February 17th, 2023: Free Agency, Day 4

The team was still adding bodies four days into FA. Much like the previous day, one was a new face, the other a familiar one.

The Ottawa REDBLACKS have signed National receiver Lemar Durant to a one-year contract, the team announced today.

Durant, 30, has suited up in seven CFL seasons, most recently with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2022. He appeared in 11 games, hauling in 12 passes for 112 yards, and a touchdown.

A native of Vancouver, BC, Durant was drafted in the second round, 18th overall, by the Calgary Stampeders in 2015. He spent four seasons in Calgary, highlighted by a Grey Cup victory in 2018, in which he earned Most Outstanding Canadian honours for the championship game. He then spent two seasons with the BC Lions, before moving on to Hamilton.

Through 85 career CFL games, Durant has caught 195 passes for 2,465 receiving yards, and 14 touchdowns, to go with 67 rushing yards on nine carries.

The Ottawa REDBLACKS announced, today, that they have re-signed American defensive back Sherrod Baltimore through the 2023 CFL season.

Baltimore, 30, heads into his sixth CFL season, all of which have been played with the REDBLACKS. The Fort Washington, Maryland native appeared in 13 games during the 2022 campaign, tallying 22 defensive tackles, as well as eight pass knockdowns: the fifth-highest total in the league. 

A product of the Maine Black Bears program, Baltimore has become a fan favourite in Ottawa, through 60 career games. He arrived to the REDBLACKS in 2017, putting together a debut season that earned him a Most Outstanding Rookie nomination from the team, and has gone on to record 136 total tackles, two interceptions, and a forced fumble.

We need to celebrate having the fifth highest pass knockdown total in the league because Baltimore hasn't recorded an interception since the end of the 2018 season. He's played in 34 games since the start of 2019. 

I know that statistic isn't completely indicative of level of play and one can't make too much of it.  I also get that Baltimore is a community guy and well-liked.

It doesn't seem like there was much interest in him in this free agency period yet here he is again. We appear to be the only team to sign him over and over...

I can't shake the perception that some guys are retained longer than they should be because it's a popular thing to do for the locker room. GM Shawn Burke swears there'll be competition and that jobs won't be handed out. I'll believe it when a popular but unspectacular player like Baltimore is shown the bench so someone else can be given the chance to shine.

Baltimore was the 49th player from the 2022 squad to be retained, and the 20th from the 2021 edition. You probably don't need a reminder that the team has won seven games during that period and lost 25. When the team talked about having "building blocks" in place, I didn't think they meant 49 of them.

February 16th, 2023: Free Agency Day 3

Just a couple of signings to announce from this day, one new face and one returning one.

The Ottawa REDBLACKS have signed National running back Ante Milanovic-Litre to a one-year contract, the team announced today.

Milanovic-Litre, 28, spent the 2022 campaign with the Edmonton Elks, after four seasons with the Calgary Stampeders. The Vancouver, British Columbia native appeared in all 18 games, notching 241 rushing yards, and a touchdown, as well as 89 receiving yards.

Drafted 28th overall by Calgary in 2017, Milanovic-Litre was a member of the Stampeders team that captured the Grey Cup in 2018. Through 73 career games, he has racked up 592 rushing yards, and three touchdowns, to go with 319 receiving yards.

Litre was an odd deal because the Edmonton Elks had signed him to an extension in January only to release him on February 13th. Not sure what that was about.

The next gentleman hardly needs introduction...  

The Ottawa REDBLACKS have re-signed American defensive back, and former CFL All-Star Abdul Kanneh to a one-year contract, the team announced today.

Kanneh, 32, is a veteran of eight CFL seasons, five of which have been with the REDBLACKS, in two separate stints. Injury limited him to 12 games in 2022, but Kanneh was still a contributing factor on a stout Ottawa defence; posting 37 tackles, two interceptions, and a forced fumble. 

Born in London, England, Kanneh earned a CFL All-Star nod in 2015, and CFL East All-Star honours following the 2016 season, in which he helped the REDBLACKS to their first Grey Cup victory. He has also spent time with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and Toronto Argonauts.

Full disclosure, I thought that bringing in Cariel Brooks and re-signing Damon Webb meant the end for Kanneh, at least in Ottawa.

The team also quietly added Darius Williams last October, who played defensive back for Montreal in 2022. He'll be 25 in August and already has 24 games under his belt. I look forward to seeing what he can contribute. 

