Extra Draft Selection

[kkc60]

Cool, hopefully we use it this year on a guy we have a plan for.

[TecnoGenius]

I like that idea. No guarantee he sticks down south, so why not use your 'extra' pick on him. If he doesn't sign with us, do we retain his rights when he goes south for a number of years??

Ya, but a) will he still be available at the end of the 2nd round, and b) will there be no other player still available that we have a better use for (and be more of a sure thing)?

The idea is intriguing though.  The timing would be very good if he's CFL-bound in '26.

[TecnoGenius]

Put a yet another way, Wolitarsky isn't running Demski's corner route, Schoen's break ins or Lawler's jump ball flies and it's those routes and skillsets which enable a guy like Wolitarsky to be have a chance at success.

But I'm not saying that.  I'm not saying Woli is all-star IMP level DBs and DCs freak out about.  I'm saying he's better than JFG, Watson, Ternowski, <insert other mediocre no-threat NAT here>.

And I disagree that the DBs can "not worry" about Woli in the red zone.  Who they didn't worry about in the GC was Clercius (and Wheatie on the IMP side), that's who.  If we had a healthy Woli on the field for that they'd have to respect him.  Again, not like they do Kenny or Demski, but much more than the "there for ratio" RECs.

There's like 3 tiers of NAT REC.  The ratio placeholder (most of them).  The uber-rare allstar-level (Demski, I guess McInnis, MTL Philpot), and then a somewhat thin middle ground.  I posit that Woli is in that middle ground, not in the placeholder category.

And back to the original point: we can't be sure Clercius will achieve that coveted middle-ground level.

[Pete]

what I don't understand is that  woli was  under contract and we released him. Why wouldn't we wait til training camp unfolds to do so? A lot can happen between now and the start of the season. The impact on the salary cap is minimal. If he was ineffective it would be different

[ModAdmin]

what I don't understand is that  woli was  under contract and we released him. Why wouldn't we wait til training camp unfolds to do so? A lot can happen between now and the start of the season. The impact on the salary cap is minimal. If he was ineffective it would be different

[theaardvark]

what I don't understand is that  woli was  under contract and we released him. Why wouldn't we wait til training camp unfolds to do so? A lot can happen between now and the start of the season. The impact on the salary cap is minimal. If he was ineffective it would be different

They released him before a $10k roster bonus.  And, I guess they'd made their decision on the direction for this year... only so many roster spots.

[Pete]

Saving 10k for a proven cfler, even as backup insurance seems shortsighted especially since Cobb and Gassama are currently the only options

[Blue In BC]

Saving 10k for a proven cfler, even as backup insurance seems shortsighted especially since Cobb and Gassama are currently the only options

Partially agree. OTOH IMO it was more a decision about the SMS issue. I'm not saying he was expensive but teams need to decide when to trim a player in favour of a younger, less expensive player with possibly more upside.

While Clercius is that player as far as a starter but our depth is slightly suspect.

I don't think we'd have been happier if we brought him to TC and then released him then. This way he had the chance to sign elsewhere and did so with a raise. The needs of another team may have exceeded our view of needs at the position. That's a debatable thought.

What I really wonder is whether we made any effort to trade him. I would have only expected a 3rd or 4th round pick in exchange but that's just a guess.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Saving 10k for a proven cfler, even as backup insurance seems shortsighted especially since Cobb and Gassama are currently the only options

Yah, hard to believe a $10k signing bonus was the main reason, maybe they thought it unfair to demote Woli to backup and released him prior to FA to give him a head-start.  That seems like weak reasoning because it's football, and Clercius could go down for the entire season in TC and Woli would start every game in that scenario. Careerwise Woli was not prone to injury anymore than Demski, so I don't think that is a valid argument either.

[TecnoGenius]

Saving 10k for a proven cfler, even as backup insurance seems shortsighted especially since Cobb and Gassama are currently the only options

KW often acts as a bean counter, and he seems pretty strict with his decisions and offers.  I think that's a good thing, in general.  While us armchair GMs spend SMS like drunken sailors, KW has to deal in the real world.

