2019-2020 Offseason Signings, Trades, Releases, Extensions and Other Transactions

[jerrym]

The Argos have signed former Buffalo Bill RB Karlos Williams, as well as Canadians OL Eric Starczala and DB Troy Hansen. They also granted James Wilder Jr. his release.

Williams, 26, was originally drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the fifth round (155thoverall) of the 2015 NFL Draft. The 6’1, 225-pound tailback rushed 93 times for 517 yards (5.6 yards/attempt) and seven touchdowns, while adding two more scores through the air in 11 games that year. The Davenport, Florida native tied an NFL record during that same season recording a touchdown in six consecutive games to start his career. Williams then spent portions of 2016 and 2017 with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The former Florida State Seminole spent four years (2011-2014) at the Tallahassee school, where as a freshman and sophomore he played safety, making 39 tackles and one interception in 25 games. After making the transition to running back one game into his junior season, Williams rushed for 1,419 yards and 22 touchdowns over 26 games during his final two years at FSU. Williams helped the ‘Noles win the BCS National Championship in 2014.

Starczala, 23, was drafted by the Argos in the seventh round of the 2019 CFL Draft but chose to return to the University of Guelph for his final year of USPORTS eligibility. The 6’5, 315-pound offensive lineman from Cambridge, ON helped the Gryphons get to the OUA semi-finals this season, a year after getting to the Yates Cup in 2018.

Hansen, 24, played at the University of Alberta where he tallied 23.5 tackles and one forced fumble in eight regular season games in 2019, helping the Golden Bears get to the Canada West semi-finals. The 6’4 defensive back previously played for the CJFL’s Edmonton Huskies and signed a letter of intent with the University of North Dakota in 2015.

https://www.argonauts.ca/2019/11/25/...two-canadians/

[gilthethrill]

This Williams kid interests me. Very big at 6'1 230 lbs. Has success in NFL until he got into substance issues. Did some further reading into it and it appears he now has his head on straight.

[doubleblue]

That's what I like. Big running backs. Was the starting free safety until his junior year so he might get a look at the OLB as well. He would have been a team mate of James Wilder at Florida State. Same time frame.

[Shatto]

Big, fast, runs with upright stance like Wilder but a more explosive runner than Wilder. If he has his head on straight and he comes with right attitude he could be an excellent replacement for Wilder. Some of his videos shows him catching the ball really well. Anyone have any info on what is happening with Bishop Sankey?

[doubleblue]

Former Miami Hurricanes running back Trayone Gray is the big, strong and eyebrow-raising fast Carol City graduate who measured 6-1 1/2 and 233 pounds last month at UM’s Pro Day and then ran an unofficial 4.37 seconds in the 40-yard dash. That speed will help him get an NFL shot with the Cleveland Browns, who agreed to a contract with Gray on Saturday night.

Another big RB Trayone Gray is showing on the CFL transactions as signing with the Argos. Good to see the new regime agrees with my idea that big running backs are the way to go.
Read more here: https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/c...#storylink=cpy

[doubleblue]

Intriguing small college (Pace College) DE Prince Unaegbu signs with the Argos according to his twitter. Played TE until his Senior year. After watching his high lights a former Argo great Ed Harrington comes to mind as a comparison.

John Murphy is beating the bushes to find some gems, hopefully.

[ArgoZ]

This Williams kid interests me. Very big at 6'1 230 lbs. Has success in NFL until he got into substance issues. Did some further reading into it and it appears he now has his head on straight.

While I don’t remember any of Wilder on the Bills, it’s easy to recall Williams. Had a great rookie season. Really fast for a big guy. Similar upright style, but didn’t look or run like Wilder at all. Hits the gaps hard and fast. Unfortunately showed up to camp the next season overweight and couldn’t even make the team. Got heavy into the weed too. Became another 1 year wonder and threw his whole career away. It will be interesting to see what kind of shape and attitude he shows in Argos camp. Maybe he’s Pinball’s rehab project.

[jerrym]

Argos have signed DB Travis Lee and RB Trayone Gray.

Lee played six games in the CFL with Hamilton in 2016, making 24 DTs. In 2019 he played for Baltimore in the Arena Football League.

Gray was an undrafted free agent who signed with the Cleveland Browns who played in four preseasons games.

[jerrym]

WR/KR Chris Worthy has agreed to a three year extension with the Argos. His receiving improved this year. He also adds some versatility in his skills to the roster.

[gilthethrill]

Argos have signed DB Travis Lee and RB Trayone Gray.

Lee played six games in the CFL with Hamilton in 2016, making 24 DTs. In 2019 he played for Baltimore in the Arena Football League.

Gray was an undrafted free agent who signed with the Cleveland Browns who played in four preseasons games.

Gray it should be noted weighs 240lbs....and can run. Argo front office is working hard at bringing in young prospects with speed.

