TC battles to watch

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Elks released OG Jack- Kurdyla who was projected as a starter. Should we consider bringing him to TC? Or is this a paper move for a late arrival to their TC.

Elks also signed ex Bomber RB Rosery and added receiver Tachinski we had discussed.

It's still a revolving door in Edmonton.

Good news for Rosary and Tachinski, hopefully they stick.

[dd]

It would be shocking to me if he was on the AR.

First year Canadian Qb, it would be an absolute shocker. I saw him play in the Vanier last year, he was a disappointment and got outplayed by the Laval Qb.

[TecnoGenius]

Elks released OG Jack- Kurdyla who was projected as a starter. Should we consider bringing him to TC? Or is this a paper move for a late arrival to their TC.

1st round 4th pick, but 2020.  That's a long long time to not stand out as great player.

They probably realize he reached his peak, and the peak wasn't very high.  Not sure what else we can do.  However, if he's on Mafia's special watch list, you never know!

If he was worth anything they would have tried to trade with someone for a 3RDP or something.

[TecnoGenius]

First year Canadian Qb, it would be an absolute shocker. I saw him play in the Vanier last year, he was a disappointment and got outplayed by the Laval Qb.

Ya, and Zach got badly outplayed by Arbuckle in the GC.  One game, or even one season (one team) doesn't mean much.

[Blue In BC]

1st round 4th pick, but 2020.  That's a long long time to not stand out as great player.

They probably realize he reached his peak, and the peak wasn't very high.  Not sure what else we can do.  However, if he's on Mafia's special watch list, you never know!

If he was worth anything they would have tried to trade with someone for a 3RDP or something.

The question revolves around is he better than Wallace, Eli or Randolph.  He only played 3 games in 2024 so there maybe an injury issue. You can never totally disregard a veteran Canadian OL if he's healthy and affordable.

He was given a 2 year extension going into 2024 with a $25K signing bonus and a salary of $146K. That must say something.

We're down a Canadian OL and at worst he'd be a depth OL if he's affordable. It depends on what they think the chances are of either of the 2 rookie Canadian OL making the AR.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

First year Canadian Qb, it would be an absolute shocker. I saw him play in the Vanier last year, he was a disappointment and got outplayed by the Laval Qb.

There has been speculation Tachinski is willing to switch to receiver, which should make Aards happy.

https://www.cfl.ca/2025/03/27/jackson-tachinski-built-for-transition-from-qb-to-receiver/

[CrazyCanuck89]

It would be shocking to me if he was on the AR.

Then you should bone up on your football.

[Pete]

1st round 4th pick, but 2020.  That's a long long time to not stand out as great player.

They probably realize he reached his peak, and the peak wasn't very high.  Not sure what else we can do.  However, if he's on Mafia's special watch list, you never know!

If he was worth anything they would have tried to trade with someone for a 3RDP or something.

not sure why but they had resigned him in January of 2024 to a two year deal, for 145K each yr. including a 25k bonus so they did see something in him. For 2024 he played first three games then was injured (knee) for the remainder of the season.
 It would fill a need for us especially if they think wallace is ready to at least rotate in as a starter to free up a import slot that right now looks to be Randolph.

[TecnoGenius]

The question revolves around is he better than Wallace, Eli or Randolph.

Not really?  Eli is safe because he can do C and he's good on jumbo.  He doesn't have to be starter-able, and it doesn't matter if the Elk is better... unless he is also better at C.  And then if that was the case, he'd still have to be around the same price (sounds like he isn't) and he'd have to be willing to be relegated to 7th (which many previous starters aren't)!

And Wallace is safe because Wallace is here for HOPE.  We hope he'll be akin to Dobson level in 0 to 2 more years.  As soon as he exhausts that hope, if it's in the negative he'll be outta here like Spooner (and others).

The Elk provides no HOPE for self-improvement because he's 5 years into dev.  He now is what he is.  So as such he'd have to beat out our existing "known quantity" guys (Eli) for the 7th never-be-a-starter spot.

We're not so desperate that we'd need to start a substandard LG just because he's available.  Plus, that's not the Mafia way (we don't FA our NATs... we would have just paid Dobson more instead).  The only way in heck that is even remotely considered is if we are ratio-poor (we're not) or we suddenly get convinced Wallace is a never-starter.

