CFL News Today: Bombers keep Oliveira and Schoen, Riders get aggressive, CFL free agency news

CFL News Today welcome to the three down Nation Podcast I'm Justin dunk joined by J and jumbo cheese extra cheese because it's CFL free agency baby we're discussing the Riders agreeing to terms with three of three down nation's top 10 pending free agents Matthew bats and Tim White still being without deals for 20124 the Hamilton Tiger Cats finalizing their coaching staff under Scott malanov B Boris Bey joining the Edmonton Elks and a Darius picket Landing in the nation's capital but first the Winnipeg Blue Bombers retained two of three down Bombers Retain Oliveira and Schoen nation's top three free agents despite JC Abbott wanting to lower Brady Ola on the list the bombers resigned running back Brady ol and receiver Dalton shown both will earn $230,000 this season season while Ola will earn 240,000 in 2025 as part of his 2-year contract are you surprised though that the bombers were able to retain both players I was uh I really was going into this week the buzz was Dalton shown was very likely to be gone Brady Oliva was likely to be back and Jamarcus Hardrick the All-Star right tackle who of course was the cfl's most outstanding offensive lineman at least in the west division this past season was going to be a coin flip and obviously once the numbers got flying around in Earnest that kind of swung the other way Dalton shown I don't think the market was as hot for him as him and his agent were anticipating the original ask for Dalton shown was around $300,000 I was led to believe they would have taken something in the neighborhood of 285 for context Kenny Lawler's making 285 this season the only other receiver more than that is Eugene Lewis at 320 and then there's a big gap between Lawler and any other receiver in the CFL who are all closer to that $200,000 range a little bit over so those options did not materialized for Dalton shown and his Camp I'm told five teams inquired on the first day of the communication window two teams who were not involved in those calls were Hamilton and Montreal I was surprised on both fronts the Tai cats have money to B with Duke Williams being gone the aletes need to add some Firepower to that receiving core following Austin Mack's departure for the NFL but at the end of the day the bombers gave him $230,000 I don't think there was a much bigger market for Dalton sh again if a team had gotten to 285 290 I think he leaves but if you're not going to hit a grand slam on that contract I don't think there's any reason for Dalton shown to leave Winnipeg a team that originally I think their offer was right around that 200 210 Mark and they didn't have to come up a whole heck of a lot with the communications window opening to get him for Brady I'm not surprised to see him back because he's a Winnipeg guy but what I was surprised was some of the numbers that dunk reported oh man that that market for Brady Oliva was red hot the BC Lions the Hamilton Tiger Cats a couple of teams that maybe haven't been as focused on running the ball at least in last couple years coming in hot and by the way Jamarcus Hardrick going to the saskatch ref Riders we'll talk about that a little bit later in the show I'm led to believe Winnipeg's offer topped out at 180 for Hardrick I don't blame him for leaving forces gatchan for 230 he's going to make almost $100,000 more over the next two years than he would have staying in the peg so am I surprised the bombers were able to keep Shan and Ola Count Me In as yes even with Hardrick leaving those two skill guys they're they earned it but they're getting a ton of money and it's going to put the squeeze on one a pegs cap Elsewhere on the roster certainly expected one of those two players to be back in some capacity but the fact that they were able to land both at what essentially amounts to sweetheart deals especially in the case of Bry Olivera given the numbers that dunk reported $275,000 on the table in Hamilton over 250 on the table in BC and he takes 230 to stay in Winnipeg obviously he's committed to that organization and to his hometown it it it surprised me when both those deals were announced in quick succession but the bombers do have a little bit of wiggle room here because they're losing some pieces Elsewhere on the roster you mentioned Jamarcus Hardrick obviously he gets a huge deal elsewhere that's going to make him the highest paid American offensive lineman in the CFL next season he wasn't making that last year but he was certainly making a significant chunk of change you take that off the books and replace it with a rookie or a young American on a near minimum contract that's going to give you some savings and then you've got a number of players who are also still pending free agents where it looks like they may not be back in win a pick Jackson Jeff coat's status is up in the air you can potentially have some savings there with a guy like celest and habba stepping up in his second year into more of a starting role if you let Jeff coat walk also at the kicker position I don't think it's been talked enough AB enough Sergio Castillo they may not be paying him Brandon Alexander at safety is still pending free agent Winston Rose as we all know lost his starting job down the stretch next year doesn't appear like he's going to be back so there are little chunks of change that you're pulling from all sorts of different parts of your roster that combine F if you lean on your scouting staff with the return of Ted gavaya and Danny mcmanis who we know find Talent as well if not better than anyone in the CFL you can replace some of those guys for rookie minimum deals and that's how you find the cash to pay these two extremely talented players I'm not surprised that either player is back in Winnipeg for different reasons Brady Oliva Hometown kid Wade Miller a Winnipeg born and bred dude himself I think they call him winnipeggers out right hjj that's correct and I didn't ever think Miller was going to let Oliva leave especially being in the prime of his career he's still 26 years old I don't care what JC has to say about running backs the league has spoken on their valuation in this instance in terms of a Canadian running back coming off a historic season with still lots of I hate this cliche but tread left on the tires or I think it'd be better said in the prime of his career I think Ola is is well worth that money especially when you consider what it means to the fan base there in Winnipeg to get him back dton shown I didn't ever think really wanted to leave because of how close he is with Zach Kos and also how much Kos loves having him not just on the field but around it's very clear that culture Michela has built is based on people and the bombers believe you win with people and clar wanted shown to stay there they end up getting the deal done yes he takes less