O'Leary: The ripple effect of Bo's signing

On Monday, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats made me think of that parent that perks up from their seat when they realize things are a little too quiet at home.


This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.cfl.ca/2023/01/25/oleary-the-ripple-effect-of-bos-signing/

I can't help but feel that Bethel-Thompson is going to suit up in green & White this coming season. As for Harris I could see him staying in Montreal unless he get a better offer from the Riders. But I seriously think they will try for Bethel-Thompson. As for Fajardo I could see him going to Edmonton or Toronto. There really isn't much in the way of options given Calgary, BC, Winnipeg, Hamilton, and Ottawa are set with their starters. Dane is still a Ticat so he will ride it out in Hamilton at least for another year. As Mitchell isn't a guarantee to play the whole year.

1 Like

It doesn’t matter who is under centre for the Green and White if the don’t remake the O-line. Massive mismanagement of Fajardo did not help his confidence either. Don’t think MBT would provide a winning team. Would be willing to be proved wrong.

1 Like

I don't see Evans as a starter anytime soon. Be kind to the guy and don't entertain any #1B talk or start the "undisputed #1" conversation again.

I think likely Dane Evans will be traded to Saskatchewan or Ottawa. MBT will retired and Fajardo will likely be in Toronto. Trevor Harris will be back with Montreal.

In my humble opinion Dane Evans will not be part of the CFL in this 2023 season. :exclamation: Like many quarterbacks before him, he showed "brief glimpses of promise" :rofl: Best of luck in your post football career Dane !

All interesting guesses. I’ll throw this in, for what it’s worth.

McBeth - if he plays this year, it will be in Toronto. UNLESS he waits till after FA hits & the Argos have already committed elsewhere, in which case, what chairs are still in play?

Fajardo - could end up in Toronto. IMO Kelly could use another year backing up. If McBeth is back, Harris is back in Mtl, Fajardo likely is a backup. Als would be a good fit with Maas there. I could see BC having interest. Adams gets 150K. The rest is dependent upon playing - 11K/game, 1.4K for taking more than 51% of snaps. Not a lot of committed money. I can’t see him in Edmonton. They’ve already got 2 younger QB’s with big time arm strength & elite speed. They’re not moving Cornelius or Ford. Fajardo’s strength - making things happen with his legs - the young guns already have in spades.

Harris - things just got interesting in Mtl. Bo is making north of $500K for 3 years. Price just went up for Harris. Still, can’t see Als not signing him. Riders would overpay him but that OL isn’t a selling point to Trevor.

Evans - His likely landing spot is Regina. They can’t go back to Fajardo. Harris & McBeth are long shots at best. IMO Evans may be the only realistic shot they have, unless you want to go down the road with Arbuckle & some of the lesser lights.

1 Like

Drivel

1 Like

This league is desperately short on Qb talent and hopefully some new blood will be arriving this year and will rejuvenate the scoring and entertainment value of this league but that will take a couple years at least for them to develop
Until then it’ll be fairly ugly to watch

1 Like

Trevor Harris will be back in Montreal, with Matthew Shiltz returning to his original team as his backup.
Cody Fajardo will go to the Argos to platoon with Chad Kelly after MBT decides to retire.
Dane Evans goes to Calgary to backup Jake Maier.
Ottawa will go back to Jeremiah Masoli, with young Caleb Evans as backup.
Saskatchewan? The Roughriders will entice Mike Reilly (I'm not calling him Michael) out of retirement. He misses playing and still has a couple of years in the tank.

Hamilton's next step is to secure an experienced back-up QB. I take Shiltz as my choice. He is a proven quality guy, who would do good paired with Mitchell. As we know, your shot is only a play away as there is no guarantee at all in sports.

I agree with you on most of it , but in the case with Evans , the only way he signs anywhere is if he takes a major pay cut

Interesting thought on Reilly. The problem I see is they need a QB real quick. FA is less than 3 weeks away. Less than TWO weeks the window opens for agents to accept offers on their clients ahead of FA. The Riders, I think, still have no QB or REC coaches in place (or DL for that matter). They apparently expect to be very active in FA, based on comments from the brass. How do you go into FA with Mason Fine as your draw @ QB? They have go get someone on board & the best available options are Evans &, if they want to eat crow, Fajardo. I agree he may well end up in Toronto.

From looking @ their own list of FA’s, they have signed only 5 of 41. If they’re having problems there it’s not going to be any better trying to entice players from other teams. They really don’t know who is going come back. Right now, without a slew of re-signings announced soon of players & coaches AND a QB, it’s going to be very problematic for them. You can’t afford to overpay for everyone just to get them there.

1 Like

I am likely wrong about this, but Bethel M. T. doesn't excite me at all. He had one good season (this year) and even then he wasn't reliable at the QB - spot. I do give him full marks for rising to the occasion when needed towards the end of the season, but he still has a lot to prove.

2 Likes

Dare you to say it to his face

Best thing about Bo Levi signing is that it brought the market down for QB's from the Collaros deal. In hindsight Winnipeg overpaid.

Next guy to be paid is MBT. We'll see how that goes.

Dane Evens still has 1 year left in his contract with the Ticats. He can be released , traded or stay with the Ticats for at least this season.

Taking a major pay cut would mean his present contract would have to be renegotiated or he is released to seek a position with another team

If he is traded he would go with his present contract to the new team