Ask Not for Whom the Ed Hervey Tampering Window Opens!

So the CFL created a free agency window where teams could talk to other free agents, make them an offer, and if the player so chose, if his original team did not want to match the offer, the player would sign with a new team.

Greg from Piffles Podcast claimed he came up with the Ed Hervey Tampering Window as a salute to Hervey which I can buy and so starting on Sunday, teams will be talking to free agents from other teams with Free Agency officially underway on February 10.

Hervey has been busy before his window opened, signing former Montreal receiver Austin Mack for $425 K in hard money with a maximum of $439 K and a signing bonus of $55 K according to Dan Ralph, noted CFL scribe.

The signing of Mack with those salary figures is notable because last year Hervey would not make an offer to receiver Eugene Lewis because Hervey felt Lewis was making too much money and there were no real superstars in the CFL.

Mack got more money because the salary cap did go up this year and Mack and quarterback Cody Fajardo had a relationship going back to when Fajardo was quarterbacking Montreal to a Grey Cup. Mack is also coming off injuries so whether Hervey gets more bang for his buck from Mack than he did for Lewis may make a difference in Edmonton crawling back into the playoffs.

Hervey has also re-signed Javon Leake to kick returns and add some speed and diversity to the offense. On defense Hervey re-signed Jared Brinkman who came over from Toronto last season.

The big move out of Edmonton was Hervey cutting Canadian quarterback Tre Ford who was due a roster bonus on February 1 but lost his job as the starting quarterback when it became obvious Ford could not do more than one read of a defense after taking a snap and then running around until he could unload a deep pass.

Ford came to Edmonton during the Chris Jones return of the King tour where Jones was both GM and Head Coach. Jones was moderately success in Saskatchewan when he held both spots, and in drafting Ford, Jones was probably thinking of making Ford go to a position like receiver or running back where his legs would be a big asset.

Jones had converted AC Leonard from a tight end to a defensive tackle and probably most successfully Willie Jefferson from a receiver to a defensive end. Where the Ford experiment failed was while Jones is a good defensive coordinator, he has no clue about offense and tends to yank quarterbacks in an out to shake the offense up.

So was Ford a victim of a team management with no clue of how to handle the talented quarterback or is Ford perhaps too lazy in keeping up with the playbook, preferring to rely on his natural athletic talent to make plays?

This is a questions teams are asking themselves and for Ford, if he wants to continue to play, he will have to play a back up role under a good offensive coordinator or quarterback coach who can instill some good work habits and determine if Ford is more than a one trick pony.

There are no shortage of teams who will kick the tires on Ford. Montreal is probably going to let McLeod Bethel Thompson go after an uninspired stretch when starting quarterback Davis Alexander went down with a hamstring injury and MBT looked like a guy who had finally jumped the shark as a player. While Armstrong should be recovered from his hamstring injuries, he will continue to be plagued by them because he seems determined to play through injury even when it hurts his team, like in the 2025 Grey Cup. Bringing in Ford would give Montreal a change of pace QB and allow Ford to learn from Anthony Calvillo and Jason Maas and as a young quarterback, that isn’t a bad option.

Ottawa might be a possible location considering Ryan Dinwiddie has landed there as the GM and Head Coach and did wonders with Nick Arbuckle and even Chad Kelly the year before. Dru Brown is the starting quarterback, but back up may be interesting. Jake Maier, who was the Rider back up, could well be going to Ottawa to back up Brown and if Maier goes there, and Maier was competent in the games he saw action in last year, then spending extra time on getting Ford coached up seems unnecessary. Ottawa also has Dustin Crum at QB who may be let go and his game experience may make him attractive to the Riders.

Hamilton is another possibility, mostly for Scott Milanovich who has a reputation for developing quarterbacks. Bo Levi Mitchell is still the starter in Hamilton and has extended his contract, so Milanovich could work with Ford to develop his football IQ so Ford could step in when needed and even take over once Mitchell is done. Hamilton does have Taylor Powell at quarterback who did fill in nicely for Mitchell a couple of years ago and probably wants more playing time.

The Bombers are also a potential landing spot with Zach Collaros going down injured when the wind blows and Chris Streveler going down with two knee injuries and having no passing skills whatsoever leaving a gaping hole in the Bombers quarterback room. Bringing n Ford gives the Bombers two years to prep him for starting duties assuming Collaros survives that long and gives the members of Stony Mountain something to look forward to since the Riders won the Grey Cup on the Bombers home field.