just like Ola to stay but there's that chance you would imagine again at playoff money in the western semifinal Western final or the great cup with this core that the bombers have kept in place so I think that this played out probably how some people in the Winnipeg front office felt like it was going to play out because they knew the market was going to be there for Jamarcus Hardrick and that it was probably going to take $200,000 at a minimum to entice him to come back to Winnipeg but HJ as you said on the PA just a few moments ago when that number was at 180 that kind of told you the Hardrick was going to leave and that would allow you to have the extra funds to resign Ola and Shan Brady Oliva spoke and we're recording this podcast by the way around 1M Eastern Time on Wednesday I feel it's important to note that because obviously free agency things move really fast we I'm a little worried that some things we're going to talk about a little bit later in the show could be outdated by the time we get this podcast posted but hopefully all will will run smoothly Ola spoke to the media via Zoom earlier today from Bali where he is currently saving and rescuing stray dogs which as a dog owner myself I greatly appreciate um but he talked about talking to AJ olette through this process and he talked about the fact that he has quote mad respect for AJ olette guy who he says plays the running back position the right way I think Brady was very pleased to bring some respect back to that position and he said you know there's lots of guys in the CFL who make a lot of money who touch the ball three or four times a game and in his view it's time for players who touch the ball 15 or 20 times a game to make a bigger piece of the pie which I I think is obviously perfectly Fair one other thing I do want to touch on though is the fact that he said this process was stress he said it was like a roller coaster and he said there were times where the conversations between him and Winnipeg and of course the bombers had his rights they did not need to wait for this window to get a deal done they could have talked to him at any time gotten it done any time in December January whatever this came pretty late in the game he said the communication between the two sides went quiet at times and speaking to other sources around the league boys that is a bit of a theme Here I talked to a couple of sources who even went as far as to call the bombers disorganized through this free agent process and maybe not being as responsive as they needed to be so at least from Brady's sense it's clear he didn't want to leave Winnipeg he wanted to be back with the Blue Bombers but I don't think it would be fair to say there was never a chance he was going to leave or that it wasn't a serious chance of him leaving because evidently he did go through this process at times feeling like his future would not be in bomber land again he's happy to be back I know the club is happy to have him back but there were legitimate moments through this process where this did was not a clear resolution or a foregone conclusion whatsoever it took I think the other teams though Hodge with those lucrative offers to bump this number up and maybe nudge that Winnipeg front office to be more responsive to get their star player back perhaps they wanted to gauge and really see how other teams felt about Oliva around the CFL and that's very clear that at least the BC Lions and the Hamilton Tiger Cats valued him at a very high price it should be noted the Toronto Argonauts did check in on Oliva but didn't feel like they could compete from a price range standpoint also the saskatch on R Riders did about the same thing as well but when they realized what he was garnering in terms of offers not even what he was asking for but what he was getting in terms of offers realized that he wasn't going to fit in their cap structure as well so JC at least in this instance your running back take is dead wrong look I understand that bregy Oliva is a Canadian ratio breaker and that increases his value even in my mind and you all you both know that I wouldn't pay any running backs I'd pay a little bit more for Canadian running back simply because of the ratio Advantage there do I think the Hamilton Tiger Cats potentially paying him $275,000 when they already have a perfectly competent back I would argue a very good back in James Butler on their roster is absolutely insane yes yes I think paying him $275,000 is but Butler was the back that the BC Lions decided to move on from and BC couldn't find a running back that they were confident enough in so they went and put a big offer in front of Brady Oliva and oh by the way went out and signed another running back JC so this to me continues to prove that running backs are not as interchangeable at least in the CFL as you seem to claim that they are I mean Butler is very good I just said that I don't I don't know why you felt the need to bring up that BC moved on from him last year I mean he simply wasn't worth the price point in their mind their financial situation has changed they believe they need that piece to go over the top we'll see what the uh what William Stack's impact is on that offense if it proves to be worth it rather than paying a different position right but but Butler to me despite the the biggest difference between him and Oliva is that he is American right and to me the St too though I mean they're slightly different backs yes but I mean in terms of the production you're getting Butler's still a thousand yard back he's still an All-Star caliber back he can still catch passes out of the back backfield at a very high level I would argue you know in terms of his talent level and performance last year he may have been maybe the second best player on that TI cats team I mean c certainly like Tim White is up there but James Butler was was an engine when they gave him the ball I can't dismiss that it's just not as a effective way to play offense as some other ways uh but is that worth I don't know the numbers off the top my had I believe Butler made 130 something like that last year is it worth another $145,000 to bring in brgy Oliva I don't think so to me that's an excessive amount of cost for the at would would there be a slight uptick in production a slight Advantage potentially yeah yes but it's not worth $175,000 certainly not in my mind that would have been 275,000 no I be I I meant in terms of the the uptick in in price from Butler to Oliva not the overall cost got it would be yeah there there are better places to spend that on a roster that I think desperately needs Talent at a number of different spots I don't think you can build a team simply on brgy Olivera as a running back now the ti cats have solid Talent on the offensive line so that helps you can plug and play a running back but they need talent elsewhere that would have