Blue Bombers re-sign veteran offensive lineman Pat Neufeld

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

We also still have Vlahogiannis 6'4" 308, who returned to McGill last season.  And, Ethan Kalra  6'3" 320 , who was said to be CFL ready, returned to Waterloo last season.

I vaguely remember them from preseason, but forgot about them.

I would like to see a list of draft choices that returned to school added to the roster list in it's own category, maybe below the suspended player list so we know which players are coming down the pipe.

[Blue In BC]

I vaguely remember them from preseason, but forgot about them.

I would like to see a list of draft choices that returned to school added to the roster list in it's own category, maybe below the suspended player list so we know which players are coming down the pipe.

That would be useful. It's never certain if the team plans to bring them back the following year. Neither were high draft picks but that might have been due to their plans to return to school.

[theaardvark]

OL never seems to be an issue in recruitment/development. 

Players returning to school, and then having good years bodes well for TC.

I think Eli has graded out well as 6th man, and potential C replacement.  Wallace impressed as well, his road grader skills are pretty amazing.  Still surprised the GC didn't end with both of them on the field in a BO20 runfest.

[dd]

Wallace is a monster out there and I hope he takes the next step and starts for us this year, same for Eli at center.

[TecnoGenius]

I agree and those are my same concerns. However Dobson might still have some upside and whether we currently have a better option is a question, including the imports. Free agency, trades and possible draft choices are all in the mix.

I was Dobson-skeptical to start '24, but by the end "they" were grading him very high league-wide, especially in the run game.  I'm still not sure I saw it with my own eyes, however I can't argue with the playoff performance of the entire unit.

Dobson vs Gray is interesting.  Neither is great (yet?), and what they are good at vs bad at are different.  Gray had leveled out.  Dobson may still improve.

In the end the biggest problem with our OL for most of '24 was Neufeld's injury-nursing, probably.  That plus too many off-season changes.

As such you want/need to keep Dobson this FA, as long as he's not asking Desjar money (which he shouldn't).  Our week 1 OL will have a big advantage if we can get away with no off-season changes.

Plus... that Dobson mustache!  Make free stash wax a contract performance bonus!

[TecnoGenius]

Hope they can re-sign Lofton to reduce change along the line, he was steady if not spectacular and has established chemistry playing alongside Neufeld.

Lofton wasn't on a 2-year?  I see zero competition for Lofton, and he was ticking pretty good by the end.  And very SMS friendly!  What's not to love?  He may not be the best, but he's solid enough.

KW was right.  Again.  We got solid Lofton, SSK got to eat all the Yoshi signing bonus with near zero to show for it.

[Blue In BC]

Lofton wasn't on a 2-year?  I see zero competition for Lofton, and he was ticking pretty good by the end.  And very SMS friendly!  What's not to love?  He may not be the best, but he's solid enough.

KW was right.  Again.  We got solid Lofton, SSK got to eat all the Yoshi signing bonus with near zero to show for it.

We have 2 import OL that were on the PR for most of the season and / or got on the AR briefly ( Randolph ). Vanterpool was with the team since TC.  We added another import that was part of the expanded PR in the wall.

So have have some early competition coming to TC. Whether any of them stick or are better than Lofton is a TBD.

I think Lofton gets re-signed and won't be that expensive. However he might just as easily get beat out.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

We have 2 import OL that were on the PR for most of the season and / or got on the AR briefly ( Randolph ). Vanterpool was with the team since TC.  We added another import that was part of the expanded PR in the wall.

So have have some early competition coming to TC. Whether any of them stick or are better than Lofton is a TBD.

I think Lofton gets re-signed and won't be that expensive. However he might just as easily get beat out.

Yep that could happen, I'm sure they'd like to hang onto to Randolph and may have to make some hard decisions if he refuses to go back on the PR another year.

[Blueforlife]

If we can gel early as a oline, it's key out our success, will be an interesting offseason and camp

[TecnoGenius]

Yep that could happen, I'm sure they'd like to hang onto to Randolph and may have to make some hard decisions if he refuses to go back on the PR another year.

I thought Randolph was on his 1st year of ELC here?  Randolph is a keeper as a backup OG, especially if Eli/Wallace aren't viable injury replacements.

I don't think Randolph will be our starting OT except in emergencies.  No idea on Vanterpol... have we ever seen him start??  The plan is probably the same as usual, if 1 OT goes down Neuf rolls out.

I watched Lofton a lot in-stadium and on-screen after plays, sidelines, etc, and he seems like a really genuine good guy, and good team-first rah rah guy.  And he seemed to really improve.  I see no reason to ditch him at the price he commands.  The only downside is I don't think he's anywhere near Yoshi-level on run blocking.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

I thought Randolph was on his 1st year of ELC here?  Randolph is a keeper as a backup OG, especially if Eli/Wallace aren't viable injury replacements.

I don't think Randolph will be our starting OT except in emergencies.  No idea on Vanterpol... have we ever seen him start??  The plan is probably the same as usual, if 1 OT goes down Neuf rolls out.

I watched Lofton a lot in-stadium and on-screen after plays, sidelines, etc, and he seems like a really genuine good guy, and good team-first rah rah guy.  And he seemed to really improve.  I see no reason to ditch him at the price he commands.  The only downside is I don't think he's anywhere near Yoshi-level on run blocking.

Randolph is under contract for this year, question is if they want to stash him on the PR waiting for an injury to happen, will he accept the role with lousy pay? I don't think there's any way to keep him on the active roster with Eli and Wallace as the #6 and #7 men. That all changes if Dobson leaves.

[Blue In BC]

Randolph is under contract for this year, question is if they want to stash him on the PR waiting for an injury to happen, will he accept the role with lousy pay? I don't think there's any way to keep him on the active roster with Eli and Wallace as the #6 and #7 men. That all changes if Dobson leaves.

Exactly. But does he have an opportunity to play RT and / or do we re-sign Lofton?

[Sir Blue and Gold]

Randolph is under contract for this year, question is if they want to stash him on the PR waiting for an injury to happen, will he accept the role with lousy pay? I don't think there's any way to keep him on the active roster with Eli and Wallace as the #6 and #7 men. That all changes if Dobson leaves.

The simple answer is you just pay him whatever he needs to be on the PR considering he's on an ELC anyway. There's a minimum, not a maximum.

[Blue In BC]

The simple answer is you just pay him whatever he needs to be on the PR considering he's on an ELC anyway. There's a minimum, not a maximum.

If you're going to pay him that you may as well just put him on the 1 game IR. He can practice and he's protected from being poached.

The PR is also a restricted number of spots while the 1 game IR is not.

[Sir Blue and Gold]

If you're going to pay him that you may as well just put him on the 1 game IR. He can practice and he's protected from being poached.

The PR is also a restricted number of spots while the 1 game IR is not.

Sure. I think the idea is you're not going to let him go for the difference between an ELC and practice roster money.