I can totally seeing KW seeing $10k as important enough to "care about".  That's $10k more he can offer a more-wanted $95k player to entice him to sign.

Remember, KW was going to let Brady walk over money until WM pulled rank.

It's a tricky balancing act, and I think KW's results speak for themselves.  I'm fine with his process.

(I also agree the choice had already been made about Woli because of IR-edness, and we actually did him a solid letting him go early enough he could shop other teams.)

[Pete]

KW often acts as a bean counter, and he seems pretty strict with his decisions and offers.  I think that's a good thing, in general.  While us armchair GMs spend SMS like drunken sailors, KW has to deal in the real world.

I can totally seeing KW seeing $10k as important enough to "care about".  That's $10k more he can offer a more-wanted $95k player to entice him to sign.

Remember, KW was going to let Brady walk over money until WM pulled rank.

It's a tricky balancing act, and I think KW's results speak for themselves.  I'm fine with his process.

(I also agree the choice had already been made about Woli because of IR-edness, and we actually did him a solid letting him go early enough he could shop other teams.)

maybe so, I'd have been more ok with it if we had another adequate cdn receiver as a back up. If we needed to replace Demski or Clercius due to injury I don't see Cobb as a strong alternative. Likely in the draft we go to oline or dline with first pick and not sure what receivers will be available at the end of 2nd round.

[Jesse]

I don't think the Woli decision was SMS related at all. The expense was not significant enough to outweigh the respect that Woli carries in the room.

This was a conscious decision to move forward with a younger player and letting a veteran go ahead of Free Agency to maximize their options.

[TecnoGenius]

I think everyone's right.  It's all of these things.  Otherwise it makes no sense.

- They feel Clercius is ready to be Woli-level (or better!)
- They feel Woli is an injury liability (they do have info we don't!)
- They feel Woli may be at the twilight of his career
- They feel they have (or will have) adquate NAT REC back up
- They want to save the $10k bonus
- They want to save the ~$30k or so between Woli & Clercius salary

It's everything.  But clearly it's not a "fan friendly" (or Strev friendly!) move.  We (mostly) all like Woli and many would disagree with at least some of the above.  Almost all of us would have chosen to retain him, even just as a back up!

In KW we trust.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

maybe so, I'd have been more ok with it if we had another adequate cdn receiver as a back up. If we needed to replace Demski or Clercius due to injury I don't see Cobb as a strong alternative. Likely in the draft we go to oline or dline with first pick and not sure what receivers will be available at the end of 2nd round.

Their depth at Natl. receiver looks weak and it's pretty unlikely they'd find a draft pick that could contribute in his first year. They kept Jeremy Murphy around for 2 seasons and never threw a single pass to him, which is both unfair and crazy IMO. "Thanks for coming out kid!" Even Demski struggled to establish himself as a receiver his first 2 years in Sask, but I guess a Philpott, McInnes and a few other Natl. receivers have made the leap.

Not sure what they're expecting out of Cobb but backing up Demski and Clercius would be a big ask. I'd be surprised if ex-Bison Gassama served any function for them other than as gesture to the UofM and MB football but maybe he hangs around on the PR.

[TecnoGenius]

Even Demski struggled to establish himself as a receiver his first 2 years in Sask, but I guess a Philpott, McInnes and a few other Natl. receivers have made the leap.

Demski & McInnis were very slow builders and without hindsight SSK appeared to make the right choice moving on.  Goes to show, I guess.

But Philpot The Greater (MTL) was basically top notch from day 1.  That's the type of NAT REC you want to draft!

I love how Greenie fans complain to this day about all the great players they let walk out the door, from the 2 REC above to Neufeld to Yoshi.  Every team lets some slip through the cracks, but SSK has a knack for losing middling players to FA that end up being superstars!  Long may they keep up that track record!