekend in support of Purolator Tackle Hunger at a Lions merchandise sale.

Below is the existing CBA language surrounding "marketing money". The intent isn't to circumvent the cap but rather to encourage teams to invest in marketing. Oddly many complaints about the concept seem to come from those who normally complain the CFL doesn't do enough about marketing. The expectation is that players receiving "marketing money" will indeed put in the work to earn it.

B In 2023, each Club will include in the Salary Expenditure Cap an additional $60,000 in respect of Non-Football Related Services, such as community appearances, outreach, and promotion. Starting in 2024 and continuing for every year of the collective agreement, each Club will include in the Salary Expenditure Cap an additional $110,000 in respect of those Non-Football Related Services. These special amounts will be the mandatory minimum amount for each Club and will be subject to strict audit rules.

The Clubs will have sole discretion on which players shall received these payments and the amounts to each player, but in no case should these amounts be less than $60,000 per Club in 2023 or less than $110,000 per Club, per year thereafter. These amounts will be included in a player’s SPC and noted accordingly.

Thanks for the verbiage from the CBA. It is a loop hole that could lead to teams taking advantage of the cap. I wonder how they are going to account for this? I know we had a bunch of players at our practice and I was told by the team that they would be paying them to come (our board approved funds to bring pro help in). Is there a per hour dollar figure they go by? Is it the same for every player or is there a scale based on their wage?

We don't want to get ourselves in an MLB situation, obviously at a much smaller scale, where owners with deep pockets can give their teams a huge advantage.

[Hammer24]

Thanks for the details, any verbal on him of having any potential at all or just a warm body? I really didn't have much to go on but a brief review of the stats. Much easier to go 75% and 9 yards per pass in mop up, so might not be worth much.

Most of the action I witnessed was in training camp. He showed OK. Looked solid making.his reads and decisions. Being his second camp that should be expected. Showed a nice deep ball at times but didn't show the wow factor to have me thinking they really have something there. Probably interchangeable with most 2b/3a QBs currently in the league. Will have to see if BC is willing to pencil him in at 2 if as I expect they move on from Masoli. BC could look at the same long list bone posted for an upgrade over Brice.

[adb]

Only got 8 pass attempts all year in Hamilton, so I can't see him being overly eager to resign. Though what are the odds BLM is 100% healthy to take 99% of the snaps again this year.

The other major difference between Fajardo and BLM is that Cody's family is in the US so he's lived a solitary lifestyle during the season resulting in him seriously considering retirement ever since he won the 2023 GC. Bo on the other hand has his family with him so the only reason he has considered retirement in the past has been health/performance related. If he stays healthy and productive I could easily see him playing longer than Cody.

[bone]

Brice has seen action in 6 of the 38 games he's suited up for. All was in mop-up duty.

Thanks for the details, any verbal on him of having any potential at all or just a warm body? I really didn't have much to go on but a brief review of the stats. Much easier to go 75% and 9 yards per pass in mop up, so might not be worth much.

[bone]

BLM just signed a 2 year extension so with Cody only signing a 1 year extension maybe Powell decides the grass is greener out west...maybe?

Only got 8 pass attempts all year in Hamilton, so I can't see him being overly eager to resign. Though what are the odds BLM is 100% healthy to take 99% of the snaps again this year.

[Hammer24]

Brice has seen action in 6 of the 38 games he's suited up for. All was in mop-up duty.

[adb]

Yeah, tough to say on Brice. Had good passing numbers in College but in a lesser program. He just caught my eye with that percentage albeit in a small sample and JM would have seen him in practice for 2 years and may have some intel on him that suggests there's a high ceiling there. He'd clearly be the wild card consideration only if they strike out on Powell and Crum (and to a lesser extent, Evans). For the third stringer, I'm more interested in them developing their current prospects than going out and taking someone else 3rd/4th stringers

BLM just signed a 2 year extension so with Cody only signing a 1 year extension maybe Powell decides the grass is greener out west...maybe?

[bone]

Great breakdown. If I was a GM looking for a number 2 the only ones that I would be going after on this list would be Ford, Powell, Crum and maybe Evans (probably in that order). MBT and Maier would both be able to do the job but I wouldn't want them in there with Cody as I am not sure it would make for the greatest atmosphere and may end up dividing the room if there was any controversy down the road. I would rather have a young guy with experience at number 2 who is clearly in learning mode but could provide an adequate level of play if he were needed to go in there. Brice doesn't have enough game reps as far as I'm concerned so for me he is a number 3 guy and not a back up. Patterson and Dolegala are short yardage options that I believe will never amount to anything but at one point I thought the same thing about Fajardo who never showed any level of game before he got a chance when Collaros got hurt in Sask so who knows. Masoli, Shiltz, and Streveler are all done IMO. The others I think are all number 3 guys or worse as in not worth developing.

Yeah, tough to say on Brice. Had good passing numbers in College but in a lesser program. He just caught my eye with that percentage albeit in a small sample and JM would have seen him in practice for 2 years and may have some intel on him that suggests there's a high ceiling there. He'd clearly be the wild card consideration only if they strike out on Powell and Crum (and to a lesser extent, Evans). For the third stringer, I'm more interested in them developing their current prospects than going out and taking someone else 3rd/4th stringers

[adb]

Just to put some perspective out there. Here's the list of Free Agent QBs this off season. Assuming Ford is released, how many of these guys are locks to be better options coming off the bench as a 2nd stringer than Ford.