February 14th, 2023: Free Agency, Day 1

Free agency began at noon Eastern on February 14th. The press release to announce their first acquisition was issued at 13:14.

The Ottawa REDBLACKS have signed American offensive lineman Terran Vaughn to a one-year deal, the team announced today.

Vaughn, 28, has been with the Saskatchewan Roughriders since 2018, and returned to the lineup this season, after missing the 2021 campaign due to injury. The 6’3 305lbs native of Beaumont, Texas, lined up at tackle, and suited up in 10 games during the 2022 season.

Playing his collegiate football at Stephen F. Austin, Vaughn appeared in 46 games, starting in 38, and earned an Honourable Mention All-Southland Conference nod in 2014.

There will a theme among some of the signees, particularly those who previously played for Saskatchewan, of productivity being affected by injury. If Vaughn can stay healthy, he could turn into a solid pick-up. It might be worthwhile to note that he was active for 15 games in 2019.   

The Ottawa REDBLACKS made a splash in free agency, today, signing All-Star American linebacker Jovan Santos-Knox to a two-year deal.

Santos-Knox, 28, has spent the last two seasons with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, after stints with the Edmonton Elks, and Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The Waterbury, Connecticut product appeared in 17 games during the 2022 campaign, finishing third in the CFL with 105 total tackles. He also recorded a sack, and earned CFL East All-Star honours, following the season's conclusion.

"I'm extremely excited to call the Nation's Capital my new home and play in front of the amazing fans of RNation!," said Santos-Knox. "After hearing the vision Shawn Burke has for this team and my talks with Coach Dyce, it felt right that this was the place to continue my career and pursuit of a Grey Cup. Can’t wait to throw on the red and black and get to work with the squad!"

After playing his collegiate football at UMass, Santos-Knox signed with the Blue Bombers in 2017, and spent two seasons with the team, before moving on to Edmonton in 2019. He opted out of his contract in August of 2020, and signed with the Ti-Cats on February 6, 2021. 

This one is bittersweet in that it led to the release of Avery Williams a few days earlier. No doubt Santos-Knox is a hell of a player but among the list of priorities for upgrades, this did not seem like it would be near the top. But who knows, maybe after a few games he'll make me realize that we could have been getting even more production from that position. 

Michael Wakefield is coming back to the Ottawa REDBLACKS, with the team announcing that they have signed the American defensive lineman to a one-year deal, today.

Wakefield, 29, played in the nation’s capital from 2017 to 2019, before moving on to the Montreal Alouettes. He suited up in 14 games during the 2022 season, recording 20 tackles, and three sacks.

The Valdosta, Georgia native has appeared in 67 CFL games, all told, posting 99 total tackles, 14 sacks, and an interception. 

After a collegiate career at Florida International from 2012 to 2015, Wakefield attended training camp with the now-Washington Commanders in 2016.

The Ottawa REDBLACKS announced, today, that they have signed American linebacker Gary Johnson Jr. to a one-year contract.

Johnson, 26, has appeared in the last three CFL seasons, all with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He appeared in six games, last season, recording five total tackles, and has posted 25 tackles, as well as a sack, in 14 career games.

A native of Douglas, Alabama, Johnson played his college football at the University of Texas, where he recorded 150 tackles, 22.5 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks, and three forced fumbles, through 26 appearances. 

The Ottawa REDBLACKS have signed American receiver Shaq Evans to a one-year contract, the team announced today.

Evans, 31, has spent four seasons in the CFL, all with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The Inglewood, California native suited up in 10 games during the 2022 campaign, hauling in 32 receptions, for 487 yards, and a pair of touchdowns.

In what has been a productive CFL career, Evans has appeared in 52 games with the Riders, making 179 receptions, for a total of 2,830 receiving yards, and seven touchdowns. He earned CFL All-Star honours following the 2019 season, after posting career-high’s across the board; including 1,334 receiving yards on 72 receptions, and five touchdowns.

A fourth-round, 115th overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, Evans also spent time with the New York Jets, Jacksonville Jaguars, New England Patriots, and Dallas Cowboys, from 2014 to 2017.

And so closed the Day 1 activities, 90 minutes or so later.  There wasn't a lot of flash to it; no big splash like a highly-productive WR along the lines of Geno Lewis or Jake Weineke, more of a low-risk, high-potential-reward approach for the most part.

