Can the Bombers’ trade of Alex Hall be a win-win? Yes, if you focus on different years

It's rare to see high-profile players traded midseason, and it's even rarer when the player in question is currently leading the CFL in quarterback sacks. That's the case with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers' decision late Sunday to send import defensive end Alex Hall and a second-round 2014 pick to Saskatchewan in exchange for Canadian offensive lineman Patrick Neufeld and a fourth-round 2015 pick. Reactions out of Regina are very favourable, as they should be for a team acquiring a player of Hall's calibre and improving their draft picks along the way, but there's some optimism about this move in Winnipeg as well, and that's not ill-founded. Can