Since the idea of trading him keeps coming up in threads, I thought it would be good to start a separate one for this topic.
IMO the Argos won't trade him and should not trade him. Here's why.
1. We have a legitimate shot at winning the Grey Cup this season. We look to be far better than anyone expected, and have almost finished the worst part of our schedule (the next two weeks will also be rough, with three games in a 12-day span). The Tiger-Cats have been scuffling along, the Als have a rookie QB who looks good but is small and potentially fragile, and the Redblacks have Henry Burris at QB. Out west, other than Calgary (which has been far from dominant) there is no obvious Cup favourite. If you think you can win the Grey Cup, you better ensure you have depth at QB -- especially given how frequently that position has fallen victim to injuries the past two seasons.
2. If any of the other eight current starting QBs were lost to injury, how well positioned would that team be to keep competing? Calgary has Tate but after him, every team has an inexperienced or not-very-good backup. If Hamilton loses Collaros, they are probably screwed. Same with Montreal and Ottawa. Same with B.C., Winnipeg and Sask. Edm's rookie looked good last night but I'm hardly expecting him to be a playoff game-winning quarterback on the basis of less than one game. And we would have Ricky Ray coming off the bench, or Trevor Harris if Ricky resumes starting. How luxurious is that compared to everyone else?
3. The idea that we can get something big for him in trade ignores a couple of realities. Mid-season trades are extremely rare in the CFL, and mid-season trades involving starting QBs are even more rare; I think the last one may have been in 1983 -- Tom Clements for Dieter Brock. And other than maybe Ottawa, who would want to give up a lot for a 35-year-old QB who could be signed as a free agent in the offseason? As for trading him for a first-round draft choice, we would almost certainly lose such a trade. From 2009 through 2013, I count fewer than half a dozen first-rounders who would be considered stars at their positions. (It's too early to judge 2014 and 2015, IMO.)
4. The idea that we can't possibly afford to keep both RR and TH ignores the fact that we don't know how much the org spends on QBs now and how much it is willing to spend on that position in the future. I would bet that Harris already makes low six figures, and both Gale and McPherson are probably high five figures. So our total spending on QBs now (with a tightwad owner) might be in the range of $750k. I can see a scenario where Ray and Harris combined make around $650k and we have a couple of backups cheaper than Gale and McPherson.
5. People seem to believe RR would not consider being a backup. Yet one of his best friends in the CFL is Jason Maas, who happily and loyally served as a backup for many years despite being capable of starting. I think RR would be willing to consider serving as a backup to TH, especially if he continues to be paid in the $300 range.
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