Rumours of signing Hamilton DE Julian Howsare never came to fruition, though I believe that one just grew out of lazy assumption. He was being associated with his club's former co-GM in Shawn Burke. I don't recall coming across anything concrete to suggest he was ever coming to Ottawa.

We did see reports of the team agreeing to terms with another Hamilton player in running back Wes Hills, however upon the end of his contract Hills chose to sign with the New Orleans Breakers of the USFL instead.

2022 Free Agency Recap (Days Two and Three)

There will be some overlap here because some of the signings from Wednesday were already being discussed on Tuesday (Day One). Evidently a couple of players had agreed to terms and just had to put ink to paper before the official announcement was sent out. I've gone back and added biographical info info, provided in team's press releases, for every acquisition covered in the Ottawa Sun's article from February 8th.

So here are a couple more signings who were not mentioned earlier in the week as being likely to join the REDBLACKS. 

MONSHADRICK HUNTER (DB): Hunter, 26 is coming off of his first career CFL All-Star season, in 2021. In 14 games with the Montreal Alouettes, he recorded 55 total tackles, two interceptions, and a sack. Prior to joining Montreal, the Prosper, Texas native played two seasons with the Edmonton Elks, from 2018-2019. Through 30 appearances with Edmonton, Hunter racked up 96 total tackles, to go with four interceptions, and a sack. Hunter is the son of five-time Major League Baseball All-Star Torii Hunter. 

TRUMAINE WASHINGTON (DB): A veteran of three CFL seasons, Washington broke into the league with the Toronto Argonauts in 2018. The Miami, Florida native went on to appear in 25 games across two seasons with the Argos, notching 56 tackles, five interceptions, a touchdown, and a forced fumble.

Washington joins the REDBLACKS following a career year, in which he suited up for all 14 games with the Elks, and matched his statline from the combined previous two years. The 26 year-old finished the season tied for the CFL lead in picks (five), also recording 56 total tackles, a forced fumble, and a touchdown. 

B.J. CUNNINGHAM (WR): Cunningham, 32, is a veteran of six CFL seasons, all with the Montreal Alouettes, having signed with the team in 2015, following a three-year stint in the NFL. Through 72 career games, Cunningham has racked up 3,741 receiving yards, on 272 receptions, with 984 yards after the catch, and 17 touchdowns. He has also rushed for 81 yards, and a touchdown, on 14 carries throughout his career.

A product of Columbus, Ohio, Cunningham appeared in nine games for the Als last season, posting 474 receiving yards, on 36 catches, to go with 112 yards after the catch, and a touchdown.

I think that covers pretty well every new face that's been announced. On the flip side, DB/LB Alden Darby was included in the list of newcomers to the club from February 8th, however he changed his mind and signed with Hamilton instead.

2022 Free Agency Recap (Day One)

The Ottawa REDBLACKS were well aware that they needed to make a splash in free agency not only in an effort to boost the team's talent but also to rebuild some faith in a fanbase that had been questioning the team's commitment to fielding a quality product in recent years. They seem to have accomplished both goals.

The comments below are copied from this Ottawa Sun article. They are all from General Manager Shawn Burke. I did not include returning players RJ Harris (WR), Davon Coleman (DT) and William Powell (RB), only the true new faces to the team.  

JEREMIAH MASOLI (QB): “To have a guy you’ve seen day in and day out for the better part of eight years — what he brings to the locker room, what the sport means to him, what family means to him and what teammates mean to him — meant a lot in making this decision. It’s about his work ethic, it’s about his quiet leadership and his passion and drive for the game. There’s a laidbackness thing going on, but there’s also a fire in him. It’s a great balance between the two and we’re excited to have him in Ottawa."

JACKSON BENNETT (RB): Bennett, 26, is a Cumberland product who has three CFL seasons under his belt, all with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. In 40 regular season appearances, Bennett has 46 carries for 219 yards and a touchdown, 13 catches for 102 yards, and 20 special teams tackles. Over three seasons at the University of Ottawa, Bennett, then playing as a defensive back and linebacker, accumulated 89 solo tackles, 39 assisted tackles, one sack, and three interceptions, returning one for a touchdown. He moved to running back, the position he played in high school, in 2019.  

“(In Hamilton), he switched from safety and SAM linebacker to running back and it didn’t faze him. He’s gotten some quality snaps on the offensive side of the ball. And he’s a very good special teamer.”

