Boston Independents
The big piece staying put is WR Edward Webb, who inked a new 2-year deal to remain in Boston where he has broken free as a solid WR for the past couple of seasons. The other notable signing was QB Jace Beleren, set to be Braddock’s new backup.
Buffalo Blue Wings
The Blue Wings made a bigger splash by landing WR Owen Paisley on a 2-year $23,500 contract. The longtime Gold Stars’ WR wasn’t fitting in Providence’s tight cap situation so he lands in a new competitive spot with Buffalo, hoping to get another championship before retirement.
Calgary Predators
Calgary continued to add some depth on defence, signing LB Mike Francis, who struggled to garner much interest elsewhere, due to attitude issues, but should add a lot of strength to the Preds’ LB corps.
Edmonton Rangers
The team would grab a new starting TE, signing Daryl Leclair to a 2-year contract at $15,000. It will be Leclair’s first full-time starting gig after being a backup in Halifax for the past 5 seasons. The Rangers also added veteran DL Jared Kendall from their Vancouver rivals. Kendall left Vancouver after the two sides were too far apart on money for the 32-year-old.
Halifax Mariners
The Mariners did a lot of re-signing, bringing back DL Bernard King, WR James Hess, and DB Max Adams, but then also added some LB depth in Kyle Essena.
Indiana Victors
The Long Island-Indiana pipeline continued with the Victors signing WR Otto Washington and QB Rider Wandrey. They also added DL Tyrone Powers, who was also with Long Island recently.
London Tigers
It was fairly quiet for London, who added back LBs Jethro Gibson and Garrett DeGraaf as their most notable moves. They did also land former Rangers’ starter, QB Ken Myers, who will likely battle QB Tyrion Gainsborough for the backup role.
Long Island Raiders
The Raiders were able to bring back S Calvin Hobbes on a cheaper 1-year, $15,500 deal after the veteran couldn’t find many opportunities elsewhere. They also brought in former Victors’ starting RB Ed Finley for depth at the position.
Louisville Thunder
The Thunder were able to fit WR Orlando Barrack back into the payroll on a much cheaper 1-year $16,250 deal. Barrack should still make an impact, even if it is in a smaller role with the team this season.
Minnesota Serpents
Depth was the focus for Minnesota who added many players to boost up their ranks, most notably WR Justin Dubuque and OL Leroy Hankins.
Montreal Rouge
The Rouge were a bit handi-capped through the rest of free agency as a calculation error left the team over budget. So they were more focused on trading a piece out to make some room. However, they still added some depth pieces where they could like QB Martin Michaud and DB Real Monet.
Ottawa Royals
The Royals added some depth on the O-line with longtime Independent, Aaron Sharpless, making his way over. They also brought back a couple more depth players like RB Théomire Desormeaux and S Pete Gunner.
Pittsburgh Blacksmiths
The Blacksmiths focused a lot on bringing in younger depth in DL Terrence Strickland and DB Arnie Marston. They also added some veteran help with RB Raymond Green returning to Pittsburgh as a backup after he was bumped out of the starting role when RB Max Tracy arrived in 1971.
Providence Gold Stars
Providence made more minor depth moves with what remained of their cap, especially when WR Owen Paisley officially declined their offer and signed with Buffalo. Notable pickups were RB Jonathan Rougeau, OL Ben Salem, and QB Gilles Doucet.
Regina Wheat Kings
The Wheat Kings ended up being relatively active in an attempt to add more sturdy depth across the lineup. RB Alex Herbo and S Bennett Drill were the two most notable pickups from Toronto, who both may have decent impacts as backups this season.
Toronto Steelheads
GM Reginald McMahon continued to pull from players he had signed with Buffalo before he took the job in Toronto. He added WRs Perry Francoise and Boris Bohka, as well as LB Gaston Christison. The largest signing ended up being LB Austin Ford, who has some injury concerns from his last 2 seasons with Regina, but maybe a smaller role can make him more reliable.
Vancouver Wolves
DB Dean Hawkins was certainly hurt that Buffalo didn’t seem to want to keep him back at 34 years old, so he has decided to move across the continent to play for the Wolves next season at a lower salary than Buffalo had initially offered. The other notable moves from Vancouver were adding DL Cole Brentwood, a Regina teammate of their top signing this offseason, DL Derick Parks, and WR Frank MacCoghlan who they had traded for last season.
Winnipeg Falcons
Winnipeg native, RB Joseph Cook, would head home on a 2-year deal with the Falcons. They also added WR Kendrick Newton, a former teammate of WR Ryan Conway (their current WR 4) as well as veteran QB Michael Benedict to get into the rotation with QB Emerson Thompson and 1972 3rd Round Pick, QB Mitchell Nash.
TRADES
Outside of the signings, there were a couple of trades. As mentioned the Rouge were in need of cap help after their miscalculation landed them in a tough spot. Buffalo would be willing to make a deal and the Rouge would send DL Sebastian Hamilton to Buffalo in exchange for DL Kevin Patterson. The move saved Montreal $5,000 in salary which squeaks them just below the cap, while Buffalo benefits by getting a better player for their D-line straight up.
Buffalo wasn’t done there as they would then make a deal with Indiana, picking up LB William Kirkpatrick in exchange for a 1974 4th Round Pick and undrafted DL Jimmy Bradford. Kirkpatrick had only been traded to Indiana at the deadline last season, but under the new regime, he’s already on the way out, expecting to play a depth role in Buffalo. The former 3rd Round Pick has struggled to find his footing in the NAAF so far, but maybe ANOTHER change of scenery can help.
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