There’s a perfect world in which Brady Oliveira plays his entire football career with his hometown Winnipeg Blue Bombers, winning multiple championships, rushing titles and league awards along the way.
Sports
Pending Bombers’ free agent Oliveira eyes NFL, wants to get what he deserves in CFL
The star running back even has hopes of giving the National Football League a try, and who can blame him after he put up eye-popping numbers with the Bombers in 2023 and was voted a finalist for the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player award?
He’s still just 26 years old and the future is as bright as a sunlit sky.
“The whole NFL stuff has been a dream of mine, my entire life,” said Oliveira, whose American agent is trying to set up workouts for him already.
“Obviously, playing here is a dream too, but the NFL stuff, ever since I started playing football, to play at the highest possible level, the NFL, of course, would be a dream.”
It was a day for reflection on a second straight Grey Cup loss and on what might have been for a team that has been to the CFL’s championship game four seasons in a row and has only two titles to show for it.
Many players talked about what went wrong in Sunday’s game, which plays could have been the difference in a tight, hard-hitting battle, how close they actually came to winning a third Grey Cup in four years and establishing themselves as a true dynasty.
For others, it’s already on to thinking about the future, with at least 35 players slated to become free agents in February.
No one wants to see those players get away, but the Bombers likely can’t get them under contract without freeing up salary cap space somewhere else.
“You look at the talent in this locker room and there are guys that are young in their careers that deserve what they want to get, when it comes to contracts,” said Oliveira, who rushed for a 1,534 yards and had 2,016 yards from scrimmage this season.
“That, and you’ve got guys that are maybe near the end of their careers, I don’t know yet, maybe they can squeak out another year or two, but you never know, right? I think guys, at that time of their careers, are maybe more year to year, so it will be interesting.
Among the other pending free agents are star offensive linemen Stanley Bryant, 37, Jermarcus Hardrick, 33, and Pat Neufeld, 34, and defensive linemen Willie Jefferson, Jackson Jeffcoat and Jake Thomas, all 32.
The Bombers have done a great job of re-signing all of those players on one-year deals over the last five years, but at what point does a team need to start prioritizing younger talent?
At this point, it’s not even clear who will be negotiating deals with potential free agents, as general manager Kyle Walters is without a contract himself.
“It’s a little bit of a concern to myself when you look at the top down,” Oliveira said. “Kyle has done an amazing job with bringing the right pieces in, so having him back would be huge and he can get things going and bring in the right pieces.”
He will be an incredibly hot commodity on the CFL market if he gets to free agency and you have to believe the Bombers will do what they can to sign the favourite target of quarterback Zach Collaros, who is 35 but is under contract through 2025.
“Those are conversations to be had in the future, with my agent and my family, and everyone who is involved with that,” Schoen said Tuesday.
“I have had two great years here, on the field and off the field, more specifically. I have really enjoyed being around the guys in this locker room, have enjoyed getting to play with that guy right there (Collaros). It’s a special place.
Many of the Bombers players, including Collaros, spoke after Sunday’s game, and again on Tuesday, about the concern that this team will never look the same.
Players say that every year, and it’s always true, although you get the sense they might be bracing for more change than usual this time around.
The Walters situation is one thing, offensive co-ordinator Buck Pierce’s name has been mentioned as a candidate for a head coaching opening in Saskatchewan, and some players simply won’t be back.
“Obviously this is where I want to be if the NFL doesn’t work out,” Oliveira said. “I want to be in Winnipeg. That being said, you never really know what’s going to happen when you’re a free agent. The last two seasons that I put together were good, good enough to get what I deserve. So we’ll see.
“You never really know but I definitely want to be here if they bring the right core group back together.”
GOING FREE?
