Dru Brown keep at all costs or accept that he's gone

[bunker]

May be a bit of recency bias here, but I thought Brown had a great game yesterday, granted against a mediocre team. He has looked so so at times this year (in preseason some people wanted him cut in favour of Pigrome) but he has generally played very well. Zach is getting older, and probably has only a couple of good years left. I actually think Zach's performance has fallen off a bit this year (more turnovers, less mobility and poise in the pocket), although he's still been the best QB in the league. What happens as he ages out? Its very hard to find a good QB in this league, and almost impossible to win without one. Brown is only 26, and may have another 6-8 years as a QB in the league. Do we keep the know quantity Zach? Do we go with the young up and comer Brown, who can give us many more productive years? Do you try to have the best of both worlds by paying Drew enough to keep him here until Zach's contract expires in 2025? Is it possible to structure a contract for Drew so that he makes... say 200,000 in year one and year 2, and then 600,000 with some guaranteed money in year 3 (when Zach is no longer under contract), as an enticement for him to stay? Or is that too much to pay for a QB with such a small sample size of play as a starter? Curious what others think. My own view is that we can't afford to pay him enough to keep him, and some other team (? Ottawa ? Sask) will offer him 2-300,000 plus incentives in a contract.

[dd]

To me, this is a Harris-Oliveira scenario all over again. One player is winding down his illustrious career, the other is on the upswing of his. There's no doubt in my mind Ottawa offers him starters $$ and he goes there to play. Collaros has a couple of years left in his tank yet, and ya, he had an off year, but even the year he had , he is probably the best in the league in terms of Qb's

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

They might be able to afford Brown if they let Schoen or Brady walk, not going to happen with Brady but they could get by without Schoen.

[Stretch]

but they could get by without Schoen.

You take that back! 

[Blue In BC]

It's a very complicated question. Free agency in an era of 1 year deals and NFL option windows. We have a large number of potential free agents. Some we'll lose and others will be able to retain.

How much does it cost is a question spread between those we want to keep and those we're able to keep. Some players may choose to leave for greater money or better chances to play a more significant role. Not everything is within the control of the team.

It's a risk reward issue. Do I think Brown is worth $600K in 3 years? No I do not. Do I know how much actual playing time he'll get next year or the following year? No I do not.

Timing approaching free agency and the 1st few hours or days come into play. To some degree it's a 1st come first serve situation.

Let's use Schoen as an example. If we are able to re-sign him for $100K+ additional money, then that takes away from the rest of the pie. If OTOH he immediately signs in Calgary for an amount we won't match, then that extra SMS will be spent elsewhere.

At the moment Schoen is a bigger priority to re-sign than Brown. I'd like to be able to retain both, but how much each player wants and how much the team is prepared to pay is all a TBD.

I don't want to entertain the idea of trading Collaros in order to retain Brown. IMO Collaros could well play another 3 or 4 years.

EDIT: The unofficial roster only shows 8 players under contract for 2024. A few more that have been released long ago still shows under contract which is confusing. In any case it shows we'll be expecting a lot of work before and into free agency.

I've always felt the priority is with re-signing the Canadians. Oliveria and our OL in particular but there are others. On defence Nichols and our two Jeffs are key players to retain.

Management will make a list of priorities and salary levels. Some will always shop around to see if they want to move or stay. It's the nature of the business.

[Waffler]

Will all depend on what happens in the playoffs. We win it all then I assume we roll with Zach. If we are not good enough... then perhaps big changes happen.

[tlf]

Keep Schoen let Lawler go.  I love Schoen. 

I'm also wanting Brown to stay.  But we need a real backup in case there's an injury to ZC. Prukop can't throw well enough as we saw.  We need a real plan for succession Kyle.

Also, it's Dru.

[Jesse]

These options seem mostly focused on how expensive it would be to keep him when cost isn?t really a major factor.

Dru is ready to compete to be a starter in this league. Period. I?m sure some of you will entertain the idea of moving on from Zach because of the age difference between the two, but I don?t think there?s much chance of that happening.

It is a forgone conclusion that Dru will leave for an increased opportunity, regardless of how large a contract were prepared to offer him - because he?s ready to be a #1.

[Blue In BC]

Anyone suggesting to cut or trade Collaros is nuts IMO.

[Blueforlife]

I would have signed Brown early in the season but I bet he wouldn't have bit.  He will go for top dollar this off season.  Yes a lot riding on the playoffs for how this plays out (less about what we do imo).  I have always loved Brown but chances are he is gone which is good for the league.  I would count every penny to find a way to sign him but we have lots of high paid exceptional vets to consider.

There are a lot of decent options at QB around the league, might bring the demand and price he commands down slightly.

[Pete]

watching the Ottawa game, no way they go into next season with Crum as their starter, expect to see them offer starter money to Dru Brown.

[dd]

That?s what I?ve been saying. Doesn?t seem right when crum plays and brown sits on the sideline, and crum isn?t starter material. Neither are the Qb s in Edmonton or Calgary for that matter. Hamilton is in a world of pain with BLM?he is officially done. So there?s 4 teams that SHOULD be looking for a Qb, Calgary will stay with Maier and that will be their downfall, he?s awful. But lots of opportunity for brown to go elsewhere and start. After saying that though, we are one hit away from needing a starting Qb ourselves, so I say sign him

[ichabod_crane]

I expect brown to go to some other team where has a real shot at being a starter and more coin. Unfortunate, but that?s the reality with a hard cap.

[TecnoGenius]

Anyone thinking we cut Zach... two words: Ricky Ray.

Zach plays until he clearly drops off badly or injuries start looking like Masoli or he loses the trust & respect of The Mafia.  That could be till 2024, 25 or beyond.  Who knows.

If Dru wants to stay with a wink & nod guarantee he gets the reigns when Zach leaves, and accepts reasonable money for a talented, seemingly legit backup (think Dane Evans), then great.  Give him a $50k bump over last year's numbers.  If he wants $500k starter money (which he won't get BTW) then bye bye Dru, give us a call in 2-3 years.

This isn't that complicated.  We won't ditch biggest-career-yards Zach just because we think he may fall off next year for a still unproven Dru.

It'll boil down to what Dru wants.  I could see bad teams offering him $200k guaranteed with another $150k in incentives, on a 1 year deal.

[Waffler]

I doubt anyone would say cut him. But if we come up short two years in a row then something needs to change and we have a lot of money tied up in that one guy. That limits what we can do. Win and we have no problems whatsoever. See you at the parade.

To me this question is better asked AFTER the Grey Cup as I am sure that's when the Bombers will evaluate everything. It's something they do every year.