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I am not suggesting that Lanier's was faking an injury but here is what we know to be certain. The Riders said he had a concussion, Lanier denied that in the media and said his body couldn't hold up because of poor conditioning. Lanier was medically cleared to play October 22nd against Calgary and he sat himself out (although he did play the season finale). Lanier's NFL window is closed. Very closed. He has zero chance of NFL return or interest. He is not playing for that reason anymore. He has been through the NFL wringer extensively. You need to quit banging the NFL drum and certainly this fresh out of college drum. Lanier was in the NFL for several years, and has exhausted his NFL window. You really need to take a look at his history. He is not fresh out of college. He is an NFL reclamation project. The guy was in the NFL for 6 seasons and has exhausted his PR eligibility, Obviously you like the guy, and he is a very good player, but you are arguing based on some assumptions you are making about the guy that are completely false narrative.

He's a really good player in 11 career games. I'm not saying he can't keep it up...but the FACT is that he has had conditioning issues, has not been able to play an entire season because of that, and is underweight for DT. This is not opinion, it is fact....a fact that even he has admitted to publically. Disruptive absolutely. Very small sample size absolutely. That's not cutting him down...that's just laying out issues with making him the highest paid d player in the league.

Good player...we don't need him. Yea...that's my thought too. Unless they circle back to him just before Feb 14, but even if they do it will be a crap offer to be a training camp body. If they wanted him for real, he'd be signed by now. The NFL acts quick when they want a player. Either way, he will be a Bomber this year for sure. Either on his rookie contract as an early NFL cut or he comes to camp and maybe we extend him.

That's how I see it too. The fact that Schoen hasn't inked anything yet leads me to believe that he will be back for sure. NFL offers have a very rapid window for guys like him. If you don't sign it right away they move onto the next guy. Each NFL teams has a dozen Dalton Schoens at the ready. It's not like he was offered a contract and given a couple weeks to mull it over and it has been a few weeks since his workouts. I believe that unless a fresh receiver signing injures himself in the next week or so and the NFL circles back, that Schoen's window has effectively closed. At this point, even if one of the NFL teams he worked out for comes in with an offer, it will be a very weak sauce TCF type of deal. NFL teams don't give players they like weeks to find another team. I am quite sure Schoen knows this as it is not his first rodeo. Going to an NFL camp as TCF, there is literally nothing you can do to make the team short of catching the coach on video doing something illegal and blackmailing him.

3 year deal. Some of his 3rd year is probably guaranteed. Pretty much rides him into retirement as a Bomber. Fair enough. SMS should go up with the new American TV deal coming.

LOL Yea...it's a fair contract for everyone. As for Lawler vs Schoen? It makes no sense to believe that Schoen has any bearing on our interest in Lawler...at least from an SMS perspective. Schoen is still under contract on a rookie deal. If we want Lawler it will be because we want him and can afford him but is not an either/or with Schoen. Although, Schoen's departure would certainly expedite our need at receiver. Schoen is under contract right now. He is not an add at all. However, he could be a very notable subtraction for sure.

Look, Harris overvalued himself for sure, and we all KNOW their was some concern about his conditioning and FIFO in his last year there. However, Demski wasn't much of a home town discount. It is just a hair below what he would have gotten on the open market imo.

Yes, but if it escalates then he plays this year below 190k because it averages 190k...that means that one year at least has to be below that if it is to escalate every year.

Lanier according to rumors sat out a few games he could have/should have played in last year. Tells me all I need to know about him. Even stated that he doesn't know how to take care of his body so wanted some extended time off. Of notable concern should be that he is a very undersized DT. They list him at 285 but realistically he isn't more than 260. That's why he only lasted 10 games in the trenches last year. He will need to have 25 lbs of muscle added to be able to live up to his contract.

Lanier is an excellent football player who deserved a big raise, however, he is not now, or has ever been, the best IMP defensive player in this league. That is incredibly stupid on the part of the RIders. It makes no sense whatsoever. We all saw what happened to Harris in Edmonton when their OL was not playing well. The guy was a disaster. The league will step in again. The Als are not folding.

