This week’s Insider Talk is full of discussion about the structure of CFL free agency, the league’s projected August 5 start date, and teams being bullied behind the scenes.
This exclusive weekly feature on 3DownNation includes anonymous quotes from people around the CFL — players, coaches, personnel experts, and agents — regarding the latest news around the league. It’s a combination of insight, analysis, rumours, and friendly gossip.
Enjoy this week’s quotes and come back next Wednesday for another edition of Insider Talk.
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Did you see (Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ owner) Bob Young and (Ottawa Redblacks’ president and CEO) Mark Goudie and (Saskatchewan Roughriders’ head coach) Craig Dickenson all come out and say they’re playing? That’s them getting tired of being bullied behind the scenes by a couple of teams that don’t want to play.
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There are lots of ways the CFL could limit player movement in the next CBA. I know that COVID and this XFL stuff is top of mind right now, but we can’t forget that having hundreds of free agents each year is a huge problem for our league. We need to address that problem.
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I don’t want to merge with the XFL, but I do want a GM job. That would be the silver lining for me if we merge — maybe I’ll get to run my own team.
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Everything is trending properly (for the season to start on time). All the dates for the vaccine mile-markers are being hit early and everything is moving ahead. I think we’ll play 14 games.
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There’s a lot of talent in U Sports. The top players are all better than you’d find in NCAA Division II. The best players in U Sports are as good as the best players in the FCS and I’d argue that the best players in the FCS are more than good enough to play in the FBS.
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Everything I have been told is that there will not be a further delay (to the CFL’s targeted start date of August 5).
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With no padded practices, it’s really hard to develop young offensive linemen. We use our sixth one as a tight end, which is really the only way to get him on the field. That’s why I didn’t want to draft Jake Burt or Bruno Labelle — putting either of them on the field would have taken away all those reps.
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I’m ecstatic that Josh Palmer got drafted so high (by the Los Angeles Chargers). I hope him and (Chase) Claypool and (Alabama sophomore John) Metchie III inspire thousands of Canadian kids to play football. Only a handful of them will make the NFL but a ton will play in our league.
