Apologies for not getting this up this morning, things are a bit hectic around the Prophet household. Also sorry for you out-of-province readers who have to suffer through the daylights saving switch... we of course don't bother with such nonsense here. I mean can you imagine the chaos among livestock?
Kory Sheets unpredictably become the hot topic of discussion on the prairies last week after he tweeted that he was done in Oakland. This is Riderville where hysteria reigns supreme so of course this logically led to a determination that he was coming back here. With that mystery solved maybe speculation-crazy Rider Nation can turn its attention to other pressing matters.
But if I could call you back to the land of reality for a minute, Kory Sheets' homceoming is far from a sure thing. In fact 4 things have to happen for it to happen:
1 - Sheets must be healthy
He's less than a year removed from blowing his achilles. Before he can play football anywhere he needs to show he's recovered. I don't doubt he's worked as hard as he can at rehab. I don't doubt he will recover. But he's not healthy today and it may be months, midseason or even next year before he is back to 100%.
2 - Sheets must be done in NFL
I'm guessing this one is a formality but he will no doubt explore any options down south. Can't imagine the market for an over 30 RB coming his second blown achilles is huge but hey its not like logic and sound judgement characterize the likes of the Jacksonville's and NY Jets' of the world
3 - We must be interested in Sheets
Interested is a relative term since everyone is interested depending on the price. So while we are no doubt interested, our valuation may be affected things like his legal issues (though not likely, talent trumps character), his age, his injury history, and our money situation. We don't NEED Sheets with Allen, Miller and Messam around so there will be a price limit on our interest.
4 - We must be the top bidder
Coming off his second Achilles injury and nearing the later stages of a normal football career Sheets would be stupid not to maximize his value now. That means testing the market. Fortunately for us I don't see a lot of other CFL teams willing to get in a bidding war for Sheets. Teams like Hamilton, Montreal, Edmonton and Calgary are already set at RB depth. Wally Buono hates over 30 players at any position let alone one as replaceable as RB (no to mention he has Harris and Antolin) so BC is out. Sheets fits Toronto's ex-NFL RB criteria but they already have Steele, Slaton and Scott so I doubt they have much beyond a cursory interest.
That leaves us, Winnipeg and Ottawa as the only teams I see as potentially having serious interest. Now Winnipeg is high on Paris Cotton and just signed him to a new deal so that will temper their interest a lot in my opinion. One prominent media member has said he bets the Bombers sign Sheets but this particular person's track record on rumours is so abysmal that this statement has next to zero credibility. Ottawa has Chevon Walker but if his history shows anything its that he will have 2-3 great games and then disappear into irrelevance. Not sure how much of their big $$$ is left after ridiculously overspending on receivers but I imagine they have some coin. I think Winnipeg or Ottawa would have to offer a lot more money than us for Sheets not to pick the Riders and I don't see any team throwing big $$ at him. His health is a question and he missed the big money portion of free agency.
So odds are pretty good Sheets ends up here but a) it might not be until later in the season and b) it is far from a sure thing.
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