Powell is my top pick, but I'm not seeing any others that are sure fire better options than Tre. Evans and Crum are maybe in a similar boat to Tre, maybe Maier gets a look, then it's a bunch of guys with minimal reps or are even deeper into their careers without much to suggest they can win games. Interesting to note how many of these guys also have 4 or more years and haven't got traction yet but are still in the league (must be Canadians... Sorry Q, just having some fun there).

BETHEL-THOMPSON, McLeod - old and hasn't done much recently.
EVANS, Caleb - 5 CFL years experience, 311/508 (61.2%) 3667 yards, 17 TD, 22 INT, 5-10 as a starter
PATTERSON, Shea - 4 CFL years experience 135/224 (60.3%) 1687 yards, 6TD, 5 INT, 1-1 as a starter
ADAMS, Tyrie - 4 CFL years experience 67/107 (62.6%) 817 yards, 5TD, 6 INT, I don't know if he has any starts
CRUM, Dustin - 3 CFL years experience 463/664 (69.7%) 5200 yards, 16 TD, 16 INT, 5-15 as a starter
SHILTZ, Matt - 8 years, 401/626 (64.0%), 5078 yards, 22 TD, 27 INT, not sure his starting record
DOLEGALA, Jake 4 years, 247/394 (62.7%), 2953 yards, 12 TD, 11 INT, 11 starts, not sure the record though
FROST, Harrison 2 years, 8/12 (66.7%), 95 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT. No starts
POWELL, Taylor 3 years, 244/352 (69.3%) 2752 yards, 12 TD, 9 INT, 7-7 record as starter
STREVELER, Chris 4 years CFL with NFL in the middle, 366/572 (63.9%), 4144 yards, 26 TD, 31 INT, 5-8 record as starter on the league best team over the last 6 years.
COAN, Jack 2 years, 12/29 (41.3%) 138 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, no starts (I think).
MAIER, Jake 5 years 1078/1584 (68.0%) 12,302 yards, 62 TD, 41 INT, 67 starts but doesn't show his record
BONNER, Logan 3 years 29/50 (58.0%) (378 yards, 0 TD, 5 INT, 1 start (I think)
BRICE, Chase 3 years 25/33 (75.7%) 261 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, unsure if he has a start
MASOLI, Jeremiah old guy that should probably retire.

(PLEASE NOTE THAT MY START INFORMATION MAY BE INACCURATE AS CFL.CA DOESN'T SHOW STARTS AND WIKIPEDIA IS INCONSISTENT)

For comparison sake, Tre Ford is 359/534 (67.2%) 4651 yards, 29 TDs and 19 INT with a 10-13 record as a starter.

Comparing him to everyone on this list, I don't see how he doesn't get a contract from someone. I'd be surprised if Calgary didn't have an offer on his agents desk within 24 hours of him being released as they have nothing of substance right now, and he's stylistically a decent match for Adams. Hamilton might be interested with him being a local assuming they can't convince Powell to stay. Tre's best games were vs. Sask, so I could see them showing interest as well if they weren't impressed with Maier.

For wildcards on this list if we couldn't get our hands on Powell as the first option and maybe Crum as the second option, I'd consider looking at Chase Brice. Might be a guy that's just been held back by a deep pool of QBs on a team expecting to win Grey Cups, but decent numbers in his limited action and has some familiarity with JM.

Great breakdown. If I was a GM looking for a number 2 the only ones that I would be going after on this list would be Ford, Powell, Crum and maybe Evans (probably in that order). MBT and Maier would both be able to do the job but I wouldn't want them in there with Cody as I am not sure it would make for the greatest atmosphere and may end up dividing the room if there was any controversy down the road. I would rather have a young guy with experience at number 2 who is clearly in learning mode but could provide an adequate level of play if he were needed to go in there. Brice doesn't have enough game reps as far as I'm concerned so for me he is a number 3 guy and not a back up. Patterson and Dolegala are short yardage options that I believe will never amount to anything but at one point I thought the same thing about Fajardo who never showed any level of game before he got a chance when Collaros got hurt in Sask so who knows. Masoli, Shiltz, and Streveler are all done IMO. The others I think are all number 3 guys or worse as in not worth developing.

[bone]

I was in Edmonton for the Esks Argos game in 2024. I watched MBT go TD on every drive (5 or 6 total cant remember). His only crime? One drive ended in FG. And guess what? They still lost the game because defense was beyond PATHETIC. They couldnt stop nothing. Allowed 7 TDs against. Chris Jones the genie.
so i say MBT is pretty damn good as a backup.

The guy is the opposite of a winner. Often puts up good stats, but almost never finishes the deal if the game is close. He also took a big step back this year going 3-5 on a team where their starter was 7-0 with a pedestrian efficiency rating of 82.1.

I think he's the type who's a reasonable option for teams with young starting QBs that are expected to start for at least 3-4 more years as injury support and veteran presence on the sideline. On a team with a QB who may be on their way out in the next season or two, you're just wasting development time by having a guy like him as he's well past his best before date.

So basically, he's a great fit for teams like BC or Montreal or maybe even Ottawa, but not teams like Sask, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg or Hamilton. Not sure about Toronto as there may be a lot of movement there this off season and I have no idea what they'll do at QB but suspect they run it back with Kelly and Arbuckle.