been that would have been inappropriate spending in my mind keep in mind the Tai cats at this point might have the ninth best quarterbacking in the CFL and with that money to spend but I get I get both sides of the argument a number of three Best Free Agent Signing nation's other top pening free agents have agreeded terms with teams around the league including adarius picket to Ottawa Jamal Peters to Hamilton and Jamir Thurman Jamarcus Hardrick and AJ olette to Saskatchewan which of those signings JC do you like the most I think there's some fantastic ones here and and Corey mace in Saskatchewan is clearly showing why he was brought in the his ability to attract top tier Talent this early in the process has been impressive everyone's going to focus on ajl and I have no doubt that he is going to be a fantastic marketing piece for the Saskatchewan Rough Riders he fits the mentality of that City perfectly people are already tweeting Thor's hammer all the time from Saskatchewan uh but you can't have a good running back without a good offensive line so for me the best deal here is bringing in Jamarcus Hardrick who I I think a lot of people and fans around the CFL had simply written off as a guy who was just going to go back to Winnipeg like he always has gone back to Winnipeg well they have to pay a pretty penny to get him they make him the highest paid American offensive lineman in the league but in doing so they cement that tackle position which has been a problem for them and was a bit of a Turn Style last year with a number of injuries and they get a guy who can both pass protect at a high level and who can run block at a high level and if they get that offensive line together that will be the key to making AJ ulette maximize the deal that they paid him because running backs are reliant on their offensive line so you bring in one of the best in the business at that at a position where let's be frank gentlemen there are not very many tackles on the market who can come in and play at a high level there is a Dar of talent at that position across all of football the NFL is experiencing it as well the CFL is certainly hurting in that trickle down effect Jamarcus Hardrick is a veteran who is an exception to that rule who can come in and play at a high level he is I would argue perhaps the best deal in all of free agency thus far I mostly agree with what JC has to say and also with what he said about AJ ulet and skatel there's going to be so much talk about him but I'll go in a little bit of a different direction here here I like what Ottawa did to get adarius picket to try and turn this team over give it a different fi and certainly be more physical pick's going to hit you in the mouth no matter what he's doing he's comfortable he's been in Baron Miles defense before those two have been together that was part of what helped get this deal done for Picket to go to the nation's capital and I really like what Shawn Burke is doing here and guys we've been on this podcast before and I'll say mostly you two analyzing and somewhat chastising I'll say Burke for resigning some of those older red blacks pieces najel romic and some of those other guys being in that conversation but he's turned this roster over right he released Jacob Ruby went and got deru badic in there because he felt like that would make them a more physical football team same thing here with picket and I think that's certainly something you could say about Dominic rymes from a physicality standpoint and also having a big body in that receiving core so I like the picket signing for the mentality and the different energy that he can bring to Ottawa I I really love the Hardrick signing I love the picket signing but I'm gonna go in a different direction because I'm not just going to sit here and repeat what you guys have to say so I'm gonna say Jamal Peters to the Hamilton Tiger Cats because I remember distinctly the opening game of the 2023 season everybody's talking about B Mitchell and how he might look in Hamilton they of course opened the season at what was formerly known as I field but is now known as Princess Auto stadium in Winnipeg and I remember watching the secondary for the Tai cats it was a bit of a patchwork unit they had Kenneth George Jr at boundary Corner Javen Elliott was starting Lawrence Woods was starting at field corner and I remember thinking I think the bombers put up something like 42 points in that game this secondary is going to kill the ti cats and that might be a bit disrespectful I know that George Jr improved over the course of the season um and and Richard Leonard though he's not yet under contract for 2024 was very good at field half severos cats and tonis I think upgraded that unit as well when he took over the starting role at safety but this was a team that desperately needed to add a playmaker to that secondary a guy with some length a guy with physicality a guy who can generate turnovers and take away that boundary wide receiver spot where a lot of CFL teams play their best Target so to me this was an excellent move for the Tai cats the defensive back Market unlike the running back market and the offensive tackle Market is going down not up Dietrich Nicholls was the highest paid American defensive back in the CFL prior of this deal being done he was only making 140 which is now apparently half half the going rate for elite running backs and almost 50% less than the going rate for top American offensive tackles so this wasn't a position where you had to spend the Sun the moon and the stars to get a top talent and I think one can argue that Jamal Peters is the best cornerback in the CFL he is now calling steeltown home and he's gonna help breathe some life into a really young unit last year that that just needs some guidance needs a little bit of a spark I think heading into 2024 or we move on is there any player in the CFL who gets less love but does more on the field than jir Thurman because this guy for me in in the last couple of years at least he has played at an All-Star caliber level yet has never received an All-Star nod and he's probably one of the least talked about guys in terms of these early free agency signings but he's going to have a massive impact in improving that Saskatchewan Rough Riders def defense I loved that move and I feel like we need to just mention it in passing that linebacking core for Saskatchewan not only are they adding Thurman but dunk you reported today that Adam oair is coming over from Ottawa obviously they moved on from Derk monrie earlier this off season they'll have CJ Rivas in that Sam linebacker spot now Thurman instead of Larry Dean Adam oir presumably instead of Micah tights to me that's a much improved group across the board a much more versatile group than what they had last year in that linebacking Corp I think they're gonna do some special things in Rea next season I've got