The first big splash of 1972’s free agency period was the Raiders landing a new top-tier defensive lineman. Johnathan Ellison elected to move on from the Steelheads after 6 seasons in Toronto, which included an All-Star nod in 1967 and was easily the top free agent at the position. Long Island and Ottawa would be the top two teams that were in on Ellison, however, the Raiders were more determined to land the 28-year-old and would get him to sign a 3-year pact that pays him $34,500 a season. Ellison will fill the hole left by DL Pionk Bjorkkstrand, who retired due to injuries sustained in 1971.
The Royals, who came close to landing Ellison, would have to fall back to plan B and would land DL Ryan Sargent out of Minnesota. Sargent joins the Royals on a 1-year deal worth $22,500. Overall Sargent is a pretty lateral move by the Royals who moved on from DL Zane Tannith, who had been with the team for 9 seasons. In the end, Tannith would sign on with the Blue Wings on an identical 1-year, $22,500 contract.
The other notable D-linemen signed would see DL Brandon Hall remain with the Gold Stars after being traded there at the deadline and DL Quinton Hextal would return to Winnipeg after one season in Edmonton.
LLOYD LANE BECOMES #1 WIDE RECEIVER FOR THE TIGERS
The long-time Thunder WR is taking his talents North of the border to play with the London Tigers. Lane, who has been a key contributor for the Thunder over his first 7 seasons, wanted a new opportunity where he could shine as the #1 option in the passing game, being overshadowed by WR Casey Coleman and eventually rookie, WR Ben Graham, when he was hurt last season. Lane inks a 3-year deal with the Tigers that will pay him like a top target, earning $32,000 a season. The Tigers are stoked to have Lane, as they have been searching for a true #1 receiver for several seasons now. They had spent a couple of 1st round picks on Cole Fletcher and Leon Hudson in their search. While Fletcher showed flashes of #1 talent last season, hence his own 3-year contract extension, neither has really been consistently a top target. Lane should easily provide a big boost for a young team with a veteran presence and a new target for 1971 2nd overall pick, QB Henry Johnsson.
Louisville was quick to find a replacement for Lane, as they snatched up Blacksmiths’ WR Orlando Barrack on a 1-year deal. While he won’t have the same impact as Lane, he’s still a great veteran option to help take some pressure off of WR Ben Graham. With Barrack heading to the division rival, the Blacksmiths would look for a replacement and would get the Hong Kong product out of Montreal, Yahui Sun. Sun is looking for a fresh start with the Blacksmiths and could add a new dynamic to the Blacksmiths’ offence. Elsewhere, longtime Royals’ WR Colby Bancana would head to Minnesota to join up with a couple of old Royals’ teammates in QB Martin Keller and WR Ferdinand Matthews. This did leave Serpents’ Alternate Captain, WR Evan Clanton, without a spot, but he found a new/old home, heading back to Boston where he spent the first 6 years of his career.
NEVILLE FALKNER RETURNS TO PROVIDENCE
After a 4-8 campaign in 1968 to make a 4th playoff miss in 5 seasons, DB Neville Falkner decided to leave the Providence Gold Stars in search of a championship. He would land with the Victors, who had made the McCallister Cup in 1968, and spend the next 3 seasons with the club in search of a title. Unfortunately, Falkner was unsuccessful in the venture. Now, with Indiana looking like they are heading in the wrong direction, Falkner set out again to find a new contending team. There were many teams interested in the 3-time Defensive Player of the Year. The Thunder, Raiders, and Wolves all made strong pitches that Falkner considered. However, the most aggressive team was the Boston Independents who were determined to add another superstar to their ranks in their desperation to win another cup before QB Nathaniel Braddock is gone. As hard as Boston tried, they were in an uphill battle with Falkner still having ties to Providence. Once the Gold Stars caught wind of Boston’s interest, they also inquired about bringing Falkner back. Despite leaving 3 years ago, Neville was always going to be a Gold Star first, and he quickly came to a deal with his old team, signing for more than Boston would’ve been able to offer under the cap at $30,000 over the next season, which is still a pay cut from his previous contract.
After missing out on Falkner, Boston turned to plan B, which was “what is old, is new again” aiming to bring back both DB Mordecai King and DB Lawrence Ralph. King would sign a new deal to stay in Boston, while Ralph, who was still not over Boston cutting him last offseason, so he signed in Vancouver instead. Any other options also found other locations. Former Wolves DB Vern Nowitski, headed to his home province to join the Winnipeg Falcons, while former 1st round pick, DB Chandler Gage would look for a fresh start and head out to Minnesota on a 2-year deal. The 25-year-old is likely to see the field more in Minnesota than during his time in Pittsburgh.
QB MARKET RUN DOWN: SEVERAL TEAMS ADD VETERAN PRESENCE, WINNIPEG DOUBLE DIPS
The QB market is always one that is interesting to watch during the offseason. However, some years are more exciting than others. This year was one of the down years. Heading into the offseason most teams either were committed to long-term QBs or ready to move onto other younger players. Both Halifax and London would likely be looking towards last year’s top 2 picks, Todd Sparrow and Henry Johnsson to be the guys this season, Calgary was willing to give Emmitt Jackson another shot, as well as both Jesse Essex and Mitch Boland taking the other two spots, and Edmonton looked like they were headed towards Ken Myers to take over for the recently retired Blair Collins. Finally, last offseason, many would have pegged the Rouge as a team that might be in the market this year, but they squashed any real likelihood of that with the 2-year extension to QB Gene Bishop following a run to the McCallister Cup. With all of those teams’ minds practically made up, only Toronto and Winnipeg seemed like teams that were in the market for new QBs.
