The defending Grey Cup Champions Stampeders had the most pressure on their shoulders, needing to
defend their title run in 2019 while facing a total of 30 free agents, while also losing key players
to the NFL and an important part of their coaching staff.
Overall Grade: B-
Losses
After winning the 106th Grey Cup the Stampeders were bound to lose a list of players to the
NFL and Free Agency. The defense took the biggest hit on the team with Defensive Coordinator
DeVone Claybrooks landing the head coaching job in BC.
They then lost All-Star linebackers Alex Singleton and Jameer Thurman to the Philadelphia
Eagles and Chicago Bears respectively. Also going to the Bears was D-lineman James
Vaughters and again to the Eagles the speedy receiver Marken Michel.
Then in Free Agency, the Stamps lost another key receiver DeVaris Daniels to the Eskimos. The
Canadian MOP in last year’s Grey Cup, Lemar Durant left for BC leaving the receiving corp thin.
But as mentioned before the defense took the hardest hit with the team losing Tunde Adeleke,
Micah Johnson, Patrick Levels, and Ja’Gared Davis all in Free Agency.
Additions
The biggest move for the Stamps this offseason was locking up their MVP quarterback Bo Levi
Mitchell. Bo signed on the first day of free agency amid rumors of NFL and other CFL interest.
Locking him up makes them Grey Cup contenders every year.
Calgary was able to limit some of the bleedings on defense locking up d-lineman Cordarro Law
and picking up defensive back Courtney Stephen from Hamilton. Junior Turner, Brandon Smith,
and Jamar Wall were also brought back on the defensive side, keeping some veteran presence
that can still ball on a weekly basis.
On offence John Hufnagel was able to keep receivers Juwan Brescacin, Kamar Jorden, and
Eric Rogers. Brescacin and Jorden proved to be valuable offensive weapons when the Stamps
losing key receivers late last year and Rogers has always been top in the league.
Overview
The Stampeders get a B- from me. They lost a lot of key players, on the defensive side of the
ball especially. But being able to keep Bo Levi from heading down south and locking up a few
big names on both sides of the ball was enough for them to stay competitive.
Stampeder teams as of late are always in the mix and always find talent to build from so the
losses to me aren’t ones that destroy this team. The biggest loss for me was De’Vone
Claybrooks. He was the DC for Calgary the last three seasons and the D-line coach four before
that.
Replacing Claybrooks is Brent Monson. Monson has coached with Calgary for nine seasons
including as linebacker coach for five. Taking over the role of LB coach is former Eskimo JC
Sherritt who retired just this past offseason. The move does keep some continuity amongst the
coaching staff and follows the same as Claybrooks himself, so promoting within was probably
the best move to make.
Time will tell if the moves made by Hufnagel were the right ones but either way I see Calgary
standing a good chance of defending their title.