Kyle Walters extension presser

[Tecno]

Yay!  A KW presser.  Always love these.  We only get them 4-5 times a year.

It really wasn't a "about your contract extension", it was more a "state of the WFC" and general record/personnel questions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUzJhenPOE0

TL;DR

- no plan to renog Zach's big $$ ("we never been big on renegotiating")
- Zach needs better support (+1 for Tecno's OL upgrade theory!)
- will work on communicating better to players we're not re-signing
- Elgersma may come up, and may be good
- extra $400k cap: too much uncertainty to spend it; most teams used it for 1GIR
- 6GIR was same as avg of last 7 years
- Mitchell had trouble (I really think he's being let go)
- could have done better in FA25, especially REC
- Wallace stepped up
- sky's not falling, we're 10-8, we'll get back to winning

[Tecno]

TLB said on the video thread:

I'm convinced nobody else sees these videos.

Well, 935 people have watched KW's as of right now.  Sounds about right.  Probably 1k more by this time tomorrow.  Then it peters off.  You have to be a pretty big uberfan to watch your GM talk shop.

[Jesse]

I'll add that he didn't really say he'd work on communicating better with players, that was a throw away comment at the end of the discussion that mostly seemed like a joke. He basically said that out goings players who have complained simply have sour grapes. He flat out said Kenny was lying about how it went down.

In regards to Elgersma, I've seen people say he might take until half way through next season to come up. Walters gave the date of Feb. 1, when futures contracts begin to get offered. He seems to think that if Elgersma doesn't sign something at that point, he'll sign with us pretty quickly.

I don't recall him saying he could have done better in FA. He was asked what he could have done better in retrospect but refused to answer, saying we all need to do better.

Something that I heard both him and MOS say, we need to reset and get this going back in the right direction. They seem ready to make some changes. I think we all lament somewhat the early days when Walters was a big spender in FA and MOS coached with a more risky style. But they haven't had to perform that way in quite some time. Apparently, at a recent lunch together, they talked about how exited they were for this new challenge of rebuilding a successful team that has dipped.

Somewhat excitedly, Walters talked about the opportunity that 1-year contracts give to rebuild your team quickly, pointing to Calgary who totally remade their team last year and turned things around instantly. This all could mean some of the turnover people have been talking about.

[Waffler]

- no plan to renog Zach's big $$ ("we never been big on renegotiating")
- Zach needs better support (+1 for Tecno's OL upgrade theory!)

This would make more sense if he said Zach will take a pay cut to pay for the better support. Sure hope he has a plan to find an extra few 100,000 dollars somewhere else then.  I think it will be more of the same. Lose some of our top guys and buy bargains in free agency.

[Jesse]

This would make more sense if he said Zach will take a pay cut to pay for the better support. Sure hope he has a plan to find an extra few 100,000 dollars somewhere else then.  I think it will be more of the same. Lose some of our top guys and buy bargains in free agency.

Well, first, the usable salary cap will be bigger. That 400k that Walters didn't spend last year, is now on the table. We're also probably getting another bump this year. So that will hopefully be done in a more timely manner than last year so GMs actually know what numbers they are working with and team owners can approve the spending. Could be 800k+ that is on the table for all teams. That kind of increase also reduces the cap% that Zach's contract represents.

Second, just imagine the contracts of Dillon Mitchell, Peyton Logan, Jonathon Jones, Dalton Schoen were actually usable players instead of being benched, cut, or injured. There's going to be plenty of room to make moves. Even Vaughters, who was a starter, could potentially be replaced by the pair of entry contract guys in Jenkins/Jaworski.

Not as fun, but if Brady takes a mega deal somewhere, his contract could be flipped into another position as well. Although, if we pay up to keep him, that again hampers our roster construction a bit.

[Sir Blue and Gold]

The obvious question is if we're not asking money back from Zach how are we supposed to give him better tools at receiver and offensive line? Free Agency is not cheap by definition and rookie receivers and OL aren't usually good immediately.

Options include, what?

And that's saying nothing about the defensive side of the ball where I'm quite convinced we don't have the right people along the line and I'm not sure if Deatrick is going continue to regress at half. If he takes another step back next year that will not be good and if we can't get a pass rush then he has to be stellar.

[Waffler]

Well, first, the usable salary cap will be bigger. That 400k that Walters didn't spend last year, is now on the table.

This part is a wash because other teams get the same increase. We have to compete with them.

imagine the contracts of Dillon Mitchell, Peyton Logan, Jonathon Jones, Dalton Schoen were actually usable players instead of being benched, cut, or injured.

Agree that if we sign better, have better luck, in free agency it helps but not guaranteed. Schoen and Strev  may very well be back, we don't know that. MOS loves both of these guys.