The Riders might be a possibility since the Riders signing of QB Jack Coan seems to indicate Maier is not going to be back. The question of whether Ford is coachable would have to answered by offensive coordinator Marc Mueller and quarterback Trevor Harris who can mentor Ford, but the question is will Ford listen? If Ford comes here and Mueller can coach him up, Mueller would be a shoo-in for whatever coaching job comes up next season, although as a Rider fan I want Mueller coaching our offense in a season where the Riders are hosting the Grey Cup.

Calgary and BC are also possibilities as Ford would back up Vernon Adams Jr. and BC already had Nathan Rourke so another explosive Canadian quarterback would make life difficult for opposing defenses. The Lions have been spending money on players to try to get a Grey Cup and brought back James Butler for a two-year contract. Rourke also extended his contract by two years which may mean his NFL dreams may be on hold. The problem with spending a lot of money on just a few players is that the rest of the players must fit under the remainder of the salary cap which may limit the quality of depth a team can put together.

The Bombers are trying to make it up to their fans for fielding a team that resembled Grumpy Old Men instead of a five-time western champion. The Bombers picked up receiver Tim White who was let go by Hamilton which is not a bad move but not exactly the 50/50 receiver Collaros was looking for who could go deep. They also renewed Willie Jefferson at defensive end, and if they can get him interested, maybe he can make a difference, but you must think watching the Bombers last year all Jefferson is good for is raising his arms to knock down passes. Brady Olivera made a big deal about getting paid what he was worth and after his lobbying for his running back coach to be the offensive coordinator resulted in the dumbest Bomber offense in years, the Bombers brought in Tommy Condell to handle the offense.

Toronto has been interesting for the number of ex Riders now on the Argo coaching staff under new head coach Mike Miller. The Argos signed Dakota Shepley to the biggest contract given to an offensive lineman, which is interesting because the last time Shepley was in the CFL, he played in 18 games for the Riders, was granted his release and went to the NFL where he played in 16 games in the last four or five seasons. Shepley also wants to be an actor and Toronto is a better place to try to break into acting for a post football career than say, Saskatchewan.

The Riders had a basketful of free agents and have done pretty good at bringing back major pieces like Samuel Emilus, Kian Schaffer Baker and KeeSean Johnson from the receiving corps, Junior Thurman at linebacker, Trevaughn Campbell at cornerback and are likely to bring in AJ Ouellette at running back and maybe AJ Allen at linebacker.

The Riders will be setting aside some money in case Dohnte Meyers returns from the NFL after Labor Day to beef up that receiving corps. They can hopefully sign Joe Robustelli as another receiver but seem to be inclined to have three to four American offensive linemen, a Canadian Air Force at receiver and their duty will be to keep Trevor Harris upright all season.

The Riders defensive line will look almost entirely different following the retirement of Micah Johnson, Shane Ray likely not coming back and Malik Carney looking to see how other teams value him on the open market. The Riders have been signing a bunch of NCAA defensive linemen who will be rotated in an out looking for speed and giving defenses a new look. Not sure who the Riders may target from other teams, but the Riders are the defending champions with a team that has bought into the messaging of Rider Head Coach Cory Mace.

The Riders don’t need big names, but if they can get a defensive tackle, that will help them. Also, a kicker because if Brent Lauther is at the end of the road, let him go into community relations for the Riders and bring someone in who can be consistent in making field goals but that could be a CFL or Global draft consideration.

So here is a quick look at the CFL schedule for the next few months.

February 1-8 – Ed Hervey Tampering Window for players to get offers from other teams prior to the start of free agency.

February 10 at noon – Free Agency officially starts.

February 22 – CFL kicking showcase to be held in San Diego

March 6 – Invitational Combine and free agent camp held in Waterloo

March 25 GM/Head Coach Media Day at the CFL Combine in Edmonton

March 27-29 – CFL Combine in Edmonton

April 28 – CFL Draft

April 29 – Global Draft

May 6 – Rookie camps open

May 9 – Rosters to be reduced to 85 players

May 10 – Training Camp opens

May 12 – Rosters to be reduced to 75 players

Enjoy free agency!

by Greg Urbanoski

Ask Not for Whom the Ed Hervey Tampering Window Opens!

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