Demski at 200k would be overpaid on our roster. Under the new NAT rules we are probably in the best ratio position of any team in the CFL..by quite a large margin. Therefore, without passport concerns you have to look at whether his production and value to our offense is worth 200k+. My opinion is that it is not.

A lot of people are forgetting that NAT players have lost some of the advantage their birth certificate gave them prior to this season...especially to a team like us with a boatload of veteran IMPs who now qualify as NATs. Honestly, Demski is not worth 200k to us, but would be to other teams that have less continuity and less veteran IMPs. If Demski chases the dollars he will get them, and honestly if he gets Girlie Kittens money we should not pay that.

Sure...and we have a thread for doing just that in General Discussion. OK...that is funny..lol

Really? There was no mention of that whatsoever. Just a blurb about Jake Dolegala getting his day in court and then a meme about Scott Moe....no context given as to why whatsoever. Considering Scott Moe's impaired status, and your general feelings about privilege in Saskatchewan, are completely unrelated to the CFL and Jake Dolegala in general, I am sure you can understand my objection. Political and social commentary have their own thread. Unless you are arguing that the Riders and CFL's stance on this is too harsh, or too lenient...but again Scott Moe has nothing to do with that.

I like Demski as much as anyone on this forum, but calling him irreplaceable is a stretch. The guy still has never had a 1000 yard season. I know he is a swiss army knife and all that but at the end of the day his offensive output is his offensive output. He is replaceable. That being said I really want him back, and unless he is looking to cash in then we should have the leg up in getting him back. Everyone needs to remember that Demski is probably wanting 2022 NAT money, and a lot of NATs are going to find out that just won't be the case anymore....at least to the extent it used to be. NI rules have vastly changed this offseason and his passport is not as valuable a commodity as it once was. And a pretty big drop in the 1st Q that would have extended a drive into scoring range.

I am honestly not worried about losing Grant to another team over playing time. I don't think there is a team in the CFL where he starts at receiver and Grant has publically stated in the past that he wants to be a Bomber for life if he can't catch on in the NFL. As for Bailey, I think he wants to see the market but I don't think there are other teams who will value him more than we do.

It depends what he gets I suppose. I don't think he would come cheap. Again...what does Scott Moe have to do with the RIders? Nothing at all. It's political commentary not football.

Bailey can be upset that he was left off the list, and not be heading to FA, at the same time. The context of the article isn't who will definitely be a FA, it is who is scheduled for FA. Bailey might feel slighted and be planning to sign a contract tomorrow for all we know. Lanier is a beast of a DT, but yeah that's an odd list in some placements.

You guys need to relax. There is still a lot of time before FA begins and we all know that at the end of the day Demski wants to be a Bomber.

Ellingson is a gamble, in comparison to Weineke. That being said Weineke's production last year worries me too.

Totally 100% correct. Unless they are letting other players walk, they did not open any cap room at all, no matter what flawed and nonsensical math equations closet BC Lion fans want to put forth.

Moe Khan throwing his hat into CFL scuttlebutt with a I heard this from an insider prognostication. However, the Lions save zero cap space from Rourke departing and all of Burnham's salary now goes to pay Vernon Adams. Insider info my ass!

Damn, I was hoping they would run it back one more year with the most over rated DE that I can remember. Like honestly, if this guys doesn't play opposite Charleston Hughes with Micah Johnson on the line he would have been exposed a long time ago. If you are going to play like a pylon one should learn to pose like one too.

Yep, and the guy who loses out on the starting centre and 6th OL jobs on our team is still a better OL than anyone the RIders currently have on their roster.

He hadn't played for two years when we signed him the first time. For guys in the trenches, especially the OL, it's easy to get back into the game. Weight maintenance and cardio will be his biggest obstacles and he has 6 months to deal with that. He must have been ahead of Gray because he was the one who got the start when Neuf went down in 2021 and he played at a very high level that game. If he doesn't go covidiot he is probably our starting LG right now. He is a very talented O lineman. As long as he isn't 50 cheeseburger overweight and no breath he can easily come in at centre for us, as this is his natural position and is the easiest OL position physically.