Toronto would be the first to grab a new QB, signing QB Landon Ross to a 2-year deal. Ross has 29 starts under his belt including some solid play for both the Raiders and Gold Stars under OC Kerry Holder who moved to Toronto this offseason. Clearly, Ross and Holder have a good relationship and want to keep working together. Toronto also still has QB David Simmons under contract and after some solid play in the last few games last season, he may get another shot.
Out in Winnipeg, there was more uncertainty about who may start for the team next season. Despite how much the team and coaches like QB Emerson Thompson, there is an understanding that he may not be the long-term solution for the team with his inconsistent play over the last two seasons. So the Falcons were out to bring in some new options. They first wanted to add a veteran with starting experience. They would ultimately land Ulysses Lawyer for the role on a 2-year deal. Lawyer has 17 starts under his belt, although with a 5-12 record, but had a decent performance in relief for QB Drake Young in Ottawa last season, going 2-1. Certainly, a veteran that can at least bring some stability. Now, they were not done there, as they also decided to take a gamble on QB Xerxes Wynn. Wynn showed flashes of potential last season throughout about a game's worth of snaps with the Thunder, where he threw a pair of touchdowns and no interceptions. The 27-year-old didn’t have a lot of options when it came to teams interested in giving him a shot at being a starter, so he’s ready to head to Winnipeg and take the opportunity to prove himself. Both guys would get a 1-year deal as Winnipeg wants all 3 QBs to show what they got this year to earn a contract next year.
TORONTO MAKES BIG SPLASH TO REBUILD OFFENSIVE LINE
Over the last few years, the Toronto Steelheads have had a major problem on the O-line, with one of the worst groups in the league in almost every season in recent years. GM Reginald McMahon was determined to right the ship and would go out and spend big money to improve the line. He would pick up two of the top O-linemen free agents in Minnesota teammates, OL Amos Sewell and OL Paul O’Doherty. The two signed matching 2-year, $27,000 contracts. They have been teammates both in Ottawa and in Minnesota and wanted to take the opportunity to stick together. Toronto wasn’t done there, also adding veteran OL Taylor Forbes.
The rest of the O-line market would shake out with OL Millard Streety heading back home to Providence where he went to school at Rhode Island State. Indiana also made a bit of a splash by bringing in both of the Harrison brothers, Clancy (OL) and Yancy (RB). The two wanted to stay together after leaving Buffalo, looking for a good opportunity for both of them. Yancy could be a starting option for the Victors who are looking for a new starting RB, after Yancy played most of the season as the starting back with Jasper Dickerson injured in Buffalo.
SEVERAL SAFETIES PLAY MUSICAL CHAIRS
A few safeties would pull the old switcheroo. Garet deVale, Peter Sellers, and Calvin Hobbes would simply swap the teams they were on between each other. deVale would move from Long Island to Pittsburgh, Sellers would go from Pittsburgh to Minnesota, and Hobbes would go from Minnesota to Long Island. The most interesting of the group is probably deVale heading to Pittsburgh as the former MVP looks to finally capture a championship before his career runs out.
Top 25 Free Agents
1 - WR Lloyd Lane - LOU -> LDN - 3Y, $32,000 - NTC
2 - DB Neville Falkner - IND -> PRO - 1Y, $30,000 - NTC
3 - DL Johnathan Ellison - TOR -> LI - 3Y, $34,500 - NTC
4 - WR Orlando Barrack - PIT -> LOU - 1Y, $26,500 - NTC
5 - DB Chandler Gage - PIT -> MIN - 2Y, $22,500
6 - OL Amos Sewell - MIN -> TOR - 2Y, $27,000
7 - QB Landon Ross - PRO -> TOR - 2Y, $19,500
8 - LB Willie Stetson - MTL -> BUF - 2Y, $18,500
9 - WR Yahui Sun - MTL -> PIT - 2Y, $22,500
10 - TE Eric Peterson - IND -> LI - 2Y, $20,000
11 - OL Paul O’Doherty - MIN -> TOR - 2Y, $27,000
12 - OL Millard Streety - HFX -> PRO - 2Y, $24,000
13 - QB Ulysses Lawyer - OTT -> WPG - 1Y, $20,000
14 - OL Clancy Harrison - BUF -> IND - 2Y, $24,000
15 - QB Lyle Painter - HFX -> HFX - 1Y, $22,000 - NTC
16 - WR Colby Bancana - OTT -> MIN - 1Y, $20,000
17 - DB Mordecai King - BOS -> BOS - 1Y, $23,500
18 - DB Vern Nowitski - VAN -> WPG - 2Y, $20,000
19 - S Garet deVale - LI -> PIT - 1Y, $18,000 - NTC
20 - S Peter Sellers - PIT -> MIN - 1Y, $19,000
21 - S Calvin Hobbes - MIN -> LI - 1Y, $20,000
22 - QB Xerxes Wynn - LOU -> WPG - 1Y, $18,000
23 - QB Mike Key - VAN -> MIN - 1Y, $16,500
24 - DL Ryan Sargent - MIN -> OTT - 1Y, $22,500
25 - DB Lawrence Ralph - WPG -> VAN - 1Y, $23,000 - NTC
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