Free Agent Acquisition

[blue_gold_84]

You miss the point, in the time Ford was in Wpg. he only started in 19 out of 36 games so they did not reap max value from his services or his ratio flex. Perhaps that effected his decision to leave. Maybe they're making the same mistake with other rookies like Shay, by holding him out entirely for his first year making him wait his turn?  Other teams seem much quicker to embrace their high draft picks, Bombers stick them in the back of the bus and tell them to be patient.

Your point is seemingly based on nothing more than speculation, and then extrapolated to another situation entirely. I highly doubt this team, or any other, takes some one size fits all approach to its rookie players/prospects.

Money was one driving factor when he signed with the Elks. Getting to play with his brother was likely another enticing factor in that decision. Neither helped push that team over the hump and they missed the playoffs - again.

The claim that the Bombers are somehow holding back their rookies seems entirely without merit.

[VictorRomano]

GM Danny Maciocia noncommittal about Marc-Antoine Dequoy's future with Montreal Alouettes.

"Listen, there is enough money left for at most a few players. There will certainly be choices to make," Maciocia said. "You talk to me about Marc-Antoine, other people talk to me about (Darnell) Sankey, and others talk about (Geoffrey) Cantin-Arku."

https://3downnation.com/2025/12/15/gm-danny-maciocia-noncommittal-about-marc-antoine-dequoys-future-with-montreal-alouettes/


Surprise, Dequoy could ignite a massive bidding war.

I'd hope that Walters gets in on that action.

[Tecno]

What's a rookie contract duration, 2 years plus an option?  They either use Shay this year or lose him next year, first year he should have gotten some looks.

From my vantage point Ballsy was favored over Shay.  Which is a bit odd.  I don't know what round Ballsy was drafted in, but it was well below Shay.

Shay may have non-talent issues that has him more in the dog house.  We all know that low-effort practicers or guys with beefs will go down the pecking order mighty fast when Mafia is in charge.

Let's hope that's not the case, or we'll have another spectacular 1RDP bust on our hands.

As for "lose him", he hasn't shown anything at all so who is going to offer him "steal him away" money?  He needs to show something in order to be a juicy FA target.  So if anything we should keep him hidden on the dev track so we can lock him in a cheap 2-year deal in FA27!!

[RebusRankin]

Canadian rookie sign 3 year deals so Shay would be signed for 26 and 27. I see no evidence that Ball was favoured over Shay. Hopefully at worst we see Shay and Smith taking reps on D in 2026.

[Tecno]

Canadian rookie sign 3 year deals so Shay would be signed for 26 and 27. I see no evidence that Ball was favoured over Shay. Hopefully at worst we see Shay and Smith taking reps on D in 2026.

I'm 99% sure NAT DP ELC is 2 year.

I just noticed Ball a lot more than Shay.  They had basically the same ST stat, but Ball played 5 less games because of IR!  Pretty sure I saw Ball out on D a few times, but never Shay (except maybe the last "rest" game).

Maybe it's just Ballsy is doing more to get noticed?  Dunno.  I have zero knowledge or guesses as to whether there's any internal favoritism.  Just going by what I see on the field.

[Jesse]

I'm 99% sure NAT DP ELC is 2 year.

I just noticed Ball a lot more than Shay.  They had basically the same ST stat, but Ball played 5 less games because of IR!  Pretty sure I saw Ball out on D a few times, but never Shay (except maybe the last "rest" game).

Maybe it's just Ballsy is doing more to get noticed?  Dunno.  I have zero knowledge or guesses as to whether there's any internal favoritism.  Just going by what I see on the field.

They just play different positions. Our secondary was pretty roughed up and we needed bodies, whereas our LBs stayed healthy all year.

That said, if Shay looked as good as they expected him to be when they drafted him, I would have thought he'd get some defensive snaps as the year progressed and he didn't. I hope that changes in year 2.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

I'm 99% sure NAT DP ELC is 2 year.

I just noticed Ball a lot more than Shay.  They had basically the same ST stat, but Ball played 5 less games because of IR!  Pretty sure I saw Ball out on D a few times, but never Shay (except maybe the last "rest" game).

Maybe it's just Ballsy is doing more to get noticed?  Dunno.  I have zero knowledge or guesses as to whether there's any internal favoritism.  Just going by what I see on the field.

Could be wrong, but I expect Ball will remain a career long ST player like Hallett, maybe here, maybe elsewhere.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Whether Ford played 19 games out of 36 or 36 out of 36, he left when he was a starter and staple on the D and my belief is that the primary reason he left was to play with his brother.

19 of 36 is not very good, considering no injury time.  I'm not disagreeing with the reason Ford left, I'm grousing about how they didn't integrate him quickly enough to take advantage of his incredible talent as he did not start until the last game of his first season in a meaningless game.  Thanks to Genius Sports I can't find the depth charts that shows the name of the corner he sat behind throughout 2023, but I think it's fair to say Ford  was likely the superior player at that time and they underestimated his ability to adapt to the game.

The ratio is of primary importance, you have to find ways to get superior Natl. talent on the field asap as it opens up extra opportunities and possibilities throughout the lineup.