The march of time is relentless.
Saskatchewan fans might be feeling like they’ve barely had time to celebrate the Roughriders’ 112th Grey Cup championship while everyone else turns their attention to what’s next in 2026.
Another storyline: who will be the Tiger-Cats next GM. Since the passing of Ted Goveia, the team has been operating without a GM. While some extensions have been announced (Whyte, Ternowski) they don’t have a GM in place to launch the team into the off-season player carousel.
Imagine the Argos have a ton of cap space to extend people they want to keep. All they need to do is hire a coach in order to provide input with the GM. If the GM is him he’s running out of time.
Orlondo Steinauer is likely serving as interim GM.
Good points brought up.
Those are the most interesting stories for me.
Hilarious how he doesn’t even bother to discuss the rule changes. That’s the biggest one, bigger than any of those six.
The new rule changes probably won’t have a huge impact until 2027 when the field length changes and the goal posts are moved 15 yards further away. That will mean a 50 yard attempt requires the offense to scrimmage from the 28. Punting from the 28 and not putting the ball in the endzone will be difficult. This one change will make for some very interesting strategy changes.
For now, the big story will be free agency. For 8 teams, the question will be “How do we improve?” For the Riders it will be “How do we stay on the top?” It is tempting to want to bring the team back together, but that usually does not result in the results being even as good as this year. O’Day and Mace will be going through the roster and will have some really difficult decisions to make on who to offer contracts to. Lauther is not a free agent, but i doubt he will be the kicker. Bringing Brady O in could allow for an all Canadian running back room and an American kicker. I would expect that Picton, Bane Jr, Ray, Lauther have probably played their last game as a Rider. There will probably be a couple of guys get NFL interest which will mean they will miss the first half of the season and will be free agents after that if they do not make the cut in the south.
So, O’Day has done a great job of putting the group together. He will really earn his pay if he can manage to produce another team capable of getting to the Grey Cup again. One benefit he has is that it appears quite a few players want to play for Mace.
So, now we wait and watch…
I am hoping the answer is yes, that the OC in Edmonton can fit Tre Ford into a system that was not designed for Tre Ford’s style. This OC especially needs to redeem himself after the mess he has created. Tre Ford is a very talented and viable QB under the right system. He was told when extended last December that the offense was going to be designed around him. It’s what the EE promoted at the signing and all off season and that wasn’t done as fans were promised. Tre Ford is the fan favourite and no one wants to see him leave under these circumstances. Surely if this Maksymic is as good as he was supposed to be…there would be a way to use Tre Ford properly and we would have our 1 two punch so to speak in Edmonton if Fajardo does come back. Unless of course the EE have already set their hopes on this new “prolific” QB signing with Zebrowski. I would hope if Tre Ford stays that it’s not going to become a situation where he finds himself on the outside looking in. In that case, it’s best for the EE to release him to find a fresh start elsewhere. There has been enough unfair treatment of this player ever since he has been in Edmonton.
What bout the biggest change. Will the unilaterally imposed changed the commish wants to implement be moving forward or allowed to be reviewed by people that understand football.
Based on what I see only a couple ownership or principal team presidents understand the cfl. Having money doesn’t make you smart.
Would bet that every punter in the league can boot the ball OB at the 5 yard line from that range. So what if it lands 30 rows up? If its 3rd and 10 and have my doubts about making the FG then thats what i do. The league will need to change that rule as well or it will make them look foolish.
As for the Riders, issue is more about money than age. We have plenty of depth and room to maneuver.
The Argos are in a tough spot. The worst schedule for any team in the cfl, the worst facility, the worst attendance… that’s enough for now. Not a place many want to play if you have other options.
Interesting. Hufnagel has moved to Toronto. When he was coach and/or GM the Stampeders were very good. But, with him no longer GM, they took a step back. I have to wonder who was behind the decision to move on from Bo and go with Maier? We shall see how the Stamps do this year. But, I am not convinced Dave D is a great GM.
One challenge each team faces in the off season is which players they want to invite back. We know the Riders had a good team with good depth. But, which players did well enough to bring back. Those are tough decisions to make.
Here’s a theoretical question: Lets say Brady O signs with the Riders. That brings a star Canadian RB a few years younger than AJ Ouellette and gives them the option of 2 Canadians at that position albeit at an increased cost. And having to move a very popular, quality player.
How do you fit that into the budget and is a small upgrade at RB worth the cost?
Another story is the young Canadian QBs. The Bombers have Elgersma on their list and the Riders have Kurtis Rourke. Both of them could provide a good starter for years providing neither makes it in the NFL and has what it takes to transition from college to the pro ranks.
Did BC pay too much for Nathan Rourke? Can they put together enough of a team around him to take advantage of his immense talents? Having Harris at $400k vs Rourke at $750k leaves a lot of room to put some good pieces aroung your QB
The amount of time on the road is really insignificant compared to other sports. For married players it will matter (dare i say to some) but for singles? Unlikely. And for singles and couples Toronto is a great city to live in if that is your cup of tea. It has it all including a high cost of living.
I think what will matter most to potential players is whether or not they feel they are getting the support they need to be successful.
Okay just a few questions here for you .
Number one : In what way does Toronto have the worst schedule in the league as opposed to the other 8 teams ?
Number two : In what way would BMO field be considered a worse facility than McMahon in Calgary ?
As for the worst attendance ? On that one I agree with you wholeheartedly .
Especially since it hasn’t even been announced yet.
I believe they said that is was going to be announced on the 7th of this month . So if I’m correct than that would be sometime next Monday that it will be officially out for the upcoming 2026 season .
I think it’s the 9th.
Still, we can’t say they have a bad schedule if it hasn’t even been released yet.
Actually after I posted I was thinking that it was either the 7th or 9th so chances are you are right on this and the release date will be on the Wednesday of next week .
Know what? The poster might have meant that the schedule will be bad because the Argos will play do many away games due to the World Cup.
there’s no way the Riders are going to bring in Brady from Winnipeg and have Ouellette there as well. that’s insane! too much money just for 2 players.