By Michael Heilman
One year ago, the Calgary Stampeders were riding high defeating the Ottawa Redblacks 27-16 at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton to win the Grey Cup. After the season, the Stampeders lost a ton of players to free agency. Some left to try out for NFL teams, and others chose to play in the then Alliance of American Football. The Stampeders also lost defensive coordinator DeVone Claybrooks to the BC Lions.
The Stampeders had managed to bring back their star quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell along with Kamar Jordan, Eric Rogers, and Terry Williams. However, they lost some vital players in Alex Singleton, who left for the NFL, Ciante Evans left for the AAF, and DaVaris Daniels left for Edmonton. Those positions were not filled with players of the same magnitude.
This year, the Stampeders finished second in the West Division with a 12-6 record. Their season came to an end with a Sunday night loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 35-14. The Stampeders were hoping to make it back to the Grey Cup since the championship game is in Calgary this year, but those dreams were dashed. It is not often that you get to go for a championship in your own stadium. The Stampeders will have to wait and be ready for that when the opportunity rolls around again.
This won’t be an easy offseason for the Stampeders as they have a lot of decisions to make to try to get back to the Grey Cup. Among those who are scheduled to be free agents are backup quarterback Nick Arbuckle, running back Don Johnson, and wide receiver Reggie Begelton. One player who is leaving the Stampeders is Brandon Smith, who is retiring from football.
There will be other players in free agency that the Stampeders could sign that could improve the team. They can quickly improve on some positions in the CFL Draft as they will either pick at number four or five in the first round. There are several areas that need to be addressed on both offense and defense, including getting a backup quarterback, tweak the offensive line, add a couple of wide receivers, and invest in a running back. On defense, they need linebackers, a secondary, and a defensive line.
Calgary could also bring back DeVone Claybrooks as the defensive coordinator. Under Claybrooks, the Stamps had the best defense in the CFL ranking first in 2017 and 2018. Claybrooks presence was sorely missed as Calgary ranked second in defense, allowing 6.3 points-per-game. During the 2017 and 2018 seasons, the Stamps were allowing 5.7 points per game in 2017 and 3.7 points per game in 2018.
Those are just some suggestions of what Calgary could do in the upcoming offseason. If the Stampeders can make some of these moves, they can be right back in the hunt for the Grey Cup next year.
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