Matt Smith/CFL.ca
His shelves are close to stocked after a busy start to his off-season, but as the free-agent market sets to open in just over two weeks, Chris Jones says he still has some room in the coffers to improve his team.
Jones has signed most of his high-end pending free-agent talent, including receiver Duron Carter on Jan. 22. He also swung a deal for a potential game-changing quarterback, trading for Zach Collaros on Jan. 19.
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Restructuring Collaros’ contract saved the club some money, and as Jones points out, some of his recent signings have agreed to take less to leave a little bit more out there for the team in free agency.
“It gives us an opportunity to put a team together and not just a bunch of individuals,” Jones said on Wednesday night, on his way home to South Pittsburg, Tenn., after a scouting trip.
“Certainly with the things they did contract-wise, it helps us go in that direction. It’s not just Zach and Duron, it’s Brandon also. Brandon Bridge is in that group. He wanted to be back with us.
“I’m just proud of the fact that these guys want to be part of what we’re doing.”
STAYING IN GREEN: PENDING RIDERS’ FAs THAT HAVE RE-SIGNED
| PLAYER | I/N | POS | SCHOOL | STATUS |
| BRIDGE, Brandon | N | QB | South Alabama | Extended with SSK (12/20/17) |
| CARTER, Duron | I | WR | Florida Atlantic | Extended with SSK (01/22/18) |
| COLEMAN, Thaddeus | I | OL | Mississippi Valley State | Extended with SSK (12/21/17) |
| JOHNSON, Jovon | I | DB | Iowa | Extended with SSK (12/21/17) |
He points out that there’s still a lot of work to be done. There’s free-agency, the CFL Combine presented by adidas, then the draft itself on May 3. After getting his team within one defensive stand of a Grey Cup appearance last year, and with the changes made this year, Jones has a similar feeling to the one he did at the start of the 2015 season. That was when the Edmonton Eskimos team he coached made a big step the year before but fell in the division final.
That Esks team turned its 12-win 2014 season into a 14-win campaign a year later and capped it off with a Grey Cup victory.
“I’m certainly hoping that’s that’s what’s going to happen,” Jones said. “We really enjoy our group. We think that we’ve got a high-character group that’s working extremely hard. We’ve got a lot of work left to do…then it’s go time. We’re excited to get started.”
For the Riders to take that next step, they’ll likely need D-lineman Willie Jefferson, who is a pending free-agent. Jones has said for weeks that he’s confident Jefferson would be back on his roster when training camps open in May. That hasn’t changed.
“Willie will be with us, that’s for sure,” Jones said.
At 6-foot-6 and 245 pounds, Jefferson has the build of a big cornerback, or maybe a free safety more than a d-lineman. But he’s athletic and strong enough to get through o-linemen and after quarterbacks. His 37 QB pressures led the league in 2017. That went along with 45 tackles and eight sacks, which were fourth-best in the league. Jefferson’s length always has him as a threat to block punts as well. He got one last year that was returned for a Riders’ touchdown.
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Having coached him from his first season in the league with Edmonton in 2014, Jones is actually happier with the off-field growth he’s seen from Jefferson.
“Certainly Willie is versatile. He can drop and rush, but what I’m most proud of about Willie is the fact that he’s become a leader, on and off the field,” Jones said. “He’s a guy that we can depend on and early in Willie’s career that wasn’t necessarily the case. I’m just proud of the development that Willie has had, the leadership qualities.”
When free agency opens, Jones has a few targets, but doesn’t see himself being overly active. Like every GM in the league, he’ll look for ways to tweak his offensive line and if a defensive player that fit his plans was available, he’d give that move some serious thought.
Before that, though, Jones’ coming week is much like the rest of them at this time of year: full of workouts. He said he’d be home one day this week before getting back on the road to look at players in Texas. He’ll then meet his staff in Las Vegas for some winter meetings and more workouts, before they watch the Super Bowl as a group.
“We’ve been doing this since (the coaching staff was together) in Edmonton. We can’t afford to go to the Super Bowl,” he said, laughing, “so we go to the next best thing. We go to the Super Bowl in Las Vegas.”