[TecnoGenius]

not sure why but they had resigned him in January of 2024 to a two year deal, for 145K each yr. including a 25k bonus so they did see something in him. For 2024 he played first three games then was injured (knee) for the remainder of the season.

He only played 3 games in 2024 so there maybe an injury issue. You can never totally disregard a veteran Canadian OL if he's healthy and affordable.

You guys are probably onto something with the injury angle.  Could be he was looking bad on a physical or coming up on camp.

Did he get a roster bonus this year?  If not, the Jan 2024 money doesn't mean much now.  We probably sign our off-ELC NAT OL to a similar salary/bonus.  Wallace will probably get that in FA26 if we're still hopeful on him.

Other than injury, everything above points to a normal dev guy they were hopeful on that didn't pan out for whatever reason.  The only odd thing I can see is they spent 5 years figuring out he was a bust?

If anyone can list some vs WPG games he was in and on-field in the last 5 years I can hit the PVR to see how he played for ya.

[Blue In BC]

Not really?  Eli is safe because he can do C and he's good on jumbo.  He doesn't have to be starter-able, and it doesn't matter if the Elk is better... unless he is also better at C.  And then if that was the case, he'd still have to be around the same price (sounds like he isn't) and he'd have to be willing to be relegated to 7th (which many previous starters aren't)!

And Wallace is safe because Wallace is here for HOPE.  We hope he'll be akin to Dobson level in 0 to 2 more years.  As soon as he exhausts that hope, if it's in the negative he'll be outta here like Spooner (and others).

The Elk provides no HOPE for self-improvement because he's 5 years into dev.  He now is what he is.  So as such he'd have to beat out our existing "known quantity" guys (Eli) for the 7th never-be-a-starter spot.

We're not so desperate that we'd need to start a substandard LG just because he's available.  Plus, that's not the Mafia way (we don't FA our NATs... we would have just paid Dobson more instead).  The only way in heck that is even remotely considered is if we are ratio-poor (we're not) or we suddenly get convinced Wallace is a never-starter.

That's not quite the question. Is he a better choice at LG than either of those choices. I'm not suggesting he replace either on the AR, but we lost a starting Canadian OL in free agency. If he do choose to employ 3 Canadian OL starters, then something has to change. We need to add another one. We did sign two rookie Canadian OL but whether either sticks is unknown at the moment.

So at the moment, he is the most experienced Canadian OL that is a free agent. It's worth considering but he may not be a fit for a multiple of reasons.

I don't want to just to surrender to needing a 3 import OL as our only choice with our ratio.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

That's not quite the question. Is he a better choice at LG than either of those choices. I'm not suggesting he replace either on the AR, but we lost a starting Canadian OL in free agency. If he do choose to employ 3 Canadian OL starters, then something has to change. We need to add another one. We did sign two rookie Canadian OL but whether either sticks is unknown at the moment.

So at the moment, he is the most experienced Canadian OL that is a free agent. It's worth considering but he may not be a fit for a multiple of reasons.

I don't want to just to surrender to needing a 3 import OL as our only choice with our ratio.

Meh, there will be much better players available league wide after cut down day, no reason to worry about O-line depth.

[Blue In BC]

Meh, there will be much better players available league wide after cut down day, no reason to worry about O-line depth.

Easy to say but that's never proven to be true at cut down day, especially for OL. There is also the cohesiveness on the OL gained in TC. Today is better than tomorrow so to speak.

I'm not sure if the Bombers have any interest in him or will have any interest in another player at cut down.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Easy to say but that's never proven to be true at cut down day, especially for OL. There is also the cohesiveness on the OL gained in TC. Today is better than tomorrow so to speak.

I'm not sure if the Bombers have any interest in him or will have any interest in another player at cut down.

Probably not, for the most part the Bombers tend to run with the players they brought into TC, they also reward players like Eli that have stuck around for multiple years by not replacing with a player that might be marginally better.  As you said continuity is huge.

[Pete]

reminds me of the discussions we had two years ago when a number of us were advocating signing Lemon, instead Mtrl did and he was a difference maker in their run to the cup.
Bombers very rarely look at high profile cuts from other teams much to a lot of fans dismay