Remaining Blue Bomber Free Agents as of January 9, 2023

[LXTSN]

I want Grant back but returners are easier to find than starters on DL and OL.  They can also be developed.  That said a player at Grant's level takes a couple years experience minimum to match.

I would rather bring back Grant over Couture if that's the debate.
Right now we are pretty stacked at OL with a bunch of guys waiting for their shot. We could lose Couture since we played well without him for most of the year.
Grant had the most return TD's in 2022 by a wide margin if you count the playoffs. He makes a bigger impact on our team than Couture in my opinion.

[Blue In BC]

I would rather bring back Grant over Couture if that's the debate.
Right now we are pretty stacked at OL with a bunch of guys waiting for their shot. We could lose Couture since we played well without him for most of the year.
Grant had the most return TD's in 2022 by a wide margin if you count the playoffs. He makes a bigger impact on our team than Couture in my opinion.

The catch is that Couture is the starter at center when he's healthy. Kolankowski played well and Couture is going to be a large SMS hit. On the positive side he's Canadian and those are always difficult to lose. Hard to dispute that center is not the more critical position though since he touches the ball on every offensive snap.

Grant is a top returner and his SMS hit is not going to be excessive IMO.

Realistically I expect to lose Couture regardless of what happens with Grant, but I'd be happy to see him back as well.

[pjrocksmb]

What kind of money will Grant require?

[Blue In BC]

What kind of money will Grant require?

I'm not sure. However, IMO returners don't command top CFL dollars unless they are also a player that can contribute more on offence or defence. IE: A receiver, RB or DB for example. Essentially Grant is seldom used on offence and is a specialist that is very good.

Just a guess but I'd think he might be a $100K player, maximum. Keep in mind we have starters including many Canadians making less than $100K. I don't see a bidding war within the CFL.

[Lincoln Locomotive]

I take your point, but philosophically I am of the school that a priority list that contains almost all the free agents isn't really prioritization.  Of those 4 I listed as wants, I doubt we lose all of them, if we did it would be a bit of a challenge no doubt.

I love watching Grant, but the team can still function with a decent returner. 

Watching the number of NFL workouts, I am thinking we are more likely to lose Ford than Schoen.  But we won't know until we know I guess.

we may be losing both....Ford signed with Green Bay

[Jesse]

we may be losing both....Ford signed with Green Bay

That would be extremely disappointing if he was able to stick around. Didn't even get an all star season out of the kid before he was able to take off. At least with Strevy, Alford,and Schoen, we got to see them at their best.

Gotta love this teams recruiting ability, though.

[Sec223]

How many are actually signed but waiting on a slow press day ?

[LXTSN]

That would be extremely disappointing if he was able to stick around. Didn't even get an all star season out of the kid before he was able to take off. At least with Strevy, Alford,and Schoen, we got to see them at their best.

Gotta love this teams recruiting ability, though.

Our scout team has really found some exciting players in these past few years!

I wonder where we are at with Drew Desjarlais? He would be a huge upgrade at left guard in my opinion. We are still in good shape at OL so I'm sure we would be outbid, but he is one of the best in the league at what he does also!

[LXTSN]

The catch is that Couture is the starter at center when he's healthy. Kolankowski played well and Couture is going to be a large SMS hit. On the positive side he's Canadian and those are always difficult to lose. Hard to dispute that center is not the more critical position though since he touches the ball on every offensive snap.

Grant is a top returner and his SMS hit is not going to be excessive IMO.

Realistically I expect to lose Couture regardless of what happens with Grant, but I'd be happy to see him back as well.

Yep. I would agree that center is the more important position. He's involved in every offensive play and it's hard to find quality Canadians at OL.
However, I do recall Grant being injured for a little this year and some members of this forum getting pretty upset about not having a quality return game...

[Lincoln Locomotive]

Yep. I would agree that center is the more important position. He's involved in every offensive play and it's hard to find quality Canadians at OL.
However, I do recall Grant being injured for a little this year and some members of this forum getting pretty upset about not having a quality return game...

Grant gives us the X factor and come play off time it's crucial...,,last year was no exception and he scored in both playoff games.    He also helps give us critical field position which we do miss when he's out of the lineup,    Tough call on choosing between Grant and Couture as both are critical positions and are both elite.

[Blue In BC]

Grant gives us the X factor and come play off time it's crucial...,,last year was no exception and he scored in both playoff games.    He also helps give us critical field position which we do miss when he's out of the lineup,    Tough call on choosing between Grant and Couture as both are critical positions and are both elite.

I expect Grant to be back. He's solid and he's been here for a number of seasons.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

That would be extremely disappointing if he was able to stick around. Didn't even get an all star season out of the kid before he was able to take off. At least with Strevy, Alford,and Schoen, we got to see them at their best.

Gotta love this teams recruiting ability, though.

According to Walters Green Bay signed Ford based on outstanding combine numbers he put up at a camp in Buffalo two years ago, they hadn't even watched film of him and assumed he played a fair amount for the Bombers last season.  This signing is based totally on trying to mold measurables into a football player, Ford was off their radar prior to posting those numbers, they had not even heard of him before as he played U Sports in Waterloo.

[TecnoGenius]

Ford looked great in the game(s?) he started.  I think it was 1 game, but mabye it was 2-3?  When Taylor got Nicked? 

Anyhow, Ford was stout and even though they tested him as the weak link, he held his own like a vet.  I was quite impressed and I think we all expected to see him play more.

I think if you watched the Ford film you'd be happy, but perhaps worried there wasn't much of it.

[theaardvark]

Wild that the second drafted Ford got the first NFL sniff... did either of the Philpot twins get any tryouts?

[TecnoGenius]

Wild that the second drafted Ford got the first NFL sniff... did either of the Philpot twins get any tryouts?

Good question.  The less-injured Philpot certainly showed some great flashes, and over far more games than Ford.