The 2015 CFL off-season has seen many changes to CFL receivers and will yet to see more moves and place-changing from that position once the free agency market opens on February 10. For two consecutive days, on Thursday and Friday, a big-name receiver was traded.
The first was Maurice Price, who was shipped from the Calgary Stampeders to the Ottawa Redblacks for Jasper Simmons and wide receiver Dan Buckner. The next day, the blockbuster move came when veteran slotback and four-time All-Star Fred Stamps ended his eight-year tenure in Edmonton when the Eskimos traded him to Montreal for wide receiver Kenny Stafford. In a span of 24 hours, three wide receivers and a slotback changed places and will don new jerseys when the new CFL season kicks off.
The biggest surprise was evidently the Stamps trade (Fred Stamps, not Calgary Stampeders). It wasn’t the fact that Stamps got traded; that was bound to happen. The surprise is where he got traded – but we’ll get back to that later. He failed to reach 1000 yards in receiving for the first time since his sophomore year in 2008. He was the team’s second slotback behind Adarius Bowman, who had the most receiving yards out of all CFL receivers. Stamps even had to battle for pass attempts with wide receiver Nate Coehoorn.
Rookie slotbacks Kendial Lawrence and A.J. Guyton are showing a lot of potential and finished with over 400 yards in catches each, with two and three touchdowns, respectively. It looks as if both of their young slotbacks can turn into franchise players in the near future – if Lawrence can sign a new contract within the next month. In a young offence led by quarterback Mike Reilly, general manager Ed Hervey and coach Chris Jones are looking to build a younger receiving core.
Stafford can do just that. He will be celebrating his 25th birthday in April and showed promise this year for Montreal, playing with four quarterbacks and in front of about a gazillion different minds controlling the offence from the sidelines. He played underneath stars like S.J. Green and Duron Carter and had mentorship from Brandon London and Chad Johnson. He managed 20 receptions for 230 yards and one major in his second season with the Alouettes. He will give a much-needed boost at the wide receiver position for the Eskies, alongside “old” guys Paris Jackson and Akeem Foster, Coehoorn, and 2014 rookie Devon Bailey.
The biggest surprise was where Stamps ended up: Montreal. The Alouettes were home to two of the best wide receivers in the CFL with Carter and Green. The duo finished with 1865 yards of the offense’s total 3784 passing yards for the season. The two account for 49.3% of the total receiving yards produced for the team this season.
Carter held a pro try-out for about 15 NFL teams following the end of the CFL season and there is almost no doubt he will end up in the U.S. next season. Green’s contract is expiring and it seems things continue to sour between his party and Popp can’t reach an agreement as . All signs are pointing towards Green hitting the free agency market in February and it looks like the Alouettes will lose half their offence from 2014.
They need players to step up, and fast, to even hope of replacing those receivers’ 11 TDs (the team threw 16 passing touchdowns all year). Stamps will be an important piece and will most likely fight for the number one slotback spot with London – another CFL receiver who will get a bigger role next season.
Of course, coach Tom Higgins and Popp can’t expect Stamps to fully cover what #89 and #19 did, so management will need to go after big name free agents at the wide receiver position on February 10. Some players available include Quebecer Sam Giguere, Bakari Grant, and John Chiles. It will be interesting to see who they go after next month, but don’t be surprised if Giguere is playing in his home province next season. Luke Tasker was hotly anticipated, but has apparently been inked by the Ticats for another two years; Brandon Banks is likely NFL-bound.
Ottawa made a smart move acquiring Price, as their inaugural squad lacked targets for QB Henry Burris to pass to. Marcus Henry finished eighth in receiving yards out of all CFL receivers but the talent level in the nation’s capital dropped sharply after him. Matt Carter and Wallace Miles were good at times but Miles is currently without a contract. Price will add an option for Burris while the front office will heavily pursue top flight wide-outs and slotbacks in free agency. Rumour has it that S.J. Green could likely end up wearing a Redblack uniform next season.
With 17 wide receivers and eight slotbacks without contracts as of today, it will be interesting to see which CFL receivers go where next season.
Where do you think everyone will end up? Who would you like your team to sign? Leave your comments below! Check out the full free agent list here.
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