a super quick jir Thurman Story I met jir at gray cup at some of the festivities that were going on in steelt toown at the convention center and I was chat chatting with them and I said where are you from originally he says Chicago I'm like oh Chicago I'm from Winnipeg Chicago of the north which is a comparison that is often made partly due to the early 20th century infrastructure that was built in both cities and the rapid growth of both cities and he didn't say anything but the look that he gave me made it seem as though he was deeply offended deeply offended that I compared his hometown to my hometown and that I was a complete [ __ ] for even suggesting that winipeg was like Chicago so that is my only fa face Toof face interaction with jabir Thurman but he is a hell of a player and I I appreciate jcu get highlighting that move because yeah he is a quiet player he's an under the radar player but he is a very solid linebacker he's somebody who doesn't date back to Cory M's tenure in Toronto he dates all the way back to Corey M's tenure in Calgary which is neat that they've they've kept that connection for all these years them top tier players remain pending free agents including defensive Why Haven’t Some Top Players Signed? end Matthew Betts receiver Tim white defensive back Richard Leonard and defensive end AC leard why do you think these players have not yet agreed to new to new deals each of them is a much different case I'll touch on Betts and Tim White so first and foremost for Betts he has real legitimate NFL interest that's something that you know some people want to sff off sometimes but it's real it's legitimate it's a process that he's going to have to go through and some of what he decides and the factors are going to be much guaranteed money could he potentially get on an NFL contract he worked out for three teams I believe all of those took place in December the Detroit Lions the Buffalo Bills and the Cleveland Browns all of those teams went to the playoffs so there's a different timeline there for them signing people to those what do they call them Futures contracts so I think that's still to be determined for bets because he can command that kind of topof the market money in the CFL if you're talking talking about Brady Oliva the reigning most outstanding Canadian and CFL All-Star running back getting an offer for $275,000 per season well what can bets get who's Canadian a little bit older than Oliva but is the most outstanding defensive player in the league you would imagine he would at minimum be in that price range and there is still some money left out there I think for bets to get in the CFL but the NFL is definitely going to play a factor as for Tim White that's a really unique situ I was told he was asking for up to as much as $320,000 but I don't think that he's going to be able to net that Gino Lewis kind of money with way things have played out here the Hamilton tiger catch would be a natural landing spot but he hasn't been resigned there there was some talk about him potentially having some interest but this Saskatchewan Ru ERS I was told that was never going to be the the case that Jeremy oday wasn't going to invest that kind of money in receivers after having learned his lesson back from what he did in 2022 at that position plus the Riders have a pretty nice receiving Court already with Shawn Bane Jr leading the way Ken schaer Baker Sam emilis I know some people like to call him himis and jarth Sterns there's one guy I'm forget to Braden lenus and some intriguing guys like jonal Allison that they've brought in so what the ti cats are trying to do with white is be patient and wait this out and get him down to a somewhat more of a workable number because bets could potentially still be in play for Hamilton I'm not saying those two are going to affect each other but white might have to come down that said I'm all for a player trying to get what they feel their value is just in case I have to be the bad guy here I need to say something to Tim White which is you are not Eugene Lewis Tim White is an excellent football player a very good receiver I think a top five receiver in this CFL however the only two players in the CFL making more than $250,000 at the receiver position are in my opinion the two guys who can consistently separate and and beat man coverage and make those contested catches and that is Eugene Lewis and Kenny Lawler and Tim White you know we just saw this with dton shown who's a player I would put right there with Tim White a guy who can stretch the field who could be intuitive make some tough catches you know who can pull away like has that speed but maybe not necessarily somebody who can dominate man coverage on a consistent basis Dalton Shan went to Market looking for 300 and he came home with 230 Tim White is almost surely going to have to do the same thing I'm not saying Tim White's a bad receiver I'm not saying he's a one $100,000 receiver but he is certainly not a $320,000 receiver so for that reason I think the Hamilton tiger cats have been smart to slow playay this they haven't panicked they haven't made some type of lucrative offer I think he will be back in steelt town and uh I think the ti cats again are smart for slow playing this letting Tim White go to the market and see hey this this $320,000 offer that you're wanting sorry but it's not coming because I'm sorry I I I'm just speaking for myself I don't think it's coming so Tim White I think that is the holdup is the hope that that that lucrative number is Gonna Come Now boys I gotta say I I just don't think that's gonna happen for me the the fascinating situation here is bets right because of that NFL interest or potential NFL interest he's one of the rare players and I'm going to steal this from you hodj you shared our group chat but you didn't say it so I'm going to say it a rare player who can use NFL interest as leverage in CFL negotiations right because he's 29 years old he knows his NFL window is almost closed he's not sure how much of a legitimate shot he would get if he was brought in for training camp in the NFL he knows there's some better money there but how sustainable is that going to be long term he can use that opportunity against CFL teams and say hey if you're not gonna give me $300,000 then I'll take this NFL offer I don't I don't need to accept less than that I can come back when there's some more cash next year and getting another bidding war just I have other options I have other places where I can make some good money even if it is for just a short time or just for an opportunity Matthew Betts has that ability I know certainly the BC Lions that $250,000 that they were waving at brgy Oliva certainly that money should have pivoted now to Matthew Betts I expect the same to be true of the Hamilton tiger cats with the $275,000 that they were focused on brgy Olivera they have been