Bennett played high high school ball with Sir Wilfrid Laurier and his university football with uOttawa. 

JAELON ACKLIN (WR): The 26 year-old Acklin comes to Ottawa from Hamilton, where he spent the first two campaigns of his CFL career. Acklin, who played college ball at Western Illinois, followed up a 708-yard campaign in 2019 with 678 yards and four touchdowns in 2021, while playing three fewer games. The Tiger-Cats reached the Grey Cup final in both of those seasons. Acklin caught 105 passes for 1,733 yards and 12 touchdowns, along with 21 carries for 255 yards, and four majors in 44 college games. 

“He was near the top of our board for receivers. He’s a playmaker, he’s got very good hands. Last year as the season went along in Hamilton, he became more and more of the go-to guy.”

DARVIN ADAMS (WR): A native of Canton, Mississippi, Adams arrived in the CFL for the 2013 season, signing with the Toronto Argonauts. He joined the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2015 and all told has racked up 4,928 receiving yards on 343 receptions along with 40 touchdowns through 91 career CFL games, earning CFL All-Star honours in 2017 and 2018. Adams, 32, has also been a key contributor to the two-time defending Grey Cup Champion Blue Bombers, appearing in four playoff games the last two seasons, recording 387 receiving yards, and the Cup-winning touchdown in 2021. 

“He brings a different energy and edge to our receiving corps. He’s a two-time Grey Cup champion. He’s got a background with Coach LaPo, which means he can hit the ground running.”

LLEVI NOEL (WR): Noel, 30, hails from Toronto where he has spent his entire five-year CFL career with his hometown Argonauts. A former member of the Canadian Junior Football League in Windsor, the 6-foot-2, 198-pound 30 year-old has 79 special teams tackles, in 74 career regular season games with the Argos. Though limited to just four games in 2021, Noel also has 82 catches for 869 career receiving yards and four touchdowns. Noel had a career year in 2018 when he hauled in 47 passes for 512 yards. 

“He’s had a 500-yard season. He got derailed a bit last year with a hamstring injury in Toronto. When we watched the tape, he looked like he’ll fit what we’re trying to do. Like Darvin, he brings an aggressiveness and size. What he can do with the ball shouldn’t be lost. On top of that, he’s a very high-end special teams guy.”

SHAQ JOHNSON (WR): Hailing from Brampton, Ontario, Johnson was drafted in the fourth round, 32nd overall by the Lions in 2016. The product of both McGill and Western broke into the league as a full-timer in 2017 and has since posted 127 catches for 1,749 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. The 28 year-old Johnson appeared in all 14 games for the Lions in 2021, tallying 30 receptions for 295 yards. 

“He’s a very athletic Canadian receiver, he’s had a couple of 500-yard seasons.. When you talk about playing two Canadian receivers, you likely need three with good ability so with him, Nate (Behar) and Llevi, we feel very good about that position group.”

UCAMBRE WILLIAMS (OL): Williams, 29, has spent his entire five-season CFL career with the Calgary Stampeders, where suited up for 63 career regular season games. The Alabaman has played right tackle and right guard but moved to centre in 2017 and started at the position when the Stamps won the 2018 Grey Cup. The 6-foot-3, 298-pound product of the University of South Alabama was a CFL West All-Star, the Stamps’ top lineman and the West Division nominee for best offensive lineman. 

“He’s a leader, he’s tenacious, a good pro and he’s got a lot of flexibility – he’s played right tackle, left tackle and centre. We’ll be looking at him as a tackle. People will say he doesn’t have the tackle size. But if you look at the film, he can play. He loves the game of football.”

DARIUS CIRACO (OL): Ciraco, 25, spent the first three seasons of his CFL career with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. In three campaigns, the Burlington native and University of Calgary product dressed for all but 8 games. The 6-foot-4, 292-pound lineman was drafted with Hamilton’s sixth-overall pick in the 2018 CFL Draft, and was named the Ti-Cats’ Most Outstanding Rookie in 2018. 

“He’s a former first-round pick that’s transitioned from guard, he’ll play centre for us. He had a bit of the injury bug last year in Hamilton. He has a volume of work already with Jeremiah.”

HUNTER STEWARD (OL): Steward, 30, is a seven-season CFL veteran who has spent his entire career with the BC Lions. The 6--foot-6, 315-pound from Calgary has 89 games under his belt as he makes the trip east to Ottawa. Steward was selected in the first round and sixth overall by the Lions in the 2013 CFL draft and made his debut with the club in 2014. He played college ball at Virginia's Liberty University.  