[OV Argo]

Bear Woods signs an extension ? - love to see him bounce back and be an impact starting MLB; not sure about that though, but let him compete; i have high hopes for Kwemo as a future Argo starting MLB.

[Argo57]

Bear Woods signs an extension ? - love to see him bounce back and be an impact starting MLB; not sure about that though, but let him compete; i have high hopes for Kwemo as a future Argo starting MLB.

No risk on this one OV, let him compete and see what happens in camp.
Provides good veteran leadership.

[OV Argo]

No risk on this one OV, let him compete and see what happens in camp.
Provides good veteran leadership.

Yep - lots of TC competition is good - vets and young guys.

Like to Starczala, Simba and Campbell in good TC competition for a starting OT job - the first 2 there have very good potential IMO - a real smart O-line coach would be nice.

[paulwoods13]

Yep - lots of TC competition is good - vets and young guys.

Like to Starczala, Simba and Campbell in good TC competition for a starting OT job - the first 2 there have very good potential IMO - a real smart O-line coach would be nice.

IMO RT is already Campbell's spot to lose (and I don't expect him to lose it) -- assuming he re-signs. Simba has tons of potential and I could see him starting at one of the guard spots next season. I expect we will see an INT at LT (hopefully a better one than any we've had since 2012).

[Argo57]

IMO RT is already Campbell's spot to lose (and I don't expect him to lose it) -- assuming he re-signs. Simba has tons of potential and I could see him starting at one of the guard spots next season. I expect we will see an INT at LT (hopefully a better one than any we've had since 2012).

And hopefully the first overall pick from last years draft works on his conditioning to become a factor in camp next year.

[OV Argo]

And hopefully the first overall pick from last years draft works on his conditioning to become a factor in camp next year.

Yeah - him too; a bunch of massive, natural OT types to look at; the possibility of 2 NI starters at OT is there. but would be kinda CFL GOB mind-boggling ( though the Als sure made out OK there for a while with Bourke & Perrett). Rather see them draft a natural, accomplished guard type to compete at OG rather than forcing an OT to the position for the sake of it; wonder what is up with former BC first round pick Charles Vaillancourt - with the excellent OG resume ? - injured and damaged goods maybe ? - but if not, some CFL team should be taking a look at that potential - but maybe he got somehow CFL written-off or else has no more desire to play ?

[jerrym]

The Argos have signed WR Nyqwan Murray. He attended Seattle Seahawks TC but was released in September. On NFL.com he scored a 5.00 which translate as 50-50 to make a NFL roster. His strengths and weaknesses are described below. Maturity is a problem listed here and another site.

https://www.nfl.com/prospects/nyqwan...0-85333f87c531

[doubleblue]

The Argos have signed WR Nyqwan Murray. He attended Seattle Seahawks TC but was released in September. On NFL.com he scored a 5.00 which translate as 50-50 to make a NFL roster. His strengths and weaknesses are described below. Maturity is a problem listed here and another site.

https://www.nfl.com/prospects/nyqwan...0-85333f87c531

So many good football players out there.

[Argofan_1000]

rumor is FA Zach Collaros will be signed by the Argos. Anyone know anything? Got to spend on the OL that's for sure

[jerrym]

David Morassutti says the Argos are looking at signing a core of players around which to build, citing Bear and Worthy as examples. While I would agree that Chris Worthy has improved this year, I do not see him as a core player. Bear is certainly a core player in terms of his ability and leadership skills, but there remain concerns about his availability to play on a regular game-to-game basis because of the wear and tear on his body. I agree with his assessment that Chapdelaine is not the answer at OC.

Not too long after the CFL released their free-agent list the Argos started to make some moves announcing that they signed both Chandler Worthy and Bear Woods to multi-year deals. What these deals signify is that management is identifying a group of players they want to proceed with as a part of their core.

Woods has been seen as a valuable member of the defence not only for his contributions on the field but the leadership he provides in the locker room which the players enjoyed having when he was signed late in July.

“When you see Bear Woods you see leadership personified,” general manager Michael Clemons told Mike Hogan of Argonauts.ca. “Not only is he a grappler on the field, he is a guy that the young guys can come to and ask questions. He leads by example. He does everything you want a player to do. The only thing I wish Bear could do was have a twin, ‘cause I’d sign him too (laughs).”

It is rare to see Toronto give both Woods and Worthy more than a year considering the team hasn’t shown a large investment in players the past few seasons. Pinball made it clear when he became GM that he wanted to make sure players were around longer than one or two years. ...

While this might be just the start of what management is trying to accomplish this off-season, there is still a lot of work to be done especially on the offensive side of the ball.

A report on Friday from TSN’s Farhan Lalji suggested that the Argos were not going to bring back offensive coordinator Jacques Chapdelaine which shouldn’t be a massive surprise considering how much the offence struggled this season. You wonder if the team is going to prioritize getting a new coordinator in place before they make some bigger decisions like who they want to target at the quarterback position in free agency.

https://tipofthetower.com/2019/12/06...andler-worthy/