The expectation was that Roughriders general manager and head coach Chris Jones wasn’t going to be as busy in free agency this year as he was a year ago. Through one day, he’s on pace to actually sign more players.
Jones inked prized offensive lineman Derek Dennis and Canadian running back Kienan LaFrance. The former being a move that was more or less expected as the Riders badly need some help along the offensive line, that’s especially true at the tackle position where they’ve lost Xavier Fulton and Thaddeus Coleman from last year’s line-up. Signing last year’s most outstanding offensive lineman was a no-brainer.
Signing LaFrance, on the other hand, was not. There was plenty of speculation that LaFrance may have wanted to return to his home town Blue Bombers after having a breakout performance in last year’s Eastern Division Final. Instead, Winnipeg balked at what is reported to be a six figure per year deal with a $35,000 signing bonus. Since the Riders have only signed a couple of their pending free-agents and probably have the cheapest quarterback stable in the league, they do have some money to play with.
In signing the 25-year-old, Jones is rolling the dice that LaFrance is not a one hit wonder. After all, LaFrance does have just 32 career carries to his name for 180 yards in the regular season but he did rumble for 157 yards against the Eskimos in the East Final. LaFrance followed that up with just 42 yards in the Grey Cup . Take away the East Final and LaFrance’s career game was 52 yards against Montreal on June 30 last season. It’s entirely possible that LaFrance is about to break out, it could also be that everything just came together at the right time for him one time.
That’s not to say that this isn’t a gamble worth taking for Jones. That’s because it’s not really a big one. While LaFrance may have received a hefty raise, it’s not a number that is going to shatter the cap as Canadians in general get paid fairly well in this league as truly elite talent can be hard to come by. If LaFrance can’t win the starting job, he’ll still be able to play a role for the team. He’s been described to me as a smart and competitive player, you can always use guys like that. If LaFrance does prove that the East Final wasn’t a fluke, then the Riders have a ratio breaking starter with a Canadian back up in Greg Morris. This could allow offensive coordinator Stephen McAdoo to start four American receivers, since the team has an abundance of them, or it gives Jones the flexibility to make some changes on defence. The more Canadians that could potentially start the better for any team in the CFL.
These signings leave the Riders in a better place, then again, so did their signings last year. How it actually plays out, that’s the fun part.
