Ottawa Redblacks Thread

[jerrym]

Ottawa has extended most of its offensive free agents, including former Argos Trevor Harris and Diontae Spencer, as well as William Powell, Brendan Gillanders, Mossis Madu, Brad Sinopoli, Alex Mateas, and Nolan MacMillan. With Greg Ellington and former Argos Kenny Shaw and SirVincent Rogers already locked up previously, the offence seems well set for 2018. However, on defence only Jean-Philippe Bolduc has been extended, so there is likely to be major changes there.

[jerrym]

Ottawa has released QB Drew Tate at the same time that they have signed Dominique Davis, who was released by the Bombers after playing little and showing very little there. Tate's release is not a surprise considering his age, his salary, and the fact that he has played only 3 games in each of the last two seasons because of injury. Besides Davis, this leaves them with former NFL QB Ryan Lindley, who looked very weak in limited action last year, and the inexperienced Danny Collins and William Arndt as backups to Trevor Harris. The QB talent supply that was potentially available in free agency has largely been drained, leaving them with a choice of Lulay, who is far more talented than Tate but suffering from injury issues at age 34, Drew Willy, who has shown little in the last couple of years, and Cody Fajardo, who has some promise but is inexperienced, if they decide to pursue another QB through free agency.

[jerrym]

With most of their powerful offence resigned the RedBlacks focused mostly on their defence in free agency by signing Rider DL A.C. Leonard, Lion DB Lucheiz Purifoy, Argos DB Rico Murray, and resigning DB Jonathan Rose in the first two days of the draft.

[jerrym]

GM Marcel Desjardins discusses what former Argo Rico Murray brings to the team:

“The addition of Rico Murray brings another experienced CFL presence to the REDBLACKS,” said General Manager Marcel Desjardins. “His motor, physicality and versatility will integrate well into our defence.”
In five CFL seasons, including four with Hamilton, the two-time CFL All-Star has 235 defensive tackles, 12 on special teams, 4 sacks, 10 interceptions, two touchdowns and two forced fumbles in 68 games.
The Ohio native has also played nine NFL games for the Cincinnati Bengals between 2009-2011.

https://www.ottawaredblacks.com/2018...n-rico-murray/

[jerrym]

The RedBlacks have signed two Internationals: WR R. J. Shelton and DL Louis Palmer.

http://www.vikings.com/team/roster/r...-8c9342698ff2/

http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nfl/12029/louis-palmer

[OV Argo]

Ottawa signs 2 FA DTs - Darryl Waud & Mike Klassen - nice move for TC competition IMO. Probably still hoping to land former draft pick DT Medhi Abdesmad from the NFL; still have the quite under-rated Ettore Lattanzio at DT too. Waud needs to stay healthy and step up his game to prove he rated a 12th overall draft pick; Klassen has always been pretty solid IMO in limited time with the Als. IF all 4 of the above have good TC - they could easily go all NI at DT, IMO

They did trade away import DT Ceresna and lost FA Zack Evans to the Riders.

[R.J]

So long as they can stay healthy - good moves by the Redblacks.

[AngeloV]

Ottawa signs 2 FA DTs - Darryl Waud & Mike Klassen - nice move for TC competition IMO. Probably still hoping to land former draft pick DT Medhi Abdesmad from the NFL; still have the quite under-rated Ettore Lattanzio at DT too. Waud needs to stay healthy and step up his game to prove he rated a 12th overall draft pick; Klassen has always been pretty solid IMO in limited time with the Als. IF all 4 of the above have good TC - they could easily go all NI at DT, IMO

They did trade away import DT Ceresna and lost FA Zack Evans to the Riders.

I like Waud a lot. Very cool guy that has had some bad luck. Could be a great signing by the RedBlacks.

[Argo57]

I like Waud a lot. Very cool guy that has had some bad luck. Could be a great signing by the RedBlacks.

Sometimes a change of scenery is all someone needs.
Good luck to Waud.

[OV Argo]

I like Waud a lot. Very cool guy that has had some bad luck. Could be a great signing by the RedBlacks.

Waud is in the same company as Gaydosh IMO - 2 former highly rated DT prospect for the CFL draft who just haven't panned out for much playing time and hampered by injuries; i bet both could be very solid starters in the right situation.

NI DT talent seemed so strong the past few years but doesn't always show in the CFL - Atkinson, Gill, Vaughn with the Ticats to go with Laurent; the Bummers used first overall last year on Faith Ekakitie to go with Jake Thomas; Ottawa has 2 draft picks - Abdesmad & Ankou - who have stuck in the NFL; BC has a couple of really good ones IMO in Luke & Forde, but not sure they will play that much with Wally? Stumps have been playing a NI DT and they have Junior Turner, Quinn Smith, the ex-Queens guy whose name escapes me now, plus last year's 1st rounder Randy Colling.

IMO - a classic example of how deep Canadian talent can be at a specific position, but it's not always going to show in the CFL when most teams think that they only need 7 NI starters and will defer to imports often.

A bit of a lull at DT this draft year maybe - with NCAA starter Julien Laurent the only real top notch prospect ?

