CFL release lists – are you checking them twice?

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For the second time this year the CFL clubs have released a list of 10 players each on their negotiation lists. And that means we’ve got something that’s on- field related to talk about.

This follows on from the last release in September. It is so nice not to be talking about the cancelled season and having things like this, and the Free Agent moves teams are making to focus on instead. The more we can have some sense of normality the better for the sake of the league and its fans.

As stated in the press release, when it comes to releasing these lists, “Clubs are required to do so on two occasions throughout the year following a measure approved at the 2018 CFL winter meetings.” Which I think is an excellent idea.

The lists may not tell you that much. But they do give people a chance to look at the sort of player their team is watching. And, even better, to make some talking points for the CFL. Let’s face it the league needs to drive interest more and this is one way at least that they can do it.

A look at the team lists

The 10 player released on each team are listed below:

BC Lions

Name	Position	College
Trey Adams	OL	Washington
Zerrick Cooper	QB	Jacksonville State
Matt Corral	QB	Mississippi
Ben DiNucci	QB	James Madison
Tipa Galeai	LB	Utah St.
Gage Gubrud	QB	Washington St.
Shea Patterson	QB	Michigan
Carter Stanley	QB	Kansas
Carson Strong	QB	Nevada
Javin White	DB	UNLV

Calgary Stampeders

Name	Position	College
Marcelis Branch	DB	Robert Morris
Julian Good-Jones	OL	Iowa St.
Jake Haener	QB	Fresno St.
Cassanova McKinzy	DE	Auburn
Jarrell Owens	DE	Oklahoma St.
Horace Richardson	DB	Southern Methodist
Sean Riley	REC	Syracuse
Marcus Smith	DE	Louisville
DeAndre Thompkins	REC	Penn St.
Skylar Thompson	QB	Kansas St.

Edmonton Football Team

Name	Position	College
Josh Brown	OT	College of Idaho
LD Brown	RB	Oklahoma St.
Case Cookus	QB	Northern Arizona
Pete Guerriero	RB	Monmouth
Jerry Louie-Mcgee	REC	Montana
Dante Olson	LB	Montana
Bryce Perkins	QB	Virginia
Brandon Polk	REC	James Madison
Josh Rosen	QB	UCLA
Shane Zylstra	REC	Minnesota Mankato

Saskatchewan Roughriders

Name	Position	College
Kentrell Brice	DB	Louisiana Tech
Jeremy Clark	DB	Michigan
Sammie Coates	REC	Auburn
Dillon Gabriel	QB	Central Florida
Tevin Jones	REC	Memphis
Anthony Lanier	DT	Alabama A&M
Andrew Lauderdale	OL	New Hampshire
Eric Lee	DE	South Florida
Charone Peake	REC	Clemson
Jonathan Woodard	DT	Central Arkansas

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Name	Position	College
Ian Book	QB	Notre Dame
John Daka	DE	James Madison
Tae Hayes	DB	Appalachian St.
Alex McGough	QB	Florida International
Wyatt Miller	OL	Central Florida
Deatrick Nichols	DB	South Florida
Gimel President	DE	Illinois
Brock Purdy	QB	Iowa St.
Drew Richmond	OL	USC
Desmond Ridder	QB	Cincinnati

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Name	Position	College
Malik Carney	DL	North Carolina
Scottie Dill	OL	Memphis
Greg Dortch	REC	Wake Forest
Adrian Martinez	QB	Nebraska
McKenzie Milton	QB	Central Florida
Cameron Phillips	REC	Virginia Tech
Drew Plitt	QB	Ball St.
Taulia Tagovailoa	QB	Maryland
Corey Thompson	LB	Louisiana St.
Cavon Walker	DL	Maryland

Montreal Alouettes

Name	Position	College
Keion Adams	DL	Western Michigan
Marcus Applefield	OL	Virginia
Joe Callahan	QB	Wesley
Jamal Davis	DL	Akron
Jacques Patrick	RB	Florida St.
Teo Redding	REC	Bowling Green
Cooper Rush	QB	Central Michigan
Brett Rypien	QB	Boise St.
Daniel Smith	QB	Villanova
Rogan Wells	QB	Valdosta St.

Ottawa RedBlacks

Name	Position	College
Juwann Bushell-Beatty	OT	Michigan
Dustin Crum	QB	Kent St.
Jayden Daniels	QB	Arizona St.
Eric Dungey	QB	Syracuse
Brandon Hitner	OT	Villanova
Sam Howell	QB	North Carolina
Tanner Morgan	QB	Minnesota
La’ Michael Pettway	REC	Iowa St.
Kenny Pickett	QB	Pittsburgh
Brant Weiss	OT	Toledo

Toronto Argonauts

Name	Position	College
Solomon Ajayi	LB	Liberty
Dejon Allen	OL	Hawaii
Kelly Bryant	QB	Missouri
Connor Cook	QB	Michigan St.
Treston Decoud	DB	Oregon St.
Jordan Fehr	LB	Appalachian St.
Tavarus McFadden	DB	Florida St.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson	QB	UCLA
Grant Wells	QB	Marshall
Nick Wheeler	DE	Colgate

Checking lists twice

Sometimes it is worth having a look just to see if you can find any fascinating nuggets hidden away on your team list.

Take the Toronto Argonauts list. You get to the first name on there, LB Solomon Ajayi, and that already creates interest for UK based American Football fans. He is the brother of former darling of the NFLUK media team Jay Ajayi.

Or you might look at somehting else. Like the fact that once again well over a third of the players listed are QB’s. Once again two teams released particularly pivot heavy lists. With 7 on the BC Lions list, and 6 on the RedBlacks list.

It makes you wonder. Are they throwing darts looking for a reliable backup or a future prospect? Or are they looking to hold bargaining chips? Who knows? But what we do know is it gets you thinking about these things. On field issues once again. That’s the beauty of these lists – their on field focus.

Negotiation Lists – What are they anyway?

Using negotiation lists allows teams to acquire the rights for international players. Each CFL team has its own negotiation list, allowing the team to have exclusive rights to negotiate a contract with the players on their list. This does not preclude players from signing with another league. Only a fully fledged signed contract could do that.

Players are placed on team negotiation lists on a first come, first served basis. Lists can often change and additions or removals are often not known by anyone outside of the team making the list, and the league who they report it to.

However, twice a year the teams reveal a list of ten names on their list. The league has been doing this for a while now.

The truth is that a lot of the players listed won’t ever suit up in the CFL. A lot of them won’t even have been aware they were on the list. But, it creates chatter. It gets fans talking about their team rosters. Which can only ever be good.

Banner image Solomon Ajayi in his time at Liberty. Image from espn.