A list of potential Blue Bombers free agents
RB Brady Oliveira
RB Johnny Augustine
RB/WR Greg McCrae
FB Mike Miller
QB Dru Brown
QB Dakota Prukop
WR Dalton Schoen
WR Rasheed Bailey
WR Drew Wolitarsky
WR Brendan O’Leary-Orange
WR/KR Janarion Grant
OL Stanley Bryant
OL Jermarcus Hardrick
OL Geoff Gray
OL Chris Kolanskowski
OL Pat Neufeld
DE Willie Jefferson
DE Jackson Jeffcoat
DE Thiadric Hansen
DT Jake Thomas
DT Ricky Walker
DT Cam Lawson
LB Shayne Gauthier
LB Jesse Briggs
LB Malik Clements
LB Brian Cole
LB Tanner Cadwallader
DB Brandon Alexander
DB Demerio Houston
DB Deatrick Nichols
DB Alden Darby
DB Nick Hallett
DB Winston Rose
DB Redha Kramdi
K Sergio Castillo
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DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings signed forward Lucas Raymond to an eight-year, $64.6 million contract Monday, completing a deal with one of their best young players less than 72 hours before training camp begins.
Raymond will count $8.075 million against the salary cap through 2032. The 22-year-old was a restricted free agent without a contract for the upcoming NHL season and was coming off setting career highs with 31 goals, 41 assists and 72 points.
The Red Wings have another one of those in defenceman Moritz Seider, who won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2021-22.
Detroit is looking to end an eight-year playoff drought dating to the Original Six franchise’s last appearance in 2016.
Raymond, a Swede who was the fourth pick in 2020, has 174 points in 238 games since breaking into the league.
—
AP NHL:
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kirk Cousins led a flawless last-minute drive for Atlanta and connected with Drake London for a 7-yard touchdown with 34 seconds left to give the Falcons a 22-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night.
Saquon Barkley dropped a short pass that stopped the clock with 1:46 left and forced the Eagles to settle for a field goal instead of a game-sealing first down. That was plenty of time for Cousins — especially against an Eagles defense playing soft coverage with a nonexistent pass rush.
The 36-year-old veteran, playing his second game since tearing his Achilles tendon last Oct. 29 while playing for Minnesota, shook off an uneven effort and hit Darnell Mooney for 21 and 26 yards on consecutive plays during the decisive drive.
Cousins found London on a short pass to his right for the tying score, and Younghoe Koo put Atlanta (1-1) on top with a 48-yard extra point after London was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. The go-ahead drive took just 65 seconds.
Jalen Hurts had his final pass intercepted by Jessie Bates III to seal Atlanta’s win and set off a wild celebration on the sideline.
The Eagles (1-1) went ahead on Hurts’ 1-yard tush push score with 6:47 left. Barkley finished with 95 yards on 22 carries in his home debut for Philadelphia, but his drop provided the Falcons with some hope.
And then Cousins started playing like the QB Atlanta thought it was getting when it signed him to a four-year, $180 million contract.
Cousins finished 20 of 29 for 241 yards and two touchdowns. Atlanta’s first TD was a 41-yarder from Cousins to Mooney, who finished with three catches for 88 yards.
Hurts was 23 of 30 for 183 yards, including a touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith. With No. 1 receiver A.J. Brown out with a hamstring injury, Smith led the Eagles with seven catches for 76 yards and a score.
Jake Elliott kicked two field goals for the Eagles. His 28-yarder with 1:39 left made it 21-15.
Atlanta kept stalling in the red zone, getting three field goals from Koo, before Cousins fired over the middle to Mooney, who shook loose from C.J. Gardner-Johnson and left him on the turf before he somersaulted into the end zone with 1:21 left in the third quarter for a 15-10 lead. Cousins failed on the 2-point conversion pass.
Hurts had some juice in his step during a second-quarter TD drive, running with abandon for big plays much like he did in the 2022 season. He spiked the ball in a rare, raw show of emotion on a 23-yard run, earning a delay-of-game penalty. He shrugged off the 5-yard setback and scrambled for 9 yards and 15 yards to move the Eagles to Atlanta’s 19.
