Now Winston Venable has retired

What's going on in Toronto
They sign our free agents and cuts only to have them retire

Players are retiring all over the league. Fears of health VS low salaries is a cause no doubt.

They just signed Marcus Ball, Does he play the same position as Venable?
Maybe Venable was asked to switch positions or backup Ball or both

And there was Josh Bourke who was one and done.

Could be a salary cut or position change, but then ask for your release. Why retire?

Ya ...TO seems intent on signing a non-playoff team's teams castoffs and expecting them to improve their team. Kinda odd.
Popp being Popp now I guess.

Who knows, Maybe he did ask for his release and Popp denied it so he wouldn’t go to their competition.

I think you hit the nail on the head here. Sad because he was a good player who was only getting better. Sad :cry: :frowning:

WTF has been going on in the CFL this past year? Just too weird everything that has been happening...

A 70 cent dollar is not exactly attractive after the last few years.

Veteran linebacker Winston Venable has announced his retirement four days into training camp with the Toronto Argonauts, leaving one teammate with the impression he was walking away because he did not have the “passion and love for the game? required to continue.

The 30-year-old left the team before its on-field workout on Wednesday.

“He came to me and, like guys have come before, and said, ‘I’m just not emotionally and mentally ready to continue,’? said Argos coach Marc Trestman.

He suggested the team left the door open for a return.

“We’ll check in, we’ll see where he is,? said Trestman. “But he seemed pretty strong in his feelings, and where he was emotionally, and what he wanted to do.?

(Rest of article is subscription based)

[url=https://theathletic.com/64111/2017/05/31/linebacker-winston-venable-retires-from-argonauts-because-passion-was-gone/]https://theathletic.com/64111/2017/05/3 ... -was-gone/[/url]

And he left with a nice parting gift:

[url=http://3downnation.com/2017/06/01/lb-winston-venable-retires-with-sizeable-signing-bonus-in-his-pocket/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+JustinDunk3downnation+%283+Down+Nation-Justin+Dunk+%29]http://3downnation.com/2017/06/01/lb-wi ... n+Dunk+%29[/url]

I love reading the comments

My favorite is one guy says that he should give the money back of or he thinks he should not be allowed to play in the CFL again

Duh he retired

Lots of people think he should give it back....even after many point out how often players get cut the day before their bonus is due....or sign contracts only to have them restructured later

Good point !

Nothing too weird about it IMHO.

Teams have taken to screwing over players left and right by enticing them with larger contracts then renegotiating or cutting the player shortly there after. Players on the other hand have seen this and on a few occasions flipped the tables on a team by signing with them and including a signing bonus, then retiring and running off with the money rather than put up the above mentioned situation.

Either scenario is horrible for fans.

I have the sneaking suspicion that if Venable was offered a guaranteed contract at a wage that a player of his calibre deserves, he would find his “passion” real quick, and we’d see him on the field.

Je trouve que cette hypothèse est très sensée. :thup:

Avec le ralentissement de la croissance du plafond salarial, il est probable que les joueurs ont de plus en plus d’opportunités en-dehors du football qui leur donne une situation comparable à ce qui leur est offert dans la LCF, mais offrant également plus de stabilité. Entre un contrat qui ne veut plus rien dire et un contrat qui est garanti par certains droits, même de base, l’appel de la stabilité se fait plus rapidement entendre. C’est d’autant plus vrai que le football laisse ses séquelles. Un moment donné, les sacrifices pèsent dans la balance.

The Perrett and Brouillette retirements seem like legitimate cases of players no longer having the desire to continue.

However I`m a little suspicious about the Venable case. When he signed with the Argos there were no Corey Chamblin or Marcus Ball in the picture. Could be frustration over changes to the role or position he was promised.

Pourquoi aurait-il alors pris sa retraite plutôt que demander sa libération?

I asked that question myself. Grover suggested he might have asked for it but that Popp said no.

Its just a feeling, but Venable doesnt seem like a guy who would retire in the prime of his career.

He probably looked at the price of an apartment in Toronto then looked at his salary and said I"m out of here.