Matt Nichols Signs for 3 Years

[Neely2005]

https://mobile.twitter.com/FarhanLal...37058317488132

Argonauts sign QB Nichols to three-year deal https://www.tsn.ca/1.1437772

[OV Argo]

Woo hoo !!!

[doubleblue]

Woo hoo !!!

Try and constrain yourself there OV. lol

So there you go boys and girls after months of speculating our wish list has been whittled down to the two left overs. Matt Nichols is obviously rated ahead of McCleod, as they say "follow the money". Three year contract to one year is quite telling.
Now who will be the receivers? Apparently Walker won't be back which is disappointing as he and Nichols could hook up for that deep threat that all teams look for. Edwards and SJ Green are on the back end of their careers IMO but can still be productive under the right circumstances. Rodney Smith had his moments last year but he will be 30 and then Chandler Worthy is also signed and played well late in the season. Unless there is a hidden gem in the no names signed so far maybe we will see most of those five guys back. Was one of the better receiving corps in the League last year IMO. Add Canadians Adjey, Gittens and Noel and the receiving looks good if and when they all get signed.
I don't see Nichols playing all 18 games and maybe he starts the year on the 6 game injured list to make sure his shoulder and throwing arm is back. Also would save a third of his salary from the cap. So I think all three QB's Nichols, MBT and O'Connor will see playing time this year. Is O'Connor the eventual starter? Time will tell, but he is a Jim Popp draft pick. Maybe the new Coach would rather have a more mobile QB coming along in the wings. Nathan Rourke will be there for the taking in the CFL draft.

[Mightygoose]

Now hoping is stays healthy. If so, we have some depth at QB. It's been a while.

[OV Argo]

An O-line to protect immobile QBs might be very key; be interesting to see what MacAdoo does there. Not to mention have a strong run game (i don't hold out much faith there).

Could be real interstin' competiton at OT - both for the import spot, or if they start a NI there (?) - J. Campbell re-signed was nice but i wouldn't just pencil him in as the starter with a new O-line coach and a bunch of competition (hopefully) - Simba, Richards & Starczala should all get a real look. FA situation = could lose both McEwen and Holmes, and Bomben already let go. Might have to look at hard at FAs or the draft there - and there are a good number of interior O-line prospects = don't be afraid to give young rookies a real shot - the Bummers started 2 young rookies on the O-line in a GC win.

[doubleblue]

An O-line to protect immobile QBs might be very key; be interesting to see what MacAdoo does there. Not to mention have a strong run game (i don't hold out much faith there).

Could be real interstin' competiton at OT - both for the import spot, or if they start a NI there (?) - J. Campbell re-signed was nice but i wouldn't just pencil him in as the starter with a new O-line coach and a bunch of competition (hopefully) - Simba, Richards & Starczala should all get a real look. FA situation = could lose both McEwen and Holmes, and Bomben already let go. Might have to look at hard at FAs or the draft there - and there are a good number of interior O-line prospects = don't be afraid to give young rookies a real shot - the Bummers started 2 young rookies on the O-line in a GC win.

We can't forget the new National Rule. Several veteran American FA linemen still out there who could play as a National now. To me it's the easiest way to strengthen the Line. Sign a couple (Dennis, Bond, Draheim are still out there) to go along with Randy Richards and then go with two of them as part of the 10 National starters. Probably cheaper and better than some of the Canadians who have been found wanting. With the minimum going up to 65,000 some other salaries are going to have to come down a bit.

[paulwoods13]

We can't forget the new National Rule. Several veteran American FA linemen still out there who could play as a National now. To me it's the easiest way to strengthen the Line. Sign a couple (Dennis, Bond, Draheim are still out there) to go along with Randy Richards and then go with two of them as part of the 10 National starters. Probably cheaper and better than some of the Canadians who have been found wanting. With the minimum going up to 65,000 some other salaries are going to have to come down a bit.

That might in fact be part of the plan, but it would mean starting "real" Canadians at positions formerly held by Internationals. Still need seven "real" NATs, so if two positions that had NATs on the o-line last year (let's say centre and left guard) were to have "naturalized" NATs this season, we'd need two "real" NATs to play positions formerly held by INTs. Maybe one position in the secondary and one at receiver, or maybe a LB and a DB?

[OV Argo]

We can't forget the new National Rule. Several veteran American FA linemen still out there who could play as a National now. To me it's the easiest way to strengthen the Line. Sign a couple (Dennis, Bond, Draheim are still out there) to go along with Randy Richards and then go with two of them as part of the 10 National starters. Probably cheaper and better than some of the Canadians who have been found wanting. With the minimum going up to 65,000 some other salaries are going to have to come down a bit.

Have to do better than that IMO - Bond is more of a guard; Dennis was a wash-out as a FA with the Riders; Draheim is a mediocre who got to play cause of his passport. And none of them will sign for cheap.

[Argo57]

Have to do better than that IMO - Bond is more of a guard; Dennis was a wash-out as a FA with the Riders; Draheim is a mediocre who got to play cause of his passport. And none of them will sign for cheap.