With comedian Shane Gillis and actor Bradley Cooper among the fans cheering on the Eagles, Hurts connected with Smith in the back of the end zone for a 7-yard TD that made it 7-3.
Under new defensive coordinator Vince Fangio, the Eagles have established an early knack for allowing long drives that end with three points instead of seven. Koo kicked field goals of 39, 22 and 34 yards, the last one enough for a 9-7 lead in the third quarter. In their opener, the Eagles held the Packers to just three field goals when they drove inside the 20.
Questionable call
Rather than take a chip-shot field goal from Elliott, the Eagles’ fourth-and-4 gamble at Atlanta’s 9-yard line in the first quarter failed when Hurts threw an incomplete pass.
Elliott kicked a 29-yarder with 4:31 left in the third quarter for a 10-9 lead.
Running wild
Bijan Robinson ran for 97 yards for the Falcons. The Eagles stuffed him late on fourth-and-1 at the Atlanta 39.
Barkley was quiet until the go-ahead drive, a week after he rushed for 109 yards and scored three touchdowns against Green Bay. Eagles fans booed when the opening drive of the game ended without Barkley touching the ball. They went wild when he had consecutive 9-yard runs to open the second drive. Barkley had 40 yards rushing in the first half.
Foles honored
Former Eagles QB Nick Foles, who led the franchise to its only Super Bowl title, served as an honorary captain and led the crowd in a rendition of “Fly, Eagles, Fly.”
Injuries
The Falcons played without LB Nate Landman (calf, quad).
Up next
Atlanta hosts Super Bowl champion Kansas City on Sunday.
The Eagles play at New Orleans on Sunday.
___
AP NFL:
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
TORONTO – Singles star Leylah Fernandez and doubles specialist Gabriela Dabrowski will anchor Canada’s five-player lineup when the team tries to defend its Billie Jean King Cup title in mid-November.
The 26th-ranked Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open finalist from Laval, Que., is the lone Canadian in the top 100 of the WTA Tour’s singles rankings.
Dabrowski, from Ottawa, is ranked fourth on the doubles list. The 2023 U.S. Open women’s doubles champion won mixed doubles bronze with Felix Auger-Aliassime at the recent Paris Olympics.
Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., returns after a breakout performance last year, capped by her singles win in Canada’s 2-0 victory over Italy in the final. Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino is also back and Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion from Mississauga, Ont., returns to the squad for the first time since 2022.
“Winning the Billie Jean King Cup in 2023 was a dream come true for us, and not only that, but I feel like we made a statement to the world about the strength of this nation when it comes to tennis,” Canada captain Heidi El Tabakh said Monday in a release. “Once again, we have a very strong team this year with Bianca joining Leylah, Gaby, Rebecca and Marina, making it an extremely powerful team that is more than capable of going all the way.
“At the end of the day, our goal is to make Canada proud, and we’ll do our best to bring the same level of effort and excitement that we had in last year’s finals.”
Fernandez, who beat Jasmine Paolini to clinch Canada’s first-ever title at the competition, is ranked No. 42 in doubles.
Canada, which received an automatic berth as defending champion, will play the winner of the first-round tie between Great Britain and Germany on Nov. 17 at Malaga’s Martin Carpena Arena.
Australia, Italy and wild-card entry Czechia also received first-round byes. The tournament, which continues through Nov. 20, also includes host Spain, Slovakia, the United States, Poland, Japan and Romania.
Stakusic is up 27 spots to No. 128 in the latest world singles rankings. Marino is at No. 134 and Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, is ranked 167th.
Canada will look to become the first team since Czechia in 2016 to successfully defend its Billie Jean King Cup title.
Malaga will also host the Nov. 19-24 Davis Cup Final 8. The Canadian men qualified over the weekend with a 2-1 victory over Great Britain in Manchester.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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