reportedly interested in Matthew bets and I'm sure now both of those teams have a little bit more cash to play with because they know that's no longer an option at running back if they want that ratio breaker to either stay at home or join them they are going to need to back up the brink struck for Matthew Betts and frankly he deserves it at a position that is far more impactful for your football team than running back Matthew bats as the Elite pass rusher in the CFL for these other two players the two Leonards Richard Leonard and Hamilton and AC Leonard and Edmonton to be frank I I think age here is playing a huge Factor both of these guys are 32 years old Richard Leonard was fantastic last season we know he's played halfback at an All-Star caliber level he moved to Corner last year based on the analytics was as good as any player in the CFL at doing that job but DBS don't last forever and they don't get paid a bunch of money and they're basically a Turn Style of a position and so he's expecting a pay raise that I doubt he's going to get at his age AC Leonard similar things 12 sacks last season he's looking to Market he thinks he's going to get a big jump in salary get what he has earned with that tremendous season but people will look at him and say he's up there in age and he is a guy who produced a large number of plays for a very bad football team that didn't have a whole lot of other options and does that inflate his production beyond what was potentially Marriot I think those are the things that are going in to the conversations with the two Leonards I don't think either of them are going to get what they might have expected out there on the market based on the caliber of player that they are I do think Richard Leonard has a chance to get signed because he's a guy that has proven to be a relatively quiet as a hard worker and can play multiple spots in the secondary so yes he's up there in age I think he's 32 if I'm not mistaken yeah but I think he's a guy that you know can slot in now that all or most of I should say the big free agent money has been spent where you know you can get a bit of value bringing Leonard in who can play multiple spots in your secondary like I don't understand why the Hamilton Tiger Cats wouldn't want him back yes they PID Jamal Peters but Leonard was pretty good for them last year the argles just had their secondary kind of rated a little bit with Peters gum but they have so many young people there you know I wondered if Winnipeg would potentially be a fit with Leonard after Demario Houston agreed to terms with the Calgary stamp Peters there's some other secondaries out there where I think Leonard could fit as well but it seems like he might fall into the category like a lot of guys there's a pretty quality list of pending free agents who have yet to agree to terms and for the uninitiated this is the new free agency okay free agency started a week early because if you haven't agreed to terms yet then you're probably being looked at by teams as a player that could sign a value deal and I think it speaks to in one instance perspective the Canadian depth that's been built up because you look at some of these Canadian offensive linemen that are still out there like Al Landon rice or Jacob Ruby or Ryan seier those guys are proven starters but there's so many spots that are already filled around the league that they might have to wait if they don't get a sixth or seventh man deal here from one of the teams around the league until there's an injury and same thing for some of these other spots so I think we're seeing here the depth be built up especially among the national players and the impact that the merging of the usfl and the XFL has had with the UFL where we've seen a bunch of signings happen in January of teams stocking up on these players guys I would argue and this isn't obviously analytically based but that's probably the most amount of signings that we've seen in January outside of the teams reigning their own proven players in the entire time that at least I've been covering the C for about a decade I agree yes and and one thing I will say I do think there's a market for one of these veteran Canadian offensive lineman NBC where they've needed a left guard for years but I think that is being held up by the matchie bets deal so depend what happens with bets I do think we will see one of Ryan seier or Jacob Ruby or sha Jamon or Jeff Gray end up there but you're right right now for Canadian offensive lineman it is a buyer Market which is not what we usually see in the CFL when one of these guys goes to free agency it is usually very much in favor of the players and the teams are scrambling this year seems to be the opposite I think the other Factor at play there you mentioned dunk on the American side you know the influx of talent coming in because of the less the the reduction of spots in Spring football and guys being more willing to come to the CFL it's an apt point on the American side part of this the reason why there's less of a market for Canadian offensive lineman I believed is this is an extremely good draft for Canadian offensive linemen there is there's been a bunch of very poor drafts for Canadian offensive linemen in a row teams are hungry for them and all of a sudden all at once there's a huge influx of incredibly talented guys now some of them are going to get NFL opportunities some of them are going to go there for a year and come back but there's going to be a bunch that are going to go straight to the CFL and are going to be impact players I think there are a couple of Plug and Play potential starters in this draft Group which you don't always see and teams are sort of anticipating that hey if we can play the weding game with these guys maybe we can add some young Talent really rebuild our offensive line through the draft and if we don't get the guys we like or they don't look good enough it doesn't look like anyone else is making a move for these guys so they may be available as a value signing down the line if we are truly desperate so I think the draft is also playing an impact on that offensive line Market you know there used to be this bogus thought out there among some American Personnel men that there was enough Canadians that is not more further from the truth than today okay I don't want to hear another American Personnel manner coach complain about the lack of talent coming out of Canada and starting Nationals we have enough Nationals to easily have a 10th team and perhaps get to ry's pipe dream of 12 that's the cfl's issue to get to 10 11 or 12 to fill those rosters out and probably then some so I don't want to hear it anymore from these American Personnel men and coaches and you know you hear some of these stories behind the scenes I'll get on the Soap Box a little bit about these coaches Bering Canadians behind the scenes stop it when