Free Agent Forecast

ARGONAUTS.CA STAFF

TORONTO – It is a time of year when agents earn their paychecks and general managers battle to take their teams to the next level.  The annual off-season free agency period rivals only the CFL Canadian draft as the most crucial date on the off-season calendars of every personnel department across the league. 

After arguably being the most active GM in 2009’s free agent sweepstakes, Argos General Manager/Vice President, Football Operations, Adam Rita has made it clear that fans should not be surprised if he and his staff are not as busy this year.  Perhaps it is due to the fact that this year’s pool just isn’t as deep as the one last year or maybe it is as simple as the approach has changed this time around.  With a number of Argos contracts potentially coming off the books and a new head coach, the philosophy could be to rebuild the club through the draft while at the same time, leaning on the team’s scouting staff to find prospects from south of the border to fill in some of the import spots on the roster. The staff has already added a few new imports to the roster (link to transactions page) and will continue to do so right up until training camp.

Until the free agent sweepstakes officially open, nobody really knows what the true intentions of the Argos staff is. Afterall, in the CFL a relatively quiet GM could turn very active in a hurry.  One thing is for certain, the Argos have a few free agents of their own that they would like to retain just as much those from other teams.

From the Inside Out

The Argonauts enter this year’s open market with a total of 10 free agents set to explore other options should they not return to the Double Blue before the Tuesday morning deadline.

Undoubtedly, one of the standout free agents on the Argos’ list is RB Jamal Robertson.  In his second season in Toronto, the powerful yet shifty tailback amassed over 1,000 yards for the first time in his career and was the premier threat in the Argos offence both running the ball and catching the football out of the backfield last season.  Prior to breaking for the off-season in November, Robertson told argonauts.ca that his first choice would be to return to Toronto saying, “I started and I definitely want to see it finished”. Time will tell as to whether or not he will indeed get to continue what he started.

Another key free agent that the Argos brass will likely look to lock up is RB/KR Dominique Dorsey.  After a career year in 2008, Dorsey was hampered by injuries late last season after returning from a stint with the Washington Redskins of the NFL.  Despite his struggles last season, there is no doubt that Dorsey has the raw ability to regain the form that earned him the CFL’s Outstanding Special Teams Player award in ’08 and the Argos won’t be the only ones coveting the talented athlete. 

Other notable free agents on offence include receivers Reggie McNeal and P.K. Sam.  Both import wideouts who have shown flashes of brilliance over the last two years but struggled with injuries down the stretch last season.

Defensively, the Argos have a group of defensive backs that were all starters for a time last season but inking all of them to new contracts may be difficult depending on where the Boatmen want to allocate their resources in the free agent market.  A complete list of Argo free agents can be seen below:

Clock Strikes Midnight

Very early Tuesday morning is the last chance any CFL clubs will have the opportunity to sign their remaining free agents before they become subject to a bidding war.  12:01 a.m. ET marks the official opening of CFL free agency and, with the exception of Hamilton (who only has two free agents), every team has a solid corps of players that could potentially trade jerseys.

The Big Splash
There aren’t nearly the number of high-profile free agents available in comparison to a year ago, but here are a few that could change the fortunes of any team, let alone the Argonauts.

	WR Kerry Watkins	It will be difficult to pry the all-star slotback out of the hands of the defending Grey Cup champs but Watkins could be the playmaker the Boatmen so desperately crave since the departure of Arland Bruce lll last season.
	K Sandro DeAngelis	Perhaps the biggest long shot. The Argos would probably only pursue the perennial all-star if they felt that they could not retain  P/K Justin Medlock who has been involved in tryouts down south.

Big Day for the Big Guys
For some reason the offensive and defensive linemen seem to be the most likely free agents to leap to another squad every year.  In this writer’s humble opinion, three of the top linemen on the free agent block this year are as follows:

	OL Ryan Donnelly	A nine-year non-import out of McMaster, Donnelly has been a force along the offensive line in Hamilton and most recently Winnipeg, and could be a solid acquisition to an Argos offensive line that saw its fair share of injuries late last season.
	DL Keron Williams	A menace to opposing quarterbacks, Williams recorded 32 DT, 8 QB sacks and 3 fumble returns in 2009 with Montreal.
	OL Marc Parenteau	A menace to opposing quarterbacks, Williams recorded 32 DT, 8 QB sacks and 3 fumble returns in 2009 with Montreal.

Adding Depth
For those quieter GM’s, making the big splash may be out of their price range or simply not the priority. Here are a few players that could add much needed depth and competition in training camp should the Argos go down that route.

	QB Steven Jyles	A solid number two quarterback who has been given little opportunity to take the reigns behind stars such as Ricky Ray in Edmonton and Darian Durant in Saskatchewan.  He could add a different skill-set to an Argos offence that didn’t seem to get much consistency at that position last season.
	CB Byron Parker	A ball-hawking corner that is no stranger to Argos fans.  The former #28 set records in Toronto before being sent to Edmonton in a trade after a stint in the NFL in 2009.  He could be a legitimate replacement at the vacant starting cornerback spot following the release of Jordan Younger last Wednesday.
	FB/TE Teyo Johnson	The brother of former Argos DE Riall Johnson, Teyo is a big body with good hands and could add a different look should Jim Barker and his staff elect to employ tight end packages to their offence. Remember, he was a signing of Barker’s in Calgary.

**The ideas and thoughts in the preceding text in no way reflect the thoughts, ideas or opinions of the Toronto Argonauts’ football operations staff.**