2024 Free Agency Signings/Transactions (Blue Bombers)

[Pete]

i would argue that our biggest heart players have been
Bighill, Jefferson. Demski Neufeld, and Hardrick and of course Collaros
We like Baileys drive but to me seemed over the top.
Players I'd like to see provide more drive is
Offense
Kolankowski, Lawler, Olivera
on defense
Nichols, Wilson and Alexander(who was that guy but stepped back a bit last year

[Horseman]

Make the man an offer KW, its sounds like he would accept based on his love for the WFC. He is a heart and soul person/player which don't come along very often.

[theaardvark]

There's the big problem.  We often shed the heart & soul & fire players.  Not on purpose, but we don't seem to place an extra value on that.

From a fan perspective, based on interviews and podcasts and news that we're privy to, the biggest "heart" players over the last 5 seasons were:

- Harris 33
- Hardrick 51
- Bailey 88

All are now gone.  What does this do to our team?  Who replace them as the passion guys, pep leaders?  This is important.  I could argue our '23 GC loss was due to lack of passion.  I've compared the 2 sidelines and attitude.  It's that "gonna crush them" "let's go" attitude that can win big games.

Who will take over that role?  We have "captain of the ship"-type leaders, sure, but the heart & soul guys are different.

Are you serious?

Heart?

Collaros, Neufeld, Thomas, Jefferson, Bighill...  local boys Demski and Oliviera... just off the top of my head.  Sure, Hardick was a fun guy, and Harris was a team guy until... and no doubt Bailey is a heart guy for sure, but if there is one thing we never are short on with an Oshea / Walters team, its heart.

[Pigskin]

Are you serious?

Heart?

Collaros, Neufeld, Thomas, Jefferson, Bighill...  local boys Demski and Oliviera... just off the top of my head.  Sure, Hardick was a fun guy, and Harris was a team guy until... and no doubt Bailey is a heart guy for sure, but if there is one thing we never are short on with an Oshea / Walters team, its heart.

For me, Harris would have been a good backup to BO20. But, not at $160K.

Hardrick at $230K. Well, that's just crazy.

Bailey fell into the numbers game. It was either 88/83, or 88/89/, but it ended up 83/89.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Gray has an excellent job outside of football. He has always maintained Winnipeg is where he wants to play. I wouldn't be surprised if he retired rather then move to another team.

Is Gray already working for an engineering firm in Wpg?  I thought he might put that career on hold until he was done with football.

[TecnoGenius]

Are you serious?

Heart?

Collaros, Neufeld, Thomas, Jefferson, Bighill...  local boys Demski and Oliviera...

Then let me retract "heart" then. You're right, "heart" can include more people that aren't what I'm trying to get at.

It's more: rah-rah lets-f-go fired-up pep guys.  The ones that are seemingly over the top, but with infectious energy that you just can't repress.  The ones who are running on the field waving their arms going mental after a big play, the ones screaming into the TSN cameras on the sidelines, the ones going down the sidelines screaming at their team-mates to wake up and win the game.

The ones in the locker room screaming "who's got my back" getting the whole team and city hyped up.

I named the guys who this was.  Who is this guy now??

"Collaros, Neufeld, Thomas, Jefferson, Bighill...  local boys Demski and Oliviera"

Heart yes, leadership yes, but crazy fire-eyed energy?  None of them stand out for that.  They are mostly the quiet, calm, leader type, especially Zach, Pat, Biggie, Demski.

The '23 GC needed that energy and we didn't have it.  I guess Bailey couldn't do it all on his own.  (And sometimes even the fire guys get depressed in-game and lose their mojo and clam up, that's why having more than one is desirable.)

[TecnoGenius]

The "fire" guys seem to have a bit of crazy or nutty (or maybe goofy?) in them, but in a good way.  Sometimes you have to be a bit nutty to still be fired up with high morale when you're getting mollywopped.

By definition this will exclude most QBs; except MBT, who is the only starting QB in a decade I've seen with that fire-eyed cray-cray.

It's actually intriguing to contemplate all it takes to make a winning team.  It takes a lot of different types, with each strength complementing the other's weakness.  It's not just fielding the most talented players.  Would make a good study.

[Pigskin]

Is Gray already working for an engineering firm in Wpg?  I thought he might put that career on hold until he was done with football.

Yes, he is working for engineering firm.

[Waffler]

The "fire" guys

Rah rah stuff is over rated in the pros UNLESS you can back it up with  superior play on the field. Even then I think momentum naturally ebbs and flows on big plays more so than words.

[Foxhound]

By definition this will exclude most QBs; except MBT, who is the only starting QB in a decade I've seen with that fire-eyed cray-cray.

Somehow I don't think a crazed QB is valuable to a team. An unflappable one like Ricky Ray or Zach Collaros is more of a plus.

 

[DM83]

Ards you are such a romantic.
Hardwick was awful.  Now we know why Sask is so bad.  And poor Gray was a killer downfield.  Too bad he couldn't pass block, at the LOS.

[LXTSN]

I'm going to guess that Strevler will be a big rah-rah guy for this team.
He knows he's coming in as a back up quarterback and his job is to help this team in anyway possible. I think that will be part of his responsibility on the sidelines.

[theaardvark]

I understand that there were economics and the roster implications in play that could have made Walters move on from Sheed.

And I understand that the main reason for him playing in the CFL was that the Bombers gave him a family.

But I'm not sure that those were the only issues preventing him from being a WBB in 2024.

It doesn't sound right, or should I say the lack of sound is right, coming from the front office re:Sheed.  No explanation saying "We just couldn't fit him in on our squad", just a "He won't be back with the team".

He seems a very emotional player, and while the highs are great, the other end can be bad. 

Did he do something we never heard of to diminish his value?  Is there a nagging injury? I just couldn't get a read on him, even watching his podcast.

Why has no other team stepped up on him?  Have they and has Sheed declined, holding on to hope that he can still sign here?  Is he willing to ride the couch waiting for an injury call up?

I know the WFC has a culture like none other in the CFL, but I am sure there are teams that could provide him with the setting/support he is looking for. 

I do wish there was a way we could find him a home here, but I feel with each passing day that there is a deeper reason that $SMS and roster spots and wonder even if we did not sign Dalton that there would be a place for Sheed.

I am happy that he was a part of this team, and thank him from his contributions, and wish him well going forward.

[Pete]

I feel it's likely that we have signed some players who Walters/Oshea feel have a bigger upside going forward. We know what Bailey can do.
Also we need to develop receivers than can step in at a higher level, both Lawler and Schoen are signed for this year only
The only way we sign  Bailey is if he's ok on the practice roster, in case we need an injury replacement which I don't think he would be.

[GOLDMEMBER]

Still no kicker and no known ST returner signed yet right?