TORONTO — Strev your engines, football fans. According to a report from the Winnipeg Free Press’ Jeff Hamilton, former Blue Bombers’ quarterback Chris Streveler could be eying a return to the CFL.
Well, Streveler has obviously agreed with our existing plans to kidnap him to return him to Winnipeg, wherever he may go to play, so maybe now this will all be done the easy way!
I better tell my Great Uncle Ernesto Blofeld about this now.
I say we start breaking out the drinks early for the weekend so as to celebrate!
Good for the CFL if Streveler’s back. IMO if the Bombers have to choose between signing, say, Streveler or Schoen they need Streveler more. If it impacts getting Oliveira on board, how cheap is Streveler willing to go?
I see pros & cons here for both sides. That’s another salary or 2 that has to be dealt with or going out the door BUT it’s early & the Bombers haven’t had to make those big decisions yet. For Streveler, if in the back of his mind he wants to give the NFL one more go - he’s 29 so I doubt it, spending a year as a #2 on a CFL squad isn’t a selling point.
The bigger question is where are possible landing places besides Ottawa as a starter. From West to East, the West is set, as is Toronto & Mtl. Ottawa now probably has a free shot @ Brown or Streveler as far as paying them starter money. I’d say the Riders, TiCats & Stamps would have had interest but all of them have restructured their QB contracts.
So, yeah, Winnipeg is a definite landing place since he’s put a lot of $$$ in the bank the last few years & may work for cheap.
Either way, good to have him back in the CFL. Hopefully the Bombers get him signed.
Wonder like other QB’s have done this offseason, if Zach would also perhaps consider lowering his contract to help with this signing along with other key players. Although a player doesn’t have to do this, it could actually be a huge benefit Zack as well, allowing the team to surround him by more talent.
The same Jeff Hamilton that dumped all over Zack Collaros when he resigned with Saskatchewan and has been choking on his tongue ever since. That Jeff Hamilton?
You said it Agent Paolo. Once we stuck that frozen banana in the back of his fur coat he agreed to come along peacefully. Now if we can just re-float the sub we’ll be able to get him back home before the banana melts.
Ernesto Blofeld… I will drink to that
Missed you Maaax & your sense of humour. 
I remember Streveler and thought that he was a good back-up QB. But 3 or 4 years later, I’m not sure what he can bring to the Bombers that would make much difference. The Bombers have Collaros and Brown, plus 2 other QBs - I don’t believe Streveler is any better than what the Bombers already have. I guess I will have to wait and see.
I think Streveler can bring a lot to the Bombers. He will have benefitted from NFL level coaching and observations these last few years and suffered little wear and tear on his body. He is the fastest QB in CFL history (4.2 40 in college) and no one would disagree that he plays with as much heart and soul as anyone. He is near indestructible and a favourite among teammates. The kind of guy you want to be in a foxhole with. Also the perfect switch up counterpart to Zach with a very different style.
If Streveler can reach monetary terms with the Bombers and indeed comes to the CFL (the Bombers he has said are his clear first choice), the Bombers will once again have the best 1-2 punch at QB in the league. A lot of ifs but there are very few places that might offer him starter money, but if someone does obviously he might go there. Otherwise coming to a familiar winning place to be with good buddy Zach and taking over in a year or two when Zach retires might just be the ticket. I doubt he will go East or to BC as it’s too warm most of the season to wear a fur coat.
I also point out that the Bombers only have Collaros at QB under contract as Brown and Skip Prokup will be free agents in a month. Brown has said he wants to start somewhere and in my view is as good as gone. Prokup was gone as soon as the Grey Cup ended. I am not sure why so many people are high on Brown, particularly out East. Maybe because they haven’t seen him play much. No one has. As others have pointed out, CFL annals are filled with promising back up QB’s that flop as a starter such as Arbuckle, Franklin and most recently Maier. Brown indeed looks promising but I think it is far too early to annoint him as the next great thing among starters. I would take Streveler over him in a millisecond.
CAP Issues - 2024 CAP $5,585MM (Up $75K)
Collaros $600K
Lawler $250K (2023), raise in contract 2024 (assume $10K)
Demski $190K this year
Willie Jefferson $200K (2023) Assume no increase
Bighill $165K for one more year
TOTAL $1,415,000 That’s 25% of the CAP on 5 players
IF you can get Oliveira @ $175K, Streveler @ $225K, & you’re at $1.815 MM. With 46 roster, 10 PR players counting vs CAP & $3.770 CAP space left for 49 players that’s an avg of $77K/player. How many do you need to play @ the $70K minimum to balance the books? And what happens to (2023 pay in brackets)) Bryant ($190K), Hardrick ($166K), Jeffcoat ($185K) & boost to Kolinkowski as starters. Something’s gotta give. IMHO - it would be difficult to afford both Streveler & Oliveira even @ what I would call, discounted rates as stated above. Stanback got $170K last year - a CDN RB likely is looking @ 190K & Streveler probably gets offers in excess of 225K. He would look good in Hamiton with Bo’s meagre salary, Ottawa & O’Day has pretty much declared they’re going for Harris replacement.