[blue_gold_84]

I think it's a fair statement that Collaros hasn't earned his salary the last two seasons. And while that doesn't fall entirely at his feet, opening up some SMS space to help bolster the offensive roster could help him in terms both of production and protection.

Maybe renegotiating his contract for 2026 is something this regime should consider if it wants to right the ship next season.

The trenches have to be prioritized this off-season.

[Waffler]

I think it's a fair statement that Collaros hasn't earned his salary the last two seasons.

Agree but Walters says in his presser that Zach earned that contract. So it seems they will honor it.

[Jesse]

This part is a wash because other teams get the same increase. We have to compete with them.

But it's about reallocating our funds. Teams always have the same amount of money.

Other teams are also about to have to "pay up" for their QBs. Harris, Adams JR, Fajardo, and Mitchell were all on deals this this season. I don't expect any of them to return for similar money, especially with new funds available.

[VictorRomano]

This part is a wash because other teams get the same increase. We have to compete with them.

Agree that if we sign better, have better luck, in free agency it helps but not guaranteed. Schoen and Strev  may very well be back, we don't know that. MOS loves both of these guys.

I have no problem signing either Schoen or Strev to a short term (2 year), low guaranteed minimum, with substantial bonuses for games played + performance recognition.  Bring 'em to camp cheap and let 'em compete; if someone else beats them out, well that's the reality of pro sports.  If they play well, everyone wins.  If they play poorly or get hurt, it doesn't cost the Bombers (as) much.

That said, if I'm Walters, I'm going hard after the best OL available in FA, and I'm making a run at Tyson Philpot(WR, MTL) to improve our Canadian WR depth (and backup KR/PR).  Kid is 26, a National, and has a big future in front of him.  He had almost 850 yards this year, has improved every year, and I could see him learning a lot from guys like Demski.

Oh, and I'm spending big on an experienced OC.  Best available coach that fits the Mafia vision, no matter the cost.

[bunker]

I'll add that he didn't really say he'd work on communicating better with players, that was a throw away comment at the end of the discussion that mostly seemed like a joke. He basically said that out goings players who have complained simply have sour grapes. He flat out said Kenny was lying about how it went down.

In regards to Elgersma, I've seen people say he might take until half way through next season to come up. Walters gave the date of Feb. 1, when futures contracts begin to get offered. He seems to think that if Elgersma doesn't sign something at that point, he'll sign with us pretty quickly.

I don't recall him saying he could have done better in FA. He was asked what he could have done better in retrospect but refused to answer, saying we all need to do better.

Something that I heard both him and MOS say, we need to reset and get this going back in the right direction. They seem ready to make some changes. I think we all lament somewhat the early days when Walters was a big spender in FA and MOS coached with a more risky style. But they haven't had to perform that way in quite some time. Apparently, at a recent lunch together, they talked about how exited they were for this new challenge of rebuilding a successful team that has dipped.

Somewhat excitedly, Walters talked about the opportunity that 1-year contracts give to rebuild your team quickly, pointing to Calgary who totally remade their team last year and turned things around instantly. This all could mean some of the turnover people have been talking about.

I hope he shows better judgement this off season as to who to sign. Last year was pretty lame.

[bunker]

I like the way Walters comes across as a person, and I think he's generally a straight shooter. I enjoyed the insight that he and O'Shea used to get into pretty heated arguments early in their partnership but have found a way to work more smoothly together. It was clear they were not always on the same page, at least early in their tenure.
But it terms of performance as a GM, I think Walters has been pretty bad the last few years, and especially the last year. He earned another chance due to his record of past success, but the scouting of Americans, the drafting and especially the free agency signings have all been pretty bad for the last 2 years. And the extension of Zach very early with no cut in salary was a head scratcher. Maybe he and O'Shea need to go back to screaming at each other.

[Jesse]

I have no problem signing either Schoen or Strev to a short term (2 year), low guaranteed minimum, with substantial bonuses for games played + performance recognition.  Bring 'em to camp cheap and let 'em compete; if someone else beats them out, well that's the reality of pro sports.  If they play well, everyone wins.  If they play poorly or get hurt, it doesn't cost the Bombers (as) much.

That said, if I'm Walters, I'm going hard after the best OL available in FA, and I'm making a run at Tyson Philpot(WR, MTL) to improve our Canadian WR depth (and backup KR/PR).  Kid is 26, a National, and has a big future in front of him.  He had almost 850 yards this year, has improved every year, and I could see him learning a lot from guys like Demski.

Oh, and I'm spending big on an experienced OC.  Best available coach that fits the Mafia vision, no matter the cost.

I think it would absolutely be a mistake to bring Strev back (unless you want to give him a coaching spot).

And I think Philpot never makes it to FA. Their GM has already commented that he'll be back.

[Ridermania]

Agree, Philpot will be stay in Montreal.