“We evaluated him and decided he was a guy we really wanted to chase. As his career has gone on, he’s been more and more available. He was a guy we felt could come in and help us win football games.”

KWAKU BOATENG (DL): Boateng, 26, brings athleticism and a penchant for getting at quarterbacks to Ottawa. The six-foot-two, 257-pound Wilfrid Laurier product had 25 sacks in his four seasons with the Elks. His nine-sack effort in 2018 is his personal best. Boateng also has 82 career tackles and a pair of forced fumbles on his short but impressive resume. A fifth-round selection by the Elks in 2017, Boateng quickly showed that he could play at the pro level, and had three tackles in the Elks’ Western Semi-final showdown with Winnipeg. Boateng was twice (2018 and 2019) named the team’s top Canadian player. 

"He had his most productive season with (defensive co-ordinator Mike) Benevides (in Edmonton) and that wasn’t lost on him. He’s coming off a bit of a down season and he’s hungry. It makes sense for us, it gives us a ton of flexibility ratio wise to have another Canadian of his skillset.”

LORENZO MAULDIN IV (DL): Mauldin IV, 29, is a former third-round pick of the NFL’s New York Jets, who spent the last two seasons with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The 6-foot-4, 259-pound Sacramento native has 13 defensive tackles, 12 special teams tackles, four sacks, and a forced fumble in 17 regular season CFL games. Mauldin made his NFL debut with the Jets in 2015, and went on to record 33 tackles, 6.5 sacks, a fumble recovery, and an interception. 

“He had a bit of an injury bug last year with the hamstring. He embraced his role as the third defensive end and did a great job on special teams. He wants an opportunity to be given a chance to start; we think he can compete with the guys we have. He’s a big, physical player, a former third-round (NFL) pick.”

PATRICK LEVELS (LB): Levels comes to Ottawa after two years with the Montreal Alouettes, and a pair of seasons with the Calgary Stampeders. The Dallas native has played 55 regular season games over four years, recording 164 defensive tackles, eight sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and a touchdown. Though limited to 12 games last year, Levels still put up 42 defensive tackles, three sacks, one pick and one touchdown. He won the Grey Cup in 2018 with the Stampeders.    

“Much like I talked about about Darvin, in terms of energy, physicality and intensity, (Levels) brings that to the defensive side.”

TY CRANSTON (DB): Cranston, 27, hails from Winnipeg but played for the University of Ottawa before being drafted by the Montreal Alouettes in the seventh round in 2017. In three seasons with the Alouettes, Cranston has recorded 38 defensive tackles, 24 special teams tackles and an interception in 34 regular season games. Cranston played 30 regular season games with the Gee-Gees from 2013-2017, recording 133 , defensive tackles, two forced fumbles, two interceptions and a fumble recovery. 

“He got a lot of playing time in Montreal. The more and more we talked about him, the more it made sense. He’s got a longer body, it gives us a different body type. When he wasn’t starting in Montreal, he was an above average special teamer. Safety is going to be a group that we’ve added some depth with and we’re excited to see them compete.”

ALDEN DARBY (DB/LB): “The more we talked through it, it made sense from a versatility standpoint; he’s played four different defensive backfield positions – SAM backer, boundary half, boundary corner and safety. Everything we’ve heard about him, he’s an energetic guy, he brings communication to the defensive backfield.”

"MASOLI TO OTTAWA: REDBLACKS ink veteran quarterback"

The Ottawa REDBLACKS have signed veteran American quarterback Jeremiah Masoli to a two-year deal, the club announced Monday. 

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The 33-year-old pivot joins the REDBLACKS after spending eight seasons with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Masoli was an East Division all-star and the East Division’s nominee for Most Outstanding Player in 2018 and was a part of three Ticats teams that played for a Grey Cup (2014, 2019, 2021). 

"Jeremiah is a consummate professional who has been a high-performing quarterback in our league for nearly a decade," said REDBLACKS General Manager Shawn Burke. "We know RNation will give him a warm welcome and we thank Jeremiah and his family for choosing Ottawa for the next two years."