We’ll see. It’s all speculation & what will be will be. I’d like to see him in Winnipeg personally.
There will always be cap issues but the Bombers will get it done if it makes sense. It’s a given that some of those you listed won’t be back or will need to take a haircut plus maybe a home town discount. Streveler will still be worth it, especially in Winnipeg. His image and presence for the league and team he plays for is super valuable. He makes “Mad Dog” Oulette in Toronto look like a tame domestic kitten.
As much as I like Brown, we need to realize that his best performance was against the second most generous defense in the league. He played tough against CGY the following week, but Houston’s interception was a life saver. In 2022 he saved the day in week one, his three straight completions were a life-saver, but in the late season game against BC he looked more like a rookie. He seems to have a lot of potential, but we can’t be sure we have the whole picture yet.
Who, how many & how much you decide to pay your top end determines what’s left at the other end. Walters said as much - he has to wait to see where Oliveira & Schoen stood with the NFL tryouts before signing a lot. I’m not a mathematician but you don’t have to be a whale to write Moby Dick. The actual math comes down to adding & subtracting.
We both agree there will be some guys gone. Do you crack the egg at the fat end or the narrow end? Keep the old guys & you run the risk of being poached at the bottom. O’Shea has stated he believes he can win with the old guys. So, your guess is as good as mine who they prioritize.
IMHO I think Streveler might have seen cracking the Jets roster as his last real shot at the NFL, so now Winnipeg is the best situation for him.
Think of it like this.
He has over a million dollars in NFL earnings
He has the NFL pension
He may well be on a decent salary - think of it as “quarterback 1b money” rather than “backup QB money”
He’s one Collaros injury away from being the starter since Brown wants out - and as harsh as this sounds that one injury to a 35 year-old could mean a Collaros retirement
He’s a hero in Winnipeg so if he wants an entry-level jump into media, coaching, scouting etc. then Winnipeg may give it him. If he delivers another Grey Cup they may even stump up the money to back a “Strevefur” branded range of fur coats.
Finally - possibly really stretching things here - I wonder if some of the big money players might agree to slight contract tweaks to free up money for Streveler by the WPG management selling it as going all out for the Grey Cup, money they can then earn back as incentives and playoff/GC win bonuses?
All of that is true. He has earned a lot of $$ in the USA. And I’m all for him signing with Winnipeg.
But it’s pipe dream believing that it doesn’t have consequences elsewhere. The so called “Winnipeg discount” doesn’t account for the fact that the Kenny Lawler “discount” last year was in lieu of a raise this year - & a discounted Kenny Lawler still had the 2nd highest WR salary in the CFL. Willie & Jeffcoat still were both top 8 in the CFL. Collaros is #1 in the CFL & Bighill top 3 @ his position. ALL these players add up to a lot of cash.
You can’t look at the Wpg situation in a vacuum. The BC Lions are a much younger team than the Bombers as are the Argos - as are the Als. Zach had at his disposal the 2nd best OL, best RB &, arguably, the best trio of receivers & they weren’t the best regular season team nor are they champions. Other younger teams have caught up.
I’m not sure you can sell players on the Cup again when you’ve gone from 2 wins in a row to 2 losses in a row with a chance at a threepeat - becoming the only team then in the modern era of 9 teams, with the 1954-56 Als of accomplishing that feat. Isn’t it about time, especially with the Cup in Wpg next year, that they started looking ahead instead of dragging the past behind them? Honestly, I hope they re-sign everyone, including Streveler. How well has that been working?
Brown can come to Sask. You can have Streveler.
Yes he is fast is he not. And big too.
Streveler…A legs… B arm
Brown just went to Ottawa where every QB goes to die .
A+ legs
B- arm
that combo could be lethal particularly if he’s only taking 15 to 20 snaps a game!
The other big QB factor is on-field intelligence
Zach Collaros used to be an A+ field general
Today - after getting squashed in 2 straight Grey Cups he’s more like a B to B+ field general.
While I’m at it - immo
MIND RATINGS
B.L. Mitchell - A
Dru Brown - B+
Trevor Harris - B
Jake Maier - C+
Dane Evans - B-
Vern Adams - B+
Streveler - B-
Tre Ford - C+
Cornelius - C
Prukop - C-
MBT - B+
Chad Kelly - B
Cody Fajardo - B