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CFL News & Rumors

Shane Ray Signs With Toronto Argonauts

February 6th, 2021 at 3:44pm CST by Sam Robinson

Former Broncos first-round pick Shane Ray will resurface in Canada. The CFL’s Toronto Argonauts signed the veteran pass rusher Saturday.

Ray has not played in a regular-season NFL game since his Broncos rookie contract expired in 2018. The Ravens signed Ray after the 2019 draft but ended up releasing him prior to the regular season, leading the Mizzou product to the in-season workout circuit. None of those auditions produced a contract.

The Broncos traded up for Ray in 2015, and he saw action for Denver’s dominant defense that season. Ray and Shaquil Barrett served as rotational rushers for the Broncos’ Super Bowl champion team, and the duo remained key Von Miller sidekicks through the 2018 season.

Ray notched eight sacks and 21 QB hits in 2016, a season in which DeMarcus Ware missed extensive time, and registered 14 sacks in four NFL slates. Barrett, however, has substantially improved his NFL standing since becoming a free agent in 2019. Ray, 27, could not find a similar launching pad but will attempt to do so in Toronto.

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted the CFL to cancel its 2020 season. The league is scheduled to resume play in June.

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/11/20

May 11th, 2020 at 11:06am CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

Las Vegas Raiders

  • Waived: LB Derrick Moncrief

The Raiders signed Moncrief, a former CFL all-star, to a reserve/future deal in January. Since then, they’ve added a number of linebackers via free agency and the draft, squeezing the 26-year-old out of the 90-man roster. In March, the Raiders picked up Cory Littleton and Nick Kwiatkoski to bolster their LB group. Then, in the third round, they tapped Clemson product Tanner Muse. Moncrief will look to catch on with another NFL club while his former league faces a likely cancellation of the 2020 season.

CFL Likely To Cancel 2020 Season

May 11th, 2020 at 10:58am CST by Zachary Links

As of this writing, the NFL is planning to forge ahead with its 2020 season, as scheduled. North of the border, in the CFL, it’s not quite as likely.

[RELATED: NFL Lays Out Plan For Reopening Facilities]

“Our best-case scenario for this year is a drastically truncated season,” commissioner Randy Ambrosie told Canada’s House of Commons (via The Associated Press). “And our most likely scenario is no season at all…Ours is a big brand but not a wealthy business. Unlike large U.S.-based leagues, our biggest source of revenue is not TV — it’s ticket sales.”

Ambrosie explained that the government’s measures to protect the public against COVID 19 “have made it impossible” for the CFL to operate. The NFL and professional sports leagues all across North America are faced with similar obstacles, though they’re better equipped to handle them from a financial standpoint. In 2019, Ambrosie says the CFL lost $20MM. The NFL, meanwhile, took in roughly $16 billion in revenue with profits skyrocketing past their operating costs. Much of that money, as Ambrosie said, comes from lucrative TV deals.

With that in mind, the CFL isn’t necessarily a canary in the coal mine for the NFL. Dr. Anthony Fauci says the NFL has to test players early and often in order to play games, but that’s a feasible expense for Roger Goodell & Co., thanks to the TV money.