Redblacks GM Desjardins figures he’ll have holes to fill with CFL free agency
Marcel Desjardins expects he’ll have some work to do when the CFL free agency period begins.
The general manager of the Grey Cup-champion Ottawa Redblacks hopes to sign two of his pending free agents before the noon ET deadline Tuesday. However, with 18 others scheduled to hit the open market — after losing three players to NFL teams earlier this off-season — Desjardins figures he’ll have some holes to fill.
“My preference would be if we had the majority of our guys back then we’d be minimally involved,” Desjardins said Wednesday. “But if we end up losing a number of guys, then, yeah, we’ll certainly be trying to fill some voids, for sure.”
The secondary will definitely be an area of need with the off-season departures of cornerback Mitchell White (Philadelphia Eagles), backup safety Jeff Richards (Carolina Panthers) and defensive back Forrest Hightower (New Orleans). Defensive back Abdul Kanneh is also slated to become a free agent, leaving recently re-signed safety Antoine Pruneau and cornerback Jonathan Rose as the lone holdovers from the unit that started Ottawa’s 39-33 overtime Grey Cup win over Calgary in November.