[jerrym]

The players on Ottawa's negotiation list whose names were released are:

OTTAWA REDBLACKS
Name	Position	College
Tyler Ferguson	QB	Western Kentucky
Bug Howard	WR	North Carolina
Joey Ivie	DL	Florida
Kaleb Johnson	OL	Rutgers
J.T. Jones	DL	Miami (Ohio)
Greg Little	WR	North Carolina
JoJo Natson	WR	Akron
Ejuan Price	LB	Pittsburgh
Phillip Walker	QB	Temple
Andrew Wylie	OL	Eastern Michigan

https://www.ottawaredblacks.com/2018...otiation-list/

The most prominent player on the list according to Chris O'Leary is:

OTT – Greg Little, WR, 6-2, 220 pounds
A second-round pick of the Cleveland Browns in 2011, Little’s resume is reminiscent of Adarius Bowman’s. Both are around the same size and both played college football and basketball at North Carolina (Bowman finished his career at Oklahoma State). In his rookie year with the Browns, he led the team in catches and receiving yards.
After three productive seasons in Cleveland, Little was released and picked up by Cincinnati, with a brief stop in Buffalo in 2016 marking his last NFL destination. He’s been out of football for a while, but has the tools and resume of players that have come to the CFL and found success.

https://www.cfl.ca/2018/02/20/deeper...n-list-reveal/

[jerrym]

The RedBlacks have signed International 6'2" 192 lb LB Sean Walters from the University of West Virginia.

https://247sports.com/player/sean-walters-16803

[jerrym]

Ottawa came close to drafting Daryl Waud but decided to go with Jake Harty instead, leaving the Argos to pick Waud. Now they have Waud and Harty has left for the Riders. With free agency and the growth of one year contracts, teams often have more than one chance to sign a draft choice they like.

Desjardins said the Redblacks had an eye on Waud, a star at Western University, going into the Canadian Football League college draft in 2015.
“We went with Jake Harty instead,” Desjardins said, referring to the receiver taken 10th overall, two picks before Waud. “We were torn. He was in the mix, for sure.”
The Redblacks lost Harty as a free agent days ago. He signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders as a free agent.

http://ottawasun.com/sports/football...ichael-klassen

[AngeloV]

With free agency and the growth of one year contracts, teams often have more than one chance to sign a draft choice they like.



http://ottawasun.com/sports/football...ichael-klassen

That's been my argument as to why trading a #1 pick is not as desperate a move as some think it is. The CFL is a win now league, and we'll worry about the future when it comes to it. No better example than a team that finished last overall, trading the #1 pick for a player that made ZERO impact, and still winning the Grey Cup the next year.

[jerrym]

The RedBlacks have signed International RB Marshaun Coprich.

The 23-year-old played one game for Saskatchewan in 2016 returning two kick-offs for 23 yards.
Coprich rushed for 5,196 yards and 59 touchdowns at Illinois State University from 2012-2015. The five-foot-eight, 207-pounder runner is explosive with a 39-inch vertical and 4.42 40-yard dash.
He attended training camp as an undrafted free agent with the New York Giants in 2016.

http://3downnation.com/2018/02/21/re...shaun-coprich/

[jerrym]

Ottawa Redblacks GM Marcel Desjardins comments on the teams extensions and free agent signings.

Offensively, the REDBLACKS didn’t risk letting critical pieces like quarterback Trevor Harris and receivers Brad Sinopoli and Diontae Spencer get even a sniff of free agency before inking them to new deals. Same went for the running backs, with the tandem of Will Powell and Mossis Madu back in the fold for 2018. Julian Feoli-Gudino was signed as a free agent to further bolster the receiver corps. Offensive lineman Alex Mateas also re-upped for two years in January, while specialists like long snapper Tanner Doll and defensive back Jean-Philippe Bolduc will return.
Once the free agency period officially opened on February 13, it was nearly all about defence. The club addressed needs on the defensive line and secondary with the additions of d-lineman A.C Leonard and defensive backs Loucheiz Purifoy and defensive back Rico Murray.
Desjardins wasn’t done there, however, moving quickly to sign linebacker and former Alouette Kyries Hebert, who along with being a leader in the room will be looking to improve on a career year in Montreal last season in which he finished third in the CFL with 110 defensive tackles.
“I thought we addressed several needs both in the back end on defence and on the d-line in terms of a pass rusher and we helped ourselves at the Canadian receiver spot as well,” said Desjardins. “As an overall approach I think we met a lot of the needs that we had.
“You’re never going to get everything you want but we feel pretty good about it.”
In any sport with a salary cap, striking the right balance of the players a team wants to keep, the new ones they want to sign and how much money they can pay becomes a tricky balancing act.
“It’s easy to say we want all these guys or why did we let certain guys go, but at the end of the day it has to fit relative to the cap,” Desjardins said. “We had a strategy going in, we were thorough about it and we stuck to it and didn’t really deviate from what our intentions were.”

https://www.ottawaredblacks.com/2018...ues-redblacks/

[jerrym]

Behind the R | Jeremy Snyder, Assistant GM

Snyder talks how he ended up in the #CFL, what it was like putting an expansion franchise together and explains what, exactly, an assistant general manager does.

READ ➡️ https://t.co/1caiIpwN8L pic.twitter.com/n63kqKmWNo

— Ottawa REDBLACKS (@REDBLACKS) February 28, 2018

[jerrym]

Looks like QB Ryan Lindley is going to be cut. It's not surprising considering his weak performance last year.

I'm hearing that the Ottawa #Redblacks will be releasing QB Ryan Lindley in the next little bit #RNation

— Stephen Bunda (@TSN1200Bunda) March 5, 2018

[OV Argo]

Looks like QB Ryan Lindley is going to be cut. It's not surprising considering his weak performance last year.

Too bad Desjardins won't have the guts to give a Canadian QB a shot to compete in TC - Picton or Hugo Richard (Laval) are there for the taking; but likely it will be any import QBs they can drag up for a shot.

[ArgoRavi]

Too bad Desjardins won't have the guts to give a Canadian QB a shot to compete in TC - Picton or Hugo Richard (Laval) are there for the taking; but likely it will be any import QBs they can drag up for a shot.

They should never have released Drew Tate IMO. It is slim pickings behind Trevor Harris although Lindley would not have helped in that regard.