Final Roster

[dmont]

.

I thought Aaron Berry, Marcus Alford, Cole Watson, and Drew Willy were surprises.

Who are going to be the starting DBs?

[ArgoRavi]

Sad to see Willy go as I would have loved to see him prove his many critics wrong. However, I understand the move as I am guessing that the coaching staff sees a greater upside in all of the other QBs and Willy is the oldest of the backups at 30.

[argolio]

I get a sense that Willy won't be retained.

Your Spidey senses are in good working order.

No big surprises other than Berry. I also thought Watson and Neal would stick around.

I really like the practice roster. All those guys made an impression in camp.

[argolio]

Sad to see Willy go as I would have loved to see him prove his many critics wrong. However, I understand the move as I am guessing that the coaching staff sees a greater upside in all of the other QBs and Willy is the oldest of the backups at 30.

True about his age, but I think the bigger issue is that Willy's game breaks down too often if he has to go past his first option. Our other QBs are more dynamic.

[Rich]

What's the point in putting Bethel-Thompson on the injury list? Did they like him that much? Or are they assuming Ray will inevitably go down at some point this year and they can quickly move B-T to the PR?

Like most of you I'm thrilled Willy is gone. Through no fault of his own he represented negative vibes -- the trade for him was the moment good turned to bad for the 2016 Argonauts. It didn't help much that he didn't play very well either. But this season is a fresh start and we needed to completely dump last year's negativity. Very wise move by Popp and Trestman.

So maybe this is the beginning of the Cody Fajardo Era. Do we finally have our nurtured long-term QB of the future? I know he hasn't done much yet up here. But this guy was a 4-year starter in college, Trestman talked about his great leadership skills, and he's a tremendous athlete. He's like Collaros, but bigger and stronger and maybe faster. Can't wait to see what happens.

Real shame about Cole Watson. That guy gave everything he had to make this team, some great catches, specials, even tried kicking. Hope he lands somewhere. My biggest disappointment was that Malcolm Williams didn't make the roster. Is this his 4th camp with the team? I couldn't believe how good he looked, ran a couple of crisp patterns in that Hamilton game. I wouldn't be surprised if Austin tried to grab him off our PR.

[Stevoman]

Glad they made the right call with QB. It made no sense to keep Willy even if Ray goes down for awhile as he was not the long term answer. If that happens, it gives Fajardo or someone else the opportunity to grow.

[gilthethrill]

I understand Graves can kick a little, but how does he earn a roster spot over Malcolm Williams who looked All-World on FRida night? Has he ever caught pass?

[paulwoods13]

So we are keeping five QBs including both rookies. Obviously the coaches saw something in both of those guys, and in Mathews, to warrant Willy's departure. I can't argue the decision based on what I saw in the preseason, but make no mistake -- there is a risk here. If RR goes down we will be counting on guys who have hardly played in this league, at the most important position. It worked great in 2013 with Collaros and 2015 with Harris, it worked terribly in 2016 with Kilgore. I know many fans think Willy is useless but the fact is, he has faced CFL defences dozens of times, and won games in this league. Same cannot be said for any of our other backup QBs. That said, I am super-high on Fajardo, and expect at least one of the two rookies to eventually develop into a player. Mathews is a stopgap until that happens, IMO.

The most thrilling aspect of these cuts IMO is that we have kept all of our young NATs. It's possible a few could get plucked off the PR, but hopefully that won't happen. Sackey's stock is falling as he's now below both Woods and Kolankowski in the pecking order (altho K is a centre which adds value to him).

Berry's departure was a mild surprise but he clearly was ranked below the starters, and he's older than some of the new DBs.

All in all, I'm very excited about our prospects this year and can't wait to see the 46 and the depth chart for next Sunday. But surely we can all be patient in waiting for those!

[Neely2005]

So we are keeping five QBs including both rookies. Obviously the coaches saw something in both of those guys, and in Mathews, to warrant Willy's departure. I can't argue the decision based on what I saw in the preseason, but make no mistake -- there is a risk here. If RR goes down we will be counting on guys who have hardly played in this league, at the most important position. It worked great in 2013 with Collaros and 2015 with Harris, it worked terribly in 2016 with Kilgore. I know many fans think Willy is useless but the fact is, he has faced CFL defences dozens of times, and won games in this league. Same cannot be said for any of our other backup QBs. That said, I am super-high on Fajardo, and expect at least one of the two rookies to eventually develop into a player. Mathews is a stopgap until that happens, IMO.

