Outstanding Rush End - NIP and available

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Ricky Foley is 29 yrs old. He is from Courtice, Ont. Time to play closer to home?

Foley was named

the CFL’s top Canadian last season …with the B.C. Lions
in which he finished tied for the league lead with 12 sacks.

In case you guys have not noticed.. the Cats D-Line is already outstanding.

You can never have enough competition and talent. What happens if Kirk gets injured?

Anytime you can start an outstanding non-import at a position which is normally occupied by an import it’s a move that has to be seriously considered.

Did BC cut him, or did he head south on his own. Is he really available, or does BC still have his rights?

If he's available, he's probably worth looking at, given his NIP status. As Obie has been known to say, better is better. Not sure changing the D-line at this point is wise, but depth is always a good thing.

He left BC in Feb., as a free agent, and signed with Seattle.

ottawacat is right. he went to the NFL as a free agent.

For the record… the only time a team has a players “rights” is if they are on the neg. list or suspended like they do with some college guys going back to school for a year. Being under contract is the next progressive step after a team owns your rights.

No thanks, there will likely be a pretty good bidding war for him because he's canadian and i would rather not pay big bucks for a guy that plays a position that is already a strength of this team.

The Dline is good but not great. Most sacks come from linebacker blitzes. We don't have a true sack threat on the line ala Joe Montford. McIntyre shows signs but not consistent enough. If this NIP DE wants to come to the Hammer (as many ex-Lions do) then in the spirit of 'Better is Better' he's at least worth a look.

I was thinking that BC might have kept him on their neg list, thinking that he’d be back after the NFL cuts. Never have been totally clear on how the neg list works. Is there a place to look up the teams’ neg lists?

What about when a player leaves during his option year? Foley left before the new CBA was ratified, so was his contract up or did he leave as an option year player?

CFL negotiation lists are protected ones of 35 imports for purposes of “first crack at negotiating,” whether just in college or free agents. Foley is a non-import, so he would be exempt from this consideration.

These lists are accessible between the teams, but in general they are not released to the public except when trades are consummated re players on the lists.

David Naylor of the Globe and Mail discussed the neg list issue in a 2009 article at http://www.theglobeandmail.com/blogs/fr … le1308623/ .

Oski Wee Wee,

Russ

Addressing wee wee & oui-oui:

As stated early in this thread, Foley left BC as a Free Agent. That means the 2009 season was his Option Year. In February, he was free to sign with any team in any league.

The Neg List is for Imports who have not previously been signed by a CFL team. Even if Foley was an import, he could not have been, or now be, added to a CFL team's Neg List.

Indeed. That is correct. Once a player signs a CFL standard player’s contract, he becomes a member of the CFLPA and his rights governed under the CBA. The neg list mechanism is not for players who have been in the league.

Oski Wee Wee,

Russ

Thanks. I now remember reading that the NL was for imports, but had forgotten. I don’t see any reason for not making the lists public. Maybe the teams feel that might hurt their negotiations with the prospects?

Anyway, since Foley is a free agent, we have just as good a shot at him as anyone. I guess a lot depends on how much of a bidding war it creates, and whether Obie and the coaches want the extra depth. Personally, I’m thinking that they might want an extra D-line guy so they don’t have to worry as much that McIntyre might get injured playing fullback on short yardage (knock wood).

Correcting myself … undrafted, non-import, free agents who have not previously been signed by a CFL team, can also be put on a team’s neg list.

Sign him! Big time NIP player who is young. The Globe stated that he may want to play for a southern Ontario team. Another BC connection... C´mon and meet up with your other former team mates Ricky!

Can you imagine?The guy took over beautifully after Cam Wake left.If Foley signs, our D just got at least 3x better.

I had no idea that he was available. I liked his play and he's more than worth a long and hard look.