Roughriders’ GM Jeremy O’Day: Canadian OL, receiver strongest positions in CFL free agency

There are two positions that are particularly deep in this year’s CFL free agent class — as it currently stands, anyway — according to Saskatchewan Roughriders’ general manager and vice-president of football operations Jeremy O’Day.

“The Canadian offensive linemen that haven’t been re-signed with their teams is more than usual,” O’Day told the media in Regina on Thursday. “Some of the guys that were higher-priced guys that have had success are not re-signed yet. That could change by the minute or the day — sometimes new GMs will come in and they’ll adjust the way they’re allocating dollars — but that position just seems like there’s more main guys that are available.”

“The receiver market is strong, too. I think there’s a little bit of a restructuring of receivers. Their salaries got pretty high over the last number of years and I think that there’s a little bit of balance that may happen there. It may not — I can’t speak for all the other GMs — but that seems like a market with some really good players that are going to hit the market or that are close to hitting it.”

Let’s start with the first group: Canadian offensive linemen. All-CFL centre David Beard (Hamilton), All-West Division guard Liam Dobson (Winnipeg), and three-time All-CFL centre Sean McEwen (Calgary) are just some of the homegrown blockers currently set to become free agents on Tuesday, Feb. 11.

Others with meaningful starting experience include Peter Godber (Saskatchewan), Shane Richards (Edmonton), Gregor MacKellar (Toronto), Michael Couture (B.C.), Ryan Sceviour (Saskatchewan), David Foucault (Edmonton), Michael Couture (B.C.), Philippe Gagnon (Montreal), Sukh Chungh (B.C.), Hunter Steward (Edmonton), Landon Rice (Toronto), Philip Blake (Saskatchewan), Evan Johnson (Hamilton), and Cyrille Hogan-Saindon (Ottawa).

That’s a lot of Canadian beef.

The Roughriders had terrible luck with injuries to their Canadian offensive linemen this past season as Godber, Sceviour, and Blake missed a combined 31 games. The team was also hit with two early retirements not too long ago, losing first-round draft pick Mattland Riley at 25 and three-time Canada West all-star Logan Bandy at 24, leaving their developmental pipeline a little bit thin.

Logan Ferland was named All-CFL this past season after starting games at centre, guard, and tackle but there’s a big dropoff after him — no disrespect to Zack Fry or Noah Zerr. If O’Day is smart — and he is — Saskatchewan should use free agency to bring in a couple of Canadian offensive linemen, especially as a flooded market should bring prices down.

The same probably can’t be said for the receiver position. The pending free agent class is loaded — Justin McInnis (B.C.), Kenny Lawler (Winnipeg), Dalton Schoen (Winnipeg), and Eugene Lewis (Edmonton) represent only a few of the top available players — but the Roughriders are stacked at receiver. Kian Schaffer-Baker, Samuel Emilus, and Shawn Bane Jr. are stars, while KeeSean Johnson and Dohnte Meyers seem destined for big things.

It’s not impossible to imagine the Roughriders adding a depth receiver in free agency, especially with Ajou Ajou recently departing for the NFL, but it doesn’t seem like a position they’ll splurge on — even with salaries expected to come down.

O’Day indicated that some of Saskatchewan’s pending free agents have informed the team they plan to test the league’s upcoming free-agent window, which runs from Feb. 2 to 9, though he declined to identify them. He also declined to say which particular positions the team hopes to address in free agency, though he invited the media to speculate based on their pending free agent list.

Looking at those listed, the defensive line could be the biggest area of need. Micah Johnson, Anthony Lanier II, Miles Brown, and Bryan Cox Jr., all of whom were starters well into the late stages of last season, remain pending free agents. Malik Carney signed a contract extension and Caleb Sanders should be ready to become a full-time starter, but the Roughriders clearly need to bulk up in the trenches if their long list of veterans aren’t brought back.

Head coach Corey Mace started his coaching career working with defensive linemen, and one of his former star pupils has already hit the free-agent market following his release from the Calgary Stampeders. Mike Rose, who was cut earlier this week prior to a $37,000 offseason roster bonus, is available and would be a perfect fit in Riderville.

The three-time All-CFL selection and four-time All-West Division selection will surely have other suitors, though Saskatchewan could be the favourite to land his services given the team’s level of need and his familiarity with Mace. O’Day was complimentary of Rose’s abilities and acknowledged that he and Mace have a history, though he was mum on any further details about him potentially signing in Riderville.

Regardless, O’Day made it clear that the team will be busy over the coming two weeks, though he doesn’t want fans to get their hopes up about the squad making a big number of free-agent signings.

“There’s so many players that we talk to during the window that never become Roughriders, but we do have lots of conversations during that window — just really doing our due diligence, trying to find out the lay of the land. Also, sometimes, you can figure out kind of what other teams are doing,” said O’Day, adding he suspects some teams will be “heavily active” once free agency gets underway.

“We don’t want to be in a situation where we’re super heavy in free agency because you want to have some continuity. You want guys to feel comfortable and be building towards something, which is a championship, and you want them to be around the same guys for multiple years and if you can do that, I think it pays off.”

“Everyone tends to play fantasy football and say, ‘Oh if they added these three players (that would be perfect).’ Well, those three players that people talk about are always going to be the highest-paid players. We have players on our roster that make substantial amounts of money and there’s only so much that can go around. I’m excited, but also trying to maybe control the expectations when you’re not going to be as active.”

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