The most thrilling aspect of these cuts IMO is that we have kept all of our young NATs. It's possible a few could get plucked off the PR, but hopefully that won't happen. Sackey's stock is falling as he's now below both Woods and Kolankowski in the pecking order (altho K is a centre which adds value to him).

Berry's departure was a mild surprise but he clearly was ranked below the starters, and he's older than some of the new DBs.

All in all, I'm very excited about our prospects this year and can't wait to see the 46 and the depth chart for next Sunday. But surely we can all be patient in waiting for those!

Honest question, when was the last time that Willy looked good? It certainly wasn't with the Argonauts. He looked scared, tentative & hesitant during his entire tenure with the Argonauts. He didn't look any better in the preseason game to me either.

[Argo57]

No issues with any decisions made yesterday, time to mercifully close the chapter on the Willy trade.
I suspect the Argo brass had some debate in regards to guys like Malcolm Williams and Cole Watson both of whom can play in this league.

[paulwoods13]

Honest question, when was the last time that Willy looked good? It certainly wasn't with the Argonauts. He looked scared, tentative & hesitant during his entire tenure with the Argonauts. He didn't look any better in the preseason game to me either.

He hasn't looked good since 2015. But he has played a lot in this league. I'm not saying he should have been kept -- I'm saying not keeping him exposes us to the risk of inexperience if the starter goes down. This happened last year, and a lot of fans on this forum and elsewhere were highly critical of mgmt for not having someone with more experience than Kilgore in reserve. That's where we are again. I'm fine with it because I expect Fajardo to perform better than Kilgore did if called upon this year. But I also expected Kilgore to perform at a high level last year, and after one impressive performance, that expectation proved to be wrong.

[paulwoods13]

I understand Graves can kick a little, but how does he earn a roster spot over Malcolm Williams who looked All-World on FRida night? Has he ever caught pass?

The fact Graves can kick in a pinch is a bonus, but at the bottom end of the roster (backups to the backups), it's not about how you perform at your original position, it's about how much of a contribution you can make on special teams. I imagine on that score, Graves scores higher at this point. I see Williams as a Dwight Edwards type -- someone who played junior football, not CIS, and is going to need time to develop. If either Graves or Williams catches a pass this season, it will be because we have suffered a lot of injuries to receivers or are in a blowout game.

[paulwoods13]

As of Sunday morning, the Argos list 70 names on the roster. That list does not include Herdman but does include Pfeffer. Assuming that's a mistake that will be corrected, there are 10 on the practice roster, leaving 60. So up to 14 guys will be added to IR. I wouldn't be surprised if a few more end up cut before the end of the week but I'd be fine with having a big IR and keeping 70 guys around.

[Argo57]

He hasn't looked good since 2015. But he has played a lot in this league. I'm not saying he should have been kept -- I'm saying not keeping him exposes us to the risk of inexperience if the starter goes down. This happened last year, and a lot of fans on this forum and elsewhere were highly critical of mgmt for not having someone with more experience than Kilgore in reserve. That's where we are again. I'm fine with it because I expect Fajardo to perform better than Kilgore did if called upon this year. But I also expected Kilgore to perform at a high level last year, and after one impressive performance, that expectation proved to be wrong.

If Ray gets injured then Fajardo's development will kick into high gear, so be it.
Time for the Argonauts to groom a QB or QB's for the future, Fajardo looks to have a ton of potential and Prukop showed some skills in the Hamilton game.
Better days ahead!

[Wobbler]

As of Sunday morning, the Argos list 70 names on the roster. That list does not include Herdman but does include Pfeffer. Assuming that's a mistake that will be corrected, there are 10 on the practice roster, leaving 60. So up to 14 guys will be added to IR. I wouldn't be surprised if a few more end up cut before the end of the week but I'd be fine with having a big IR and keeping 70 guys around.

It's not my money, so I can't really complain. I'd prefer that our IR isn't dramatically larger than anyone else's, though.