you give Canadians an opportunity Brady Olivera matu Betts arguably the top two free agents pending I should say in this class because Oliva went back and Bets to sell on the market they can be just as good as the Americans that's nothing against the Americans the she number gives them the benefit of the doubt in terms of producing high quality CFL players but the Canadians are here and there are waves and waves and waves of them coming so stop it with those bogus excuses anymore please I don't want to hear it the only the only thing I will add to that quickly though as much as there's a bunch of offensive linemen currently available who are Canadian by the time the CFL gets to 12 teams it's likely they will have all died of old age maybe even by the time they get to 10 maybe by the time they get to 10 at this rate oh boy she cracked me up a number of signings and agreements involving Best Under-the-Radar Signing players outside of our top 30 pending free agents have also been made Isaac add Bergland to Montreal Jack gar resigning in Toronto jayen Edwards Cooper to Saskatchewan Williams stck the Veteran running back to BC and Matthew schilz to Calgary of these more I guess you could say under the radar signings which do you like most and why one guy who did not make the top 30 and probably wouldn't have even made the top 50 but I'm excited to see is Mason Bennett going back to the Hamilton Tiger Cats maybe I'm a little bit biased because he is from Winnipeg though he didn't play his college ball here he played South of the Border at North Dakota but he's a player who had five sacks in 20122 was a part-time starter for that team this past year is relegated to backup Duty and I think has been as part of being brought back to steelt toown promised at least a very real opportunity to start at defensive end this is a team that as of right now like last year they had Jonathan kbo and Jamal Davis and jagera Davis and everybody and their aunt was playing defensive been for the Hamilton Tiger Cats this year is a different story they spent a ton of money on Brandon Barlo from the Toronto Argonauts I think he's going to do very nice things they've obviously invested in the middle Casey sales is still there from last year Dwayne Hendrick coming over from the Toronto argonut but Mason Bennett I think right now is penil in as that second starter at defensive end it's possible that Matthew Betts is eventually the guy there maybe this is a team that brings in a guy like a Jackson Jeff Code who from what I understand is currently courting offers from three different CFL teams but right now Bennett is that guy and he had a down year in 2023 but the coaching staff has turned over in Hamilton as we'll talk a little bit about later in the show and I think that that's going to give Bennett a chance to reach some of that potential that he flashed in 2022 because again this is a guy who is a first TR pick for a reason has a high ceiling and I'm excited to see what he can do as we'll call it a a reinvigorated process here with the Tai cats 24 well I'm out here on the on the Left Coast in Vancouver and I know a lot of fans are extremely excited about the addition of running back William stanback who's a bit of a misnomer here because he did in fact make our top 30 but running backs are so irrelevant that you guys forgot that and stuck them on here anyway so I'm not gonna talk about William standback I'm gonna talk about somebody else and that is a former member of the BC Lions Jaylen Edward Cooper I knew this is where you going to Saskatchewan I thought Jaylen Edwards Cooper was an extremely underrated player last season for the Lions he spent three years sort of developing and growing into his role Gary peers for me at the opposite corner is the best player in the CFL at that position however the Lions don't move him around they don't match him up to the best receivers if you go to the other side they are they were perfect comfortable with the best receivers on any team going up against Jaylen Edwards Cooper and he did an admirable job there I think one of his best skill sets is his ability to come down and get physical I think he's one of the best tacklers in the flats that there is in the league he's going to be an upgrade at that corner position for the refers and I think he's really going to shine next year in Saskatchewan for me of this group and I guess we should probably leave Williams hand back out of it because JC's right he was in our top 30 I was a proponent of putting the running backs in there and John Hodge it wasn't jumbo cheese okay just so people know I don't think anybody will ever be surprised to hear you say that that is the least that is the least necessary confirmation I've ever heard needed to be on the record sorry about fair enough I'm gonna go with Matt chilz going to Calgary because I think this shows Jake mayor that you know you better pull up those socks and your pants and play some quality football or you could be on the bench schilz has starting experience the Tiger Cats really were high on him for a period of time but I think schilz looked at that situation in Hamilton and thought you know Taylor Powell played a decent amount last year and Scott milanovich was on the record kind of throwing vulnerable bu bouquet excuse me at bivi Mitchell and Taylor Powell now he wasn't directly asked about chilz from my memory he probably thought you know I have a better chance to get on the field potentially in Calgary if May doesn't play well but I really like it from the stamp Peters perspective to bring him in and put a little bit of heat on Jake mayor because it's one thing for mayor to play last year as a new face of the franchise with really a bunch of inexperienced guys behind him I know there's some players on that roster that people like Tommy Stevens and Logan Bonner but still you have a veteran guy who started and won football games in the CFL before right behind you so it could push May to a new level or schilz gets an opportunity speaking of the quarterbacks we'll move on in a sec but I think it's really interesting now with schilz going to Calgary there's really only one opening for a backup quarterback and one team that is on the record saying they want a veteran backup quarterback and that is the BC Lions and there's two guys currently available in Jake dolala and Taylor Cornelius that is never a good place to be as a player or an agent where there's two guys for one spot because of course if becomes again a buyer market and a team can lowball both and say well hey if you want to come that's great if you want to sit and and wait on your next opportunity feel free be my guest and so I'm curious to see what happens between these two players things have been awfully quiet about doag Galla Cornelius is actually free to sign right now he was cut by the Elks of course several weeks ago so you know the