Insider Talk: Arbuckle vs. Bethel-Thompson, Raiche’s promotion, 2021 CFL season

This week’s Insider Talk is full of discussion about Toronto’s quarterback quandary, Catherine Raiche’s promotion, and the status of the 2021 CFL season.

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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I would start McLeod Bethel-Thompson because we don’t really know what Nick Arbuckle is yet. He played in Calgary in a great system. Bethel-Thompson played decent and put up numbers without a lot of help around him (in Toronto in 2019).

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I would start Nick Arbuckle no question. He’s dangerous. McLeod Bethel-Thompson threw for a ton of yards (with the Argonauts in 2019), but his numbers didn’t match the tape. He did a lot in garbage time.

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The CFL product is better than The Spring League product yet they’ve got games on Fox Sports, which is a pretty big network down here (in the States). The CFL is hard to find on television. People down here like it, but they have a hard time finding it.

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Some CFL people laughed at Kavis (Reed) when he promoted Catherine Raiche to assistant general manager (in Montreal in 2017). They’re not laughing anymore. She’s going places.

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I’ve heard the league will prorate our salaries over the 14-game season, which means we’d lose about 20 percent of our pay. That’ll be a tough pill for some guys to swallow, especially if they’re making league minimum (which is $65,000).

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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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I’ll believe training camps are opening when I get my flight information. Until the flight’s booked, I’m not going to believe anything.

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I thought the best pick of the draft was B.C. getting (UBC product Ben) Hladik in the third round. He’s smart, local, athletic, and could potentially start at linebacker or defensive end.

John Hodge
John Hodge is a Canadian football reporter based in Winnipeg.