Masoli brings a dual threat presence – along with throwing for 15,555 yards, he’s rushed for 1,507 through 114 games – and brings a wealth of experience to the REDBLACKS. Named the Ticats’ starter over Dane Evans out of the gate of the 2022 season, Masoli dealt with injuries before leading the team to the Eastern Final. After briefly giving way to Evans, a week later, Masoli went into the game when Evans sustained a neck injury. He led the Ticats through a narrow overtime loss, completing 20 of 25 passes for 185 yards, with two touchdowns. Masoli also rushed for 35 yards in the Grey Cup game. 

1990: "Sleeper Ploy Run Perfectly"

It's a little tough to come up with great moments in a team's free agency history but the Ottawa Rough Riders had themselves a memorable couple of days in March of 1990.

At the time, free agency was so in name only. There was a general understand among team front office folks that you wouldn't go after another team's players.

The Rough Riders had won three, three, two and four games over the four previous seasons. The league had set up an equalization system through which playoff teams would make players available to the non-playoff teams but RR management found the plan hopelessly inadequate and requests to better it largely fell on deaf ears.

So to free agency they went.

Two things made this whole event fun as hell; the secrecy and the outrage. Bearing in mind that not only was signing another team's free agents frowned upon, it was doubly shocking that sad sack Ottawa would make such a move.

The anger and hand-wringing it generated across a league of hypocrites was hilarious. If the articles of the time are accurate, Ottawa had been more than $140,000 under the then-3M salary cap. Edmonton, meanwhile, was over it by $150,000 and paid a $15,000 fine as a result. Big damn deal. 

Toronto GM Mike McCarthy, in particular, lost his mind.

 

A year later, McCarthy was the GM when Toronto signed Raghib Ismail to a four-year, 18M contract. But I'm sure that's totally different and/or the result of Ottawa giving a defensive tackle a $20,000 raise. That sure escalated quickly!

So how'd all these new guys do with Ottawa? well, it varies.

Anthony Cherry only played four games before getting cut. David Williams had a very solid year with 61 receptions for 895 yards and 12 TDs, but was later traded to Edmonton for the 1991 season.

Among the offensive linemen, Bryan Illerbrun played for two season while Rob Smith was around for three, earning a league all-star selection in 1992.

Stephen Jones stuck around from 1990 to 1994. He was a two-time league all star, in 1990 and 1992, a season in which he gathered 75 receptions for 1400 yards and 10 touchdowns. Glenn Kulka had seven sacks in his first year with Ottawa but would average only 2.5 a year for the next four seasons.

John Mandarich only played one season. He was cut in July of the following year.

So a mixed bag but the team did improve to seven wins, their best since 1985. Not a powerhouse by any stretch but the move injected some excitement into a fan base that was starving for it.

Feeling the 2020 Draft

Now that the outcome of the Nick Arbuckle acquisition has been determined, let's take a deeper look at the impact that it will have going forward.

As a reminder, the team gave up a third-round draft choice for his rights, then swapped places with Calgary in the first round of the coming college draft (from first to sixth) when they were able to sign him prior to free agency starting on February 11th.

Here are a couple of quotes from general manager Marcel Desjardins, as found in the Ottawa Sun and provided by Tim Baines, at the time that the trade with Calgary was first announced.

“We were willing to give up a third-round pick to see how it plays out… Look, we’ve got guys from last year’s draft, guys who didn’t play, coming back. We’ve got Samson Abbott, Chris Larsen, Gabriel Polan, Clement Lebreux. Those guys might make our team. Plus we get a territorial draft pick (at the end of the first round).” 

“When we’ve drafted toward the back end of the first round, we’ve always ended up with a pretty good football player. We certainly feel like we’ll get a good player at six. It’s something I proposed, that we flip those picks.”

The territorial pick is actually at the end of the second round. Tim Baines' addition to Desjardins' first comment above, in parentheses, is incorrect.

So we lose a third and drop in the first. To evaluate the impact of those moves, let's review how we are doing for Canadian talent.

By my unofficial count, and including draft choices from previous drafts that are expected to show up, but not guys that are becoming free agents in 10 days, we have...

FB - 3 (Beaulieu, Gosselin, Polan...all from Sherbrooke!) 

WR - 4 (Dubois, Lewis, Sinopoli, Tyrell)  

OL - 10 (Fontana, Gagnon, Johnson, Korte, Lauzon-Seguin, MacMillan, Mateas, Omara, Pickett, Secord) 

DL - 7 (Abbott, Grant, Larsen, Laurent,  Lebreux, Onyeka, Romick)  

LB - 1 (Côté) 

DB - 4 (Bolduc, Hamlin, Howell, Pruneau)

The fullback count does not include Brendan Gillanders since he is listed simply as a running back.