quarterback position was not a position of strength heading into free gency that was especially the case after Chris drer Inked his deal in Winnipeg but that quarterback position now two guys for one spot not optimal to be either of those young quarterbacks it's now time for Hodge's Hodge’s Heritage Moment Heritage moment on this day in 1996 Dan kepley was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame the North Carolina native played 10 seasons with Edmonton from 1975 to 1984 and was named a CFL All-Star for five consecutive years kepley was named the League's most outstanding defensive player three times and remains one of four players ever to capture the award more than twice Adam big hill is one Willie plus is another who's the other one is it James Quick Parker maybe I have to double check that he won six great cups as a player and two while serving as an assistant coach in Edmonson obviously JC you're too young to remember Dan kepley dunk I'm curious if you have any memories of kepley though that might even be before your time my favorite memory of Dan kepley is him coaching my brother Adam dunk who was an outstanding linebacker at the University of G in the world global junior championships at the old Pontiac silver dome which by the way Team Canada won and I remember seeing kepley I was there in person obviously watching my bro ball out and looking at his hands and they were so mangled but that dude did not care he loved football my brother would talk about how into it he was with these guys even though he was only with them for a short term because of the tournament structure and how all that kind of stuff works this guy was fired up full of energy and just love football so I'll never forget that memory of kepley yeah ke kepley was an icon obviously before my time but I grew up in a Edmonton household that loved the green and gold to its very core and kepley and all those icons were something that was shared and passed down to me certainly one of the greatest I think unit names of all time the Alberta crude defense that it I'll stack that up with any name in sports anywhere I think that is absolutely Three-Minute Drill iconic let's go to the three-minute drill the Ottawa red blacks have signed Canadian offensive lineman deu badic the Polish Prince to replace Jacob Ruby who was cut ahead of an offseason roster bonus is that a good flip for them I think it is no disrespect to Jacob Ruby who I think is a solid player I think bladek is a better run blocker and between him and Drew dearl there's going to be some nastiness on the inside of that red blocks o line the Hamilton Tiger Cats finalized their coaching staff hiring former Winnipeg Blue bomber special teams coordinator Paul Buro to replace Jeff Reinbold is that a good move it never hurts to add some experience to a coaching staff I know B Buro has had some struggles with that wiip pig unit certainly last season maybe even the last couple of Seasons which led that team to deem him Expendable but we'll see if he can turn it around in Hamilton I really liked the majority of the staff I like that milanovic is adding former CFL players notable names guys like non Roosevelt and Brandon ISAC who have had a year or two of experience elsewhere guys he has coached before I think they're going to do very well there in steeltown the Montreal alets resigned running back Walter Fletcher and don't appear to be adding another big name at the position in free agency will he be the team's starter in 2024 things can change if the aletes don't add Kadeem kry or Jamal Morrow who as of this recording have not agreed to terms with the team yet then I do believe that Fletcher has the inside track to be the number one running back there and I think he'll share that back field with Canadian running back jron an as well if they don't bring in anyone else Haj you asked Chris strer about Boomer asci's commentary from his NFL debut in 2021 and he called it unfair to the CFL surely the story won't go any further right uh no the story does go further and I would encourage anybody interested to pay close attention to Three Down Nation this weekend and tune into next week's show because this this does go further it really does former CFL linebacker Dexter McCoy has been named the defensive coordinator at Texas State are you impressed with how quickly he's climbed the coaching ranks it's extremely impressive he is a guy that a lot of people in NCAA circles have circled as a guy who can be a real Riser who has a very bright future he's only I think 32 or 33 years of age 3 years removed from being a player himself is already a de coordinator at an FBS school that is virtually unheard of I don't think this is the last time that we hear the name Dexter McCoy Simone Lawrence beat Taylor Swift in a Hamilton name the plow contest the new snow plow will be dubbed snowy Lawrence edging out Taylor drift will Sim HOV be back in steelt toown there's a long shot possibility here but can I just say you know with all due respect to our colleague Ryan Valentine that you can't just put plow in people's names and try to call it a snowplow like that just does not work snowm Lawrence is unbelievable Taylor drift is at least a little bit creative so Balentine go back to the drawing board ask your wife or your kids my man and stop just putting Clow when you throw out these ideas for possible future articles I don't know why I just laughing so much but we'll keep itoll I just I love that the audience has no context for what you're talking about G them the cont Valentine just put plow in CFL players names trying to make them part of a potential contest for a piece that we may or may not write on hold on I I got to I got to read some of his suggestions I need to find these hold on oh I I can't see them right away that's okay you think I'll talk about lawren and you find it yeah just search plow it'll be there I searched plow it's St popping up oh they got to be there it's not that far back in the three down Nation what's up group chat is what hjge is referring to I I do think there's probably you know long shot chance of Simone Lawrence being back in Hamilton so he could potentially one day maybe drive his aply named plow or the plow that's named after him but you know know I don't sense that there's a big markup for him and usually and we talked about it earlier in the podcast when you get to this stage of what is I believe the new free agency then it's going to be hard to find a contract there's a possibility there Jordan Williams can play Mack can play Will and there's no other certain person there that you would look at right now that could start at that weak side linebacker spot that Lawrence has been at for so long but we'll have to see what the future holds did you find it HJ oh I got them please read them JC okay oh they're they're not all plow but they are bad so they're so bad snow