With the Free Agency window opening in the next few days, which teams are in the best position to cruise through the offseason into a strong 2020, and which have a lot of work to do to ensure success for next season?
1. Hamilton Tiger-Cats
The Ticats have re-signed a bunch of key players, such as DB Tunde Adeleke, DE Julian Howsare and DL Ted Laurent. Additionally, few changes with coaching staff means they’ll be well equipped for 2020, and the re-signing of QB Jeremiah Masoli means that Hamilton has very few holes to fill in the offseason. No massive changes for the Ticats going into the Free Agency, but for a team that dominated the league in 2019, that’s not such a bad thing.
2. Montreal Alouettes
This early in the offseason, there aren’t a lot of moves that bode well for teams, so those that have only re-signed current talent are coming out on top. The Als have re-signed QB Vernon Adams Jr. through to 2022, which will give them a lot of talent and security until then. In a game-changer move, they’ve also signed RB James Wilder Jr., which will keep their rush-play options open and keep the team dynamic in 2020. Losing QB Antonio Pipkin won’t be such a problem – there’s still plenty of great backups on the Montreal roster, and Pipkin wasn’t really impactful in 2019 anyway.
3. Edmonton Eskimos
The Esks have had a pretty smart offseason so far, re-signing the players they need and leaving the rest up for grabs in the upcoming Free Agency. Scott Milanovich obviously has a plan for this offseason, but it had better include pending agents such as DB Don Unamba and LB Larry Dean if they want to retain a tight defence in 2020. RB C.J. Gable is a player to watch – with the re-signing of two other running backs, the Eskimos might lose him to another team, which could be a deal-breaker next season.
4. Saskatchewan Roughriders
Another team that’s making some smart moves, Saskatchewan has done well to retain their killer defence by re-signing players such as A.C. Leonard and Nick Marshall. There are some question marks around key players such as Namaan Roosevelt, Marcus Thigpen and Manny Arcenaux (to name a few). Another issue might be with a backup to QB Fajardo – Isaac Harker might not be up to the task just yet, and there are plenty of FA QBs from around the league. Still, Saskatchewan looks good for a repeat of their 2019 success.
5. BC Lions
The Lions have done a good job in re-signing a bunch of their players, and have also signed former Ottawa backup QB Will Arndt, who will likely give Mike Reilly some strong support following the loss of Danny O’Brien. Still, the Lions have a lot of issues that need resolving, especially on defence – let’s hope that Rick Campbell has a clear plan for the rest of the offseason.
6. Toronto Argonauts
Another big shift from the last rankings, Toronto is toeing the line on the Free Agency. They haven’t made any changes in the leadup to the FA – no new re-signed players or no new coaches. Their saving grace may come in the form of signing Matt Nichols, who has proved success and experience in bringing a team up from the bottom of the league. If Nichols is signed, then the Argos will have two great QBs to work with; as for now, they still have just one to head up a worse-than-average team.
7. Ottawa Redblacks
Yes, this is a massive downgrade from the last rankings, where I placed Ottawa as the best team in the league, but hear me out. In the last week, the Redblacks released ten players, including QBs Jonathan Jennings and Will Arndt, and RB Mossis Madu. This puts them in a bit of a scary position, with a lot of holes to fill on both offence and defence. It’s all very well to have a great QB and a strong new HC, but if they don’t have a good roster to back them up, Ottawa will struggle in 2020.
8. Calgary Stampeders
There’s been not a lot of change for the Stampeders since the last power rankings, with a lot of releases and not a lot of extensions. Calgary still has a lot of talent on the market, such as DL Jabar Westerman and WR Juwan Brescacin, and unless they’ve got a clear plan for the Free Agency they may face roster trouble in 2020. The situation for Calgary isn’t looking so good – they’ll need to do a lot of work over the next few months to get back on track.
9. Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Yes, the Bombers have re-signed QB Zach Collaros, but with the amount of holes they still have to fill, there are question marks whether just having a great quarterback will be enough for the 2019 Grey Cup Champions. It’s also important to note that Winnipeg dominated the 2019 season under three QBs – in 2020, it’s likely they’ll only have one of them. As for the rest of the team, some large holes remain – and will continue to open – on defence, which was key to Winnipeg’s success last season.
The End Zone 
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