I would imagine that potential teams would be allowed to talk to VAjr’s agent and ask if VA could re-write his contract if they acquired him
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If in VA, I’m telling the Lions that I’m not renegotiating my deal with anyone. I wouldn’t be interested in doing anything to help them at this point.
VA was everything they asked him to be and more as a player and a leader. In turn, the Lions went and acquired Rourke, benched VA despite him putting up MOP numbers, and then told him he has no say in where they ship him next. Based on the 3DN articles, it appears that they also told Rourke he was staying before they told VA he was being traded out.
The Lions have the problem of $250k of guaranteed money to VA in 2026 if they don’t get VA off the books. If I’m VA I’m making it known that if they ship him somewhere he doesn’t want to go he’ll refuse to report. This way teams will back off on acquiring him if they’re not sure he’s coming and he will have a say where he or else no deal gets done and the Lions are in a bind with two really expensive QBs on the books.
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Other problem BC has is Vernon Adams almost certainly has an off-season bonus due at some point before free agency. Probably something like $200,000. Other CFL teams know that BC has to get rid of Adams before that date.
3downnation reports, this weekend, that Ottawa has interviewed Saskatchewans’ DB coach, Joshua Bell for their open DC position and BC, in their search for a new HC, has requested, from SSK, permission to interview their OC Marc Mueller.
The NFL window is open
https://3downnation.com/2024/11/25/nfl-window-details-for-players-under-contract-in-cfl/
NFL teams must ask CFL franchises for permission to work out players and the request cannot be denied. CFL players can opt out of their agreements north of the border if an NFL team offers a contract.
Pending CFL free agents do not have to complete the opt-out process. If a player’s contract expires on February 11, 2025, the CFL’s opening day for free agency, the agreement can be terminated if an NFL contract is offered.
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VAjr is a Stamp and the Lions more or less had to give him away. They get slightly more draft capital than they gave up, but mostly it’s just one extra lottery ticket:
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Calgary needed him the most. Good move for the team and CFL in general.
Makes you wonder if any other team was in on him for a trade. Otherwise, they could have waited until BC officially cut him and gone after him in FA - and possibly for a more team-friendly contract.
BC really couldn’t cut him. They have $250k guaranteed for 2026 they needed off the books.
If no one else was in and I was Calgary, I’d have said give me VA and a 2nd for a 4th because they’d be desperate.
Nice pay raise for the MTL QB who led the Als to back-to-back wins over the TiCats this season:
https://3downnation.com/2024/11/26/montreal-alouettes-sign-qb-davis-alexander-to-contract-extension-through-2027/
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Smart deal for the Alouettes. With $120k coming off as a signing bonus in 2024, they’ve only committed $138k to Alexander in 2025 at this point. I don’t think he’s a lock to be #1 next year. Realistically they could keep Fajardo at his current salary and still afford both next season, but this would give the team a bit of leverage if they want to renegotiate Fajardo’s hard money for next season, maybe offer some of it as playing time incentives instead.
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I hadn’t considered that, but you’re absolutely right. They could try and get Fajardo to redo his deal a little bit and have both guys for one more year. If they do and Fajardo stays healthy and puts up big numbers they could still trade Alexander and extend Fajardo.
That all said, I believe they’ll go the route of giving Alexander the team now and leveraging the low cost QB1 salary to try and build a great roster around him.
If Alexander is what Montreal thinks he is, they have a very cheap QB1 for the next 3 seasons and that’s a huge advantage.
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Regardless of what happens with Fajardo, they will want someone experienced to either push Alexander for #1 or be a steady hand that can step up in case of injury. I don’t see that guy as Dominique Davis. Fajardo offers the advantage of having played in Maas’ system for three years, knows the personnel and has had some success there when fully healthy. He could still be the starter for one more year, play out his contract then hand the reins over to Alexander. I’m not sure but if Fajardo’s contract is renegotiated do they not usually add another year to it?
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Some quite telling quotes from TSN’s report on Alexander’s new contract:
“At just 26 years old, Davis is the future of this franchise,” Alouettes general manager Danny Maciocia said Wednesday in a release. “This season, he was called upon to play in crucial games with us and he responded very well under pressure."
While the Als have not made a decision on Fajardo’s future, the quarterback has said he wants to be in a situation where he is the clear No. 1.
Maciocia’s comments indicated that would not be the case in Montreal.
“(Alexander) has learned from Cody Fajardo for two years and is ready to take the next step,” Maciocia said. “We’re now entrusting him with the leadership of the team, and we have full confidence in him.”
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Sounds like the Montreal Fajardo experiment is over…
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Fajardo had great stats this year and was 7-5-1 as a starter and was the 2023 Grey Cup MVP and is only 32 years old.
He will most likely be a back-up QB in 2025.
The CFL went from horrendous QB play and depth over the last few years, to now having an abundance of veterans and young QB’s to choose from.
Even in Hamilton, Powell was crowned our new starter halfway through the season and he extended his contract through 2025 for around 100k and will be a solid back-up.
Jake Maier will most likely be a backup somewhere in 2025 as well.
What a difference a year makes.
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Interesting if Suitor has any thoughts on this.
VAjr open to renegotiating his contract
Adams certainly seems excited about coming to Calgary, mentioning that he has wanted to work with Dickenson for a long time. He is also familiar with the team’s quarterbacks coach, Beau Baldwin, from their three years together at Eastern Washington University, which he considers a huge positive.
…
If a restructure is going to occur, which sounds likely, the Stampeders are going to want to get it done before the end of the year. This would allow them to use any remaining cap money from 2024 as a signing bonus,
Wish I could say our QB savings helped us out this year. That was not the case here and it may not be the big difference maker in Montreal either. Let’s expect better from our new GM.
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