takey Mitchell terrible a Darius plow I don't I assume that hold on hold on say it one more time a Darius plow mod so really yes sick that's terrible that is terrible there's Randy mowy that's okay he he gives us a a Cho a choice here there is a choice on the next one you can either have Wall-E plow or if that you're not sold on that one there's Wall-E wo plow that's terrible oh my God God that is the wor losing it bro I'm losing it I'm over my I have not laughed so hard since the term was invented I just can't even you're not like oh my god oh boy thanks for those Ryan I just remember looking at his suggestions because of what'sapp group dinging and pretty much in this period of time as you know Jean will know and somewhat JC every time my phone makes a sound like I'm just on pins and needles right I'm trying to figure out what it is and here come through these plow suggestions one by one by one in the group chat and I'm thinking Valentine first of all these are terrible and second of all most importantly this is the worst time for you to be making notifications on my phone okay I told you he tried to put plow in people's names like John Hodge plow come on Fair abbit plow like come on a plow AB it what a the worst the worst one doesn't even have plow in it it's snow takey Mitchell that one just takes the not even snow wait in his defense that's probably supposed to that's probably a typo it's probably snow Levi Metro which is somewhat creative no it's it's take and then Dash I the take is important put I mechell Mitchell no fair but and we we love Balentine we do yes this is all in fun okay we're gonna get that same emailer emailing us and say we shouldn't be ribbing each other like can you laugh look at the sun put a smile on your face okay gez I I can't believe that was hilarious like unbelievable H you laugh made me cry we don't we don't want any Debbie downers on this show or should I say Debbie plowers okay that's decent actually though that's arguably better maybe we could have it's not as good as as [Laughter] sow my abs are s that's the biggest ab workout you've done in years probably you're not kidding bro oh boy oh my God people are like can you guys just shut up about plows and move on are we ready yes we're ready yes we're good see are you okay can you breathe can you speak I think so I can manage we're good we love you though Valentine the Hamilton Tiger Cats resigned Canadian kicker Mark leio were you impressed with his bounceback season in 2023 yes it was a very good season Justin how resided with the red black after speculation that the club could be targeting former carlt to S tund Adel where do you see Adel ending up I think it's impossible that he ends up at ARA but it's looking increasingly unlikely there seems to be some whispers about maybe his old stomping ground in Calgary the team that drafted him I'd be intrigued about that possibility given how they've improved their secondary pull yourselves together boys okay everyone stop that's where Valentine lives too you can't get away from him the the the next one the next one is somber so I need you guys to stop laughing okay let's let's okay that is all right I do it I can do it we good okay I can do it Fame Hollywood actor Carl Weathers passed away this week at the age of 76 were you aware that he used to play for the BC Lions you know I had a vague memory but I didn't know that he maybe high regard isn't the right term but held that time with the Lions so near and dear to him right there's been some clips that the Lions have put out on the social media showing him talking about his time there so obviously we hope he rests in peace Drew Richmond an American offensive tackle has retired from the CFL at the age of 28 is that a major loss for the Blue Bombers it is uh as we exclusively reported he wanted to renegotiate his deal for 2024 the bombers were willing to do so but they couldn't come to an agreement so he retired and this might not have been a huge deal if Jamarcus Hardrick is back in winipeg but this was hard's replacement Richard's been at the club for three years sry a couple of games he played right tackle at the University of Tennessee and he played right tackle at USC where he plowed opposing defensive lineman in the Run game as a stellar blocker so the bombers are going to miss Drew Richmond though I appreciate he's far from a household name the Edmonton elks have signed Boris Bey to a two-year contract following a career year with Toronto who signed of course Liam hyra lahu following a fouryear stint in the NFL will that help Edmonson really will I know Dean faithful was a good story at times last year the 35-year-old British kicker as Queen wave after his pathetic game-winning field goals because he couldn't kick more than 30 yards it's time to move on from that let's get a competent kicker in the building now there are going to be there's going to be some changes there there's going to be Ro are going to come after you dude there's G to be some intriguing changes though because despite the fact that Boris be is a Bor raised Frenchman right he's from I believe he's from Paris if not too I'm not sure which city he's from France anyway uh he doesn't count as a global he counts as an American so they're going to have to find another Global spot and Edmonton has shown that they you know Chris Jones is put the paperwork in right now to change him to a global they can't do that though it's there's there's no way do it I just want to clarify try it's not gonna it's gonna fail I'm not laughing at Dean faithful I'm still laughing about snow MIT any my point being if I was Jake Julian their current Canadian punter I'd be very concerned about the potential that there is going to be a global punter coming in for his job this training camp and if I'm a team who was maybe thinking about adding a Canadian I might look at Julian as a Target former CFL QB and assistant coach Marcus Brady is the new passing game coordinator of the Los Angeles Chargers is that a good hire I think it is I like it he's got CFL ties obviously was a quarterback in this league and a coach and has now been in the NFL for a long time with multiple different franchises and he's with you know arguably one of the biggest star coaches there with the Chargers in Jim Harbaugh really intrigued to see how this plays out fellas I think we should probably all apologize in advance to Ryan Valentine the first thing I do when I get off recording this podcast is just goingon to say Valentine we Sorry in the podcast sorry three down Nation chat group about podcast he's not going to know what it is but when he listens to the Pod I hope he laughs as much as us we're laughing with you Valentine not at you okay we thank you as always for listening 3 Nation Podcast on behalf of Jay plow Abbot and Justin PL I'm John plou we'll see you next week enjoy CFM free [Laughter] agency