Argos maybe better served addressing the O-Line through the draft.

[doubleblue]

Have to do better than that IMO - Bond is more of a guard; Dennis was a wash-out as a FA with the Riders; Draheim is a mediocre who got to play cause of his passport. And none of them will sign for cheap.

All these guys have played in the CFL as imports in mostly "Canadian" positions and mostly left tackle, which is generally considered your best guy. Bond has played well mostly at RG. Randy Richards can play all the O Line positions. Could play center if McEwen goes to Calgary. I don't see anybody in the draft who is ready to step in and play. O'Donnell looks good but if he is that good he will be in a NFL camp. No if the Argos want to improve their offensive line in a hurry, they will pick their two best Canadians signed (Campbell & Simba)? and fit one import and two American Nationals around them. Still starting 4 Nationals for the ratio. Pay increase for sure but not in the range of what McEwen and Holmes were making.

[SkalbaniasGhost]

=Could play center if McEwen goes to Calgary. I don't see anybody in the draft who is ready to step in and play. O'Donnell looks good but if he is that good he will be in a NFL camp. No if the Argos want to improve their offensive line in a hurry, they will pick their two best Canadians signed (Campbell & Simba)? and fit one import and two American Nationals around them. Still starting 4 Nationals for the ratio. Pay increase for sure but not in the range of what McEwen and Holmes were making.

Sam Lefebvre(Laval) could start at center now for a much cheaper rate if Sean McEwen leaves for Calgary.Coulter Woodmansey,Mattland Riley,Jacob Szott and Spencer Hood are CFL ready.I've seen enough of the quick fixes.Let's see a foundation built for the next five year's.

[paulwoods13]

No if the Argos want to improve their offensive line in a hurry, they will pick their two best Canadians signed (Campbell & Simba)? and fit one import and two American Nationals around them. Still starting 4 Nationals for the ratio. Pay increase for sure but not in the range of what McEwen and Holmes were making.

Not to belabour this, but that would also mean still needing six starting NATs elsewhere. Last year it was typically one at WR, one on the d-line, one at either LB or DB, and four on the o-line for total of seven. Naturalized NATs will upgrade us on the line only if we can find real NATs to play positions that were held in the past by INTs. So, where?

[paulwoods13]

I'm sure Nichols wanted a three-year contract for many reasons, including the fact that it suggests he's now "the Man" here. I also assume the team did not want a repeat of this off-season, with no viable starting QB signed heading into the free agency period. Hence Nichols gets a multi-year deal. But as we all know, CFL contracts are not guaranteed. If MBT wins the job (which I believe will happen, and I am taking Pinball at his word that the decision on the starter will be left up to Dinwiddie), and/or if O'Connor's development accelerates, I doubt Nichols will collect on this deal in Years 2 and 3. If he does end up starting and does well, we don't need to worry about the QB position heading into 2021. If MBT has the kind of year I think he's capable of, he can sign a much bigger deal for 2021 while Nichols gets released. Either way we are more protected than we were heading into this off-season.

[Shatto]

We are all still coming to grips with the intricacies of the new ratio rules but as PW has pointed out, a team still needs to start 7 "real" Canadians ( Can Nat). This only changes if one of those 7 are injured and then may be replaced by a veteran American. So, if a team wants to reduce the number of Canadians on the OL, the team must find other ways to play the 7 starting Canadians. Assuming Lokombo can be one of the LB's and we manage to re-sign Laing and one of Woodson/Gabriel/Boateng are re-signed and can play as a DB starter, it leaves 4 Canadians to play on offense. Unless the team starts 2 receivers, the team still needs to start 3 Canadians on the OL.

[Will]

I expect (hope) that Pinball advised MBT that the plan was to sign Nichols. I'm a little surprised at the term to be honest, however with a 1-2 punch of MBT/Nichols (in any order), I am content with the QB's going into the 2020 season. Now let's address the other areas of need.

[paulwoods13]

Lalji says Nichols signed for $350k in hard money with incentives that could take it to $560k. That's pretty rich, IMO. $350k base is not too far out of line but I thought we could have got him for closer to $300. There were not gonna be any other suitors at his pay grade so we had some leverage. But he had some, too -- our desire for a second experienced QB.

If both guys negotiated the same games-played incentive ($5k per game/$90k total available), and if the reported numbers are accurate, we would be in for a minimum payout of $657k (MBT $217k, MN $350k, GP $90k). If MN negotiated a higher GP incentive, obviously that could push our total QB spend up; at the same time, it would be an incentive for mgmt. to play MBT instead of MN.

I hope MN's GP incentive maxes at $90k and his other incentives (potentially $120k) relate to team success: first-place finish, GC appearance, GC win. If he plays the most and we have a great year, I'd be thrilled to have him exceed $500k in earnings. But I still like MBT's chances of winning the starting job, if it truly is the open competition we've been told it will be.

[argos1873]

The best signing we could ask for given the circumstances. Just curious but what is better than this, given whats available?