You're always looking to improve and add depth, of course, but many of those positions are pretty full. You can only keep so many guys around.

But even if that were not the case, the team added some Canadian players late last year that could turn into good "substitutes" for draft choices.

DB Nate Hamlin was picked up last October following his release by BC. The Lions had drafted him in the fourth round in 2017. He did not play in 2019 but the Carleton product could continue to contribute on special teams, as he did with the Lions, and hopefully grow from there. He turns 25 in June.

I already wrote a post about WR James Tyrrell upon his signing last November. I found him to be an interesting pickup.

In 2018, Tyrrell recorded 17 receptions for 292 yards and a score. He went undrafted in the spring of 2019.

In his 2019 season with Concordia, his numbers blew up to 52 catches for 779 yards and two touchdowns. Those numbers are at the top of the USports receiving stats and in line with what the top receiving non-NCAA prospect, Waterloo's Tyler Ternowski (16th on the CFL's latest Scouting Bureau release) put together.  Tyrell is now a Redblack, acquired for "free". This could turn into a quality move quickly.

There may be a better one. DT Julien Laurent was brought in last October, much like Hamlin, and also like Hamlin, he had been released by BC.

Laurent, however, came much more highly-touted. Prior to the 2018 draft, Laurent was considered a top-10 prospect. BC ultimately chose him in the first round, 7th overall. Ottawa got him as a free agent.

This isn't to say that the third-round choice given up and picking lower in the round don't represent a certain value. Of course they do. It's entirely possible that we could have all the players above and that Arbuckle could have been acquired as a free agent without paying that cost.

But based on what could be some shrewd late-season acquisitions in 2019 and being awarded a territorial pick, if you're going to pay that cost, this appears to be a good year to take the chance.

Done Deal: Arbuckle is a Redblack

So this was a bit of a relief. The REDBLACKS announced yesterday that quarterback Nick Arbuckle, whose rights were obtained earlier this month from Calgary for a third round draft choice, had signed a two-year contract with the team. As a result of the signing, Calgary and Ottawa now also swap first-round picks in 2020, giving Calgary the first-overall selection while Ottawa drops to 6th.

Here are his CFL careers numbers.

Some quote which are either lifted from Tim Baines' Sun/Citizen article about the signing or from the team's press release.

GM Marcel Desjardins: “We’ve been going back and forth for a while, being patient with the process. It came to fruition early (Friday). We just had to wait for the paperwork to come back. This is the first step of many as it relates to getting what we expect out of this team on the field.”

“You never know how it’ll work out. Sometimes you have to roll the dice a bit and that’s what we did. We didn’t have any inside knowledge as to how this would play out. But we had confidence in what we, as an organization, could provide from ownership on down — also what our facilities are like and what living in Ottawa is all about for a young man and his wife who are going to have a baby.”

“It starts with what he’s done on the field, when he got a chance to play, going back to two years ago when he came in and beat us here in Ottawa. He did a lot of good things in the games he played for Calgary last year. When we got him here to Ottawa, when he accepted the opportunity to visit with us and visit the city, he showed he was a first-class individual."

HC Paul Lapolice: “We were really impressed with Nick when we met with him and felt that, with what we’ve seen on tape, he’s someone who could put us in a position to be successful. Nick brings the ability to lead a team to wins, with his intelligence, with his leadership, his ability to throw the ball and how he can process information on the football field. We’re excited to have him.”

2018 Draft Choice Reportedly Signs Up For 2019!

Earlier this afternoon, 3DownNation reported that the RedBlacks signed 2018 draft pick (fourth round) Kene Onyeka.

This is good news on a couple of levels. First, Onyeka had a hell of a good season for Carleton in 2018. He attended RedBlacks training camp but chose to return to the Ravens for his final season with the team. This came as a surprise to no one as the team was already aware of Oyeka's intentions.

Originally from Brampton, Onyeka earned All-Canadian honours in 2018 after leading the Ontario conference in quarterback sacks with seven and contributing 24 tackles.

Second, like most teams, Ottawa has an insane number players set to become free agents in February 2019. Keeping the band together, as it were, might prove tricky. Stocking the shelves now can not be a bad thing.

