Former Lion Ricky Foley's options seem limitless as CFL teams hope he heads north of the border again.
This Saturday's second edition of the Braley Bowl could have an underlining storyline beside the fact the B.C. Lions and Toronto Argonauts are owned by David Braley and this is the first time the two squads will clash out west after an earlier game this season in the east.
Rush end Ricky Foley, an Ontario native who played university football at York, is trying to latch on with a National Football League team having had some unsuccessful luck this off-season. He was cut by the New York Jets this week, shortly after it signed him when he was released by Seattle. He signed an off-season deal with Seattle after leading the Canadian Football League in sacks last year with B.C.
So where will Foley go and when will he decide?
Foley told the Vancouver Sun: "All things being equal, it would be the choice of what's most familiar to me in terms of the team and the staff or being close to my family and friends. Honestly, right now, I don't know."
He told the Sun that shortly after he was cut by Seattle, he had conversations with both the Lions and Toronto Argonauts. Then came the signing by the Jets.
Foley's agent is Paul Sheehy, who is well-respected in the business. Sheehy may tell his client to wait at least until the end of the first week of NFL games to see if there are any openings due to injury.
"My gut is that we'll continue to pursue NFL opportunities, since I know there is interest there," Sheehy said told Sportsnet.ca. "I view his skill set as NFL-calibre. My objective for Ricky is to do the right thing, not the easy thing, and that might take a little time and patience. Having said that, if the right CFL deal comes along, we'll listen, but I believe a mid-season CFL deal may not be in his best interest professionally or financially. Time will tell."
Foley was voted the Most Outstanding Canadian last year in the CFL, his fourth year with the Lions, and is now a pre-eminent player at his position, combined with being a Canadian who can start. In CFL parlance, he's a ratio changer.
While he's established himself as a rush end in the CFL, he's been tried as a linebacker in the NFL and that is not his strength. At best he can hope to make the practice roster, which pays about $85,000 a year and get lucky to be promoted to the active roster as a special teams player. The odds are unlikely. Cameron Wake, who was a teammate of Foley's in B.C., followed a similar path signing with the Miami Dolphins and now enters his second season as a starting rush end. He was considered an absolute stud in the CFL and has carried that talent to the NFL. He was voted the top defensive player in the two years he played in the CFL.
Sources tell Sportsnet.ca that the Argos have little wiggle room to afford a player of Foley's talent. Sources tell the Sportsnet.ca that the Lions have tabled a deal that over the course of the year would be worth $165,000. But he could possibly be worth more if the decides to sit out the season and go on the open market afterward when teams assess their talent and payroll for 2011 and beyond.
Hamilton is also in the mix and has some cap space, although a bidding war may cause the Ticats to back off if it gets too pricey. The Tiger-Cats, incidentally, have done extremely poorly in recent years with high-priced free agents (Jason Maas, Casey Printers and Kenton Keith, to name a few).
For years, the Lions have used Brent Johnson, a Kingston native who played at Ohio State, as one of their rush ends, which is a position normally employed by an American. Johnson has 79 sacks and is a surefire candidate to be a future Canadian Football Hall of Famer. In 2006, he was named the CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player and won his second Most Outstanding Canadian award. Johnson has been rotated in and out of the defensive line this year for the first time since becoming a regular several years ago.
So that's why this Saturday's game between Toronto and B.C. is interesting. It's highly unlikely Foley will be in uniform for the Lions for the game, unless something changes drastically, either in terms of an adjusted offer or Foley deciding he wants to play now and not sit around.
If he's in uniform for Saturday's game, won't that be interesting? Highly unlikely it will happen, but you just never know.
