No news on the Bo Levi Mitchell front seems to be good news for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Hamilton acquired Mitchell's rights from the Calgary Stampeders in November for a 2023 third-round pick, '24 fifth-round selection and future considerations. That gave the Ticats an exclusive negotiating window with the veteran quarterback until Feb. 14, when he's slated to become a CFL free agent.
Mitchell hasn't yet signed with Hamilton, but the two sides continue to talk.
"There's ongoing communication and we're hopeful to get a deal done," Orlondo Steinauer, Hamilton's head coach/president of football operations, said via telephone from the CFL winter meetings in Kananaskis, Alta. "There's been consistent communication before and after the New Year and our position remains the same, that we'd like to get something done."
Mitchell made it clear he wanted to test free agency after the Ticats acquired his rights. Last month, Mitchell and his wife visited Hamilton and met with club officials.
Mitchell, 32, spent 10 seasons with Calgary, leading the franchise to Grey Cup wins in 2014 and '18 (named game MVP both times). Twice the Katy, Texas, native was the CFL's outstanding player (2016, '18), earning league all-star nods each year.
But the six-foot-two, 199-pound Mitchell lost his starting job last season to youngster Jake Maier. The writing was on the wall regarding Mitchell's future in Calgary when the club signed Maier a two-year extension last September.
After the '21 season, Hamilton committed to Dane Evans, who started in two Grey Cup losses to Winnipeg (2019, '21). The Ticats signed Evans to a two-year deal — reportedly worth over $400,000 annually — allowing incumbent Jeremiah Masoli to join the Ottawa Redblacks.
Evans had a roller-coaster '22 season. He had a solid 66.7 per cent completion average and finished fourth in the CFL passing (3,883 yards) despite battling a shoulder injury.
Evans also had 16 interceptions — tying him with Saskatchewan's Cody Fajardo for the league lead — and led the CFL in fumbles (eight) and fumbles lost (seven). Evans admitted during the season to pressing too much and credited team psychiatrist Dr. Carla Edwards with helping put him in a good spot mentally.
It was also an up-and-down season for the Ticats, who opened the campaign with four straight losses and had a 3-9 record following a 28-8 Labour Day loss to Toronto. Hamilton (8-10) finished the regular season with four straight wins for third in the East Division before losing 28-17 to the Montreal Alouettes in the conference semifinal.
Nine days later, Hamilton acquired Mitchell's rights.
"This (explaining '22 season) is a hard conversation to have because it's a team sport but there's just key components that contribute to consistent winning," Steinauer said. "There were some key components that were very inconsistent for us and caused us to be extremely average at times.
"Once those things were solidified towards the end of the year . . . I think you saw a more consistent football team. I don't make excuses. I let people who really want to know possibly what happened, they can do their own deep dive and see we were behind the 8-ball a little bit at times."
This marks the second straight off-season Hamilton has been faced with a difficult decision involving a veteran player. Last year, the Ticats and star receiver Brandon Banks mutually parted ways after eight seasons.
Banks, the '19 CFL outstanding player, joined arch-rival Toronto and earned his first career Grey Cup title.
"It's a tough scenario, there's no doubt about it," said Steinauer. "You've got to be flexible, you've got to be bent-kneed and not locked and just be as transparent as you're able to.
"You always feel for the person. Unfortunately there's the business aspect and sometimes tough decisions really need to be made."
Hamilton will host the '23 Grey Cup game at Tim Hortons Field. The Ticats last won a CFL title in 1999 and own the league's longest championship drought.
Hamilton had home field for the '21 Grey Cup, losing a gut-wrenching 33-25 overtime decision to Winnipeg at Tim Hortons Field. But for Steinauer, there's no added pressure on Hamilton as the game host.
"The only thing you can focus on is the process and 'How are we getting better today,'" Steinauer said. "I understand the expectations from the outside are present but we would've loved to be in the Grey Cup in Saskatchewan (last year's game was in Regina).
"Saskatchewan was faced with it (hosting Grey Cup) last year and we were faced with it before. I feel like there's always 'pressure' in this business to perform but ultimately the goal is the same for everybody."
The past two seasons have also been tough on Ticats' receiver Bralon Addison, who has battled injuries since registering 95 catches for 1,236 yards and seven TDs in 2019. Addison has appeared in just 11 games the last two seasons, recording 61 catches for 664 yards).
Addison tweeted Jan. 3 that, after two Achilles surgeries, he was off crutches. While he still was walking with a limp, Addison added, "but we making progress baby."
Steinauer isn't expecting Addison to be ready for the start of training camp.
"People heal quickly but I'd think it would be extremely optimistic to think he'd be ready," Steinauer said. "It will probably be some time after training camp.
"He's had health concerns and you hope he's able to come back and be a contributor but you just don't know."
Linebackers Simoni Lawrence, Kameron Kelly and Jovan Santos-Knox are among the 22 other Ticats with expiring contracts, leaving the club with much work to do between now and then.
"I don't know how active we'll be (in free agency)," Steinauer said. "Some of that will be predicated on if we're able to re-sign some of our own."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 11, 2023.
Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press