For an illustration of this, let's review a position-by-position breakdown of who's under contract and who isn't. Guys about to become free agents are listed in red.

QUARTERBACK

Trevor Harris
Dominique Davis
Danny Collins
William Arndt


RUNNING BACK

William Powell
Mossis Madu 
Brendan Gillanders
JC Beaulieu
Greg Morris
Anthony Gosselin
Dakota Brush


RECEIVER

Greg Ellingson
Brad Sinopoli
Diontae Spencer
RJ Harris
Julian Feoli-Gudino
Dominique Rhymes
Noel Thomas II
Marco Dubois
Jacob Scarfone
Seth Coate


OFFENSIVE LINE

SirVincent Rogers
Jon Gott
Alex Mateas
Josue Matias
Evan Johnson
Jason Lauzon-Seguin
Nolan MacMillan
Mark Korte
Andrew Pickett


DEFENSIVE LINE

Avery Ellis
AC Leonard
Danny Mason
Michael Klassen
Jonathan Newsome
JR Tavai
George Uko
Michael Wakefield
Ettore Lattanzio
Andrew Marshall
Nigel Romick 
Daryl Waud
Don Oramasionwu
Blaine Woodson
Kene Onyeka


LINEBACKER

Chris Ackie
Kyries Hebert
Avery Williams
Kevin Brown II
Anthony Cioffi
Mickael Coté


DEFENSIVE BACK

Antoine Pruneau
Rico Murray
Sherrod Baltimore
Corey Tindal
Jonathan Rose
Randall Evans
Justin Howell
JP Bolduc
Andrew Lue
Dan West
Tafon Mainsah
Zed Brown
Devin Butler
Mikael Charland
Kyle White


SPECIAL TEAMS

Richie Leone
Lewis Ward
LP Bourassa


I included everyone right down to the practice squad and disabled list. Some positions aren't as depleted as some other but man...That's a lot of red!

This was all caused by the collective bargaining agreement expiring after the 2018 season. Not knowing by how much the player salary cap might increase, many players who signed contracts prior to 2018 signed only one-year deals hoping to cash in (relatively-speaking) in 2019. Add in the players who signed two-year contracts in 2017 and you are mostly left with rookies, first-year players and mid-season pickups with few options.

But every team in the league is in the same boat. And there is some good news!

Ottawa has a pretty solid record of bringing back its own people. Yes, the CBA renewal complicates this in some cases, but they have already inked Antoine Pruneau and JC Beaulieu to multi-year deals (three and two respectively, if my memory is sound).

And that's because the majority of players enjoy being a part of this organization. It would not surprise me to see Ottawa re-sign several more of its Canadian players prior to the start of free agency, particularly someone like Ettore Lattanzio who has local ties and was injured most of the year.

It will be a busy time for GM Marcel Desjardins but hopefully it makes the offseason go by quickly.

Edit: It was pointed out to me on Twitter by John Ng that the team had signed two players at the end of November that should belong on the list above. I failed to include them because they were not added to the roster on the team's website.  Then in looking for details, found a boatload more.

The transactions below are are copied from cfl.ca.

OTT ADD  INT Charles BROUSSEAU  (LB)    Sherbrooke
OTT ADD  INT Zaycoven HENDERSON (DL)    Texas A&M
OTT ADD  NAT Drew MORRIS (LB)    Acadia *
OTT ADD  NAT Tyrone PIERRE (WR)    Laval *
OTT ADD  INT Daniel TSHIAMALA (LB)    St. Francis Xavier *
OTT ADD FROM ACTIVEXX INT Ironhead GALLON (DB)    Georgia Southern
OTT ADD FROM ACTIVEXX INT Tay GLOVER-WRIGHT (DB)    Utah State
OTT ADD FROM ACTIVEXX INT Denzel JOHNSON (DB)    Texas Christian
OTT ADD FROM ACTIVEXX INT Tyler PALKA (WR)    Gannon
OTT ADD FROM ACTIVEXX INT Ranthony TEXADA (DB)    Texas Christian
OTT ADD FROM ACTIVEXX INT Blaine WOODSON (DL)    Delaware

Some of those guys (including Morris and Tshiamala, whose designation as an INT I question) had been brought in for a look when the practice roster was expanded at the end of the season (I believe from ten to 15) so their return does not come as a surprise.

I'll include Blaine Woodson above because he actually played a bit during the regular season though I admit I have no memory of that. He had two tackles during the game in Edmonton.