[Shirley]

I will be very disappointed if Mathews bumps Fajardo to #3. I want Fajardo to be #2

So we are keeping five QBs including both rookies. Obviously the coaches saw something in both of those guys, and in Mathews, to warrant Willy's departure. I can't argue the decision based on what I saw in the preseason, but make no mistake -- there is a risk here. If RR goes down we will be counting on guys who have hardly played in this league, at the most important position. It worked great in 2013 with Collaros and 2015 with Harris, it worked terribly in 2016 with Kilgore. I know many fans think Willy is useless but the fact is, he has faced CFL defences dozens of times, and won games in this league. Same cannot be said for any of our other backup QBs. That said, I am super-high on Fajardo, and expect at least one of the two rookies to eventually develop into a player. Mathews is a stopgap until that happens, IMO.

The most thrilling aspect of these cuts IMO is that we have kept all of our young NATs. It's possible a few could get plucked off the PR, but hopefully that won't happen. Sackey's stock is falling as he's now below both Woods and Kolankowski in the pecking order (altho K is a centre which adds value to him).

Berry's departure was a mild surprise but he clearly was ranked below the starters, and he's older than some of the new DBs.

All in all, I'm very excited about our prospects this year and can't wait to see the 46 and the depth chart for next Sunday. But surely we can all be patient in waiting for those!

[Shirley]

As of Sunday morning, the Argos list 70 names on the roster. That list does not include Herdman but does include Pfeffer. Assuming that's a mistake that will be corrected, there are 10 on the practice roster, leaving 60. So up to 14 guys will be added to IR. I wouldn't be surprised if a few more end up cut before the end of the week but I'd be fine with having a big IR and keeping 70 guys around.

one QB that did not impress me may have been slightly injured, not sure why they are not cutting him, maybe you cant cut a guy injured, some suggestion he was slightly injured.

[R.J]

So we are keeping five QBs including both rookies. Obviously the coaches saw something in both of those guys, and in Mathews, to warrant Willy's departure. I can't argue the decision based on what I saw in the preseason, but make no mistake -- there is a risk here. If RR goes down we will be counting on guys who have hardly played in this league, at the most important position. It worked great in 2013 with Collaros and 2015 with Harris, it worked terribly in 2016 with Kilgore. I know many fans think Willy is useless but the fact is, he has faced CFL defences dozens of times, and won games in this league. Same cannot be said for any of our other backup QBs. That said, I am super-high on Fajardo, and expect at least one of the two rookies to eventually develop into a player. Mathews is a stopgap until that happens, IMO.

The most thrilling aspect of these cuts IMO is that we have kept all of our young NATs. It's possible a few could get plucked off the PR, but hopefully that won't happen. Sackey's stock is falling as he's now below both Woods and Kolankowski in the pecking order (altho K is a centre which adds value to him).

Berry's departure was a mild surprise but he clearly was ranked below the starters, and he's older than some of the new DBs.

All in all, I'm very excited about our prospects this year and can't wait to see the 46 and the depth chart for next Sunday. But surely we can all be patient in waiting for those!

Aside from being a veteran (not even a decent one), what exactly warrants Willy sticking around ?
I think most here know what Willy is, and it looks as though Trestman and Popp agree (although I'd bet Willy's salary came into play as well). When Ray goes down, I'd much rather take a chance on some of the young guys, then have Willy wasting the teams and fans time out there.

[Shatto]

There were some surprises but none were of the dramatic kind. Here are some, that were IMO slightly surprising:

.Alford and Berry were both released even though they appeared to have performed reasonably well last year and also in this year's pre-season camp and games---leaving only two backup DB's (one on the PR). Compared to the number of backups in other positions, this seems a little light.

.Padden was retained even though the team has 7 active International receivers plus one on the PR.

Graves was retained in spite of the team having 6 National receivers (including Coombs) but it appears unlikely that more than one of them will play on the starting lineup.

. Will's release was not a great surprise, in light of his rather mediocre performances over the last couple of years. However, he was the QB with the greatest amount of CFL playing experience but then again, neither Mathews or Fajardo are completely bereft of playing experience. Farjardo looked very good when he did get the opportunity to play last year and Mathews started 5 games two years ago for the Hamilton and looked very good until an injury put him out for the season. It looks as if the decision came down to experience versus potential and one can't fault the coach for going with potential. We only have to look at Jennings to see how choosing potential can hopefully play out.

[Will]

Jeff Mathews can do just as good (or just as bad) as Willy could.

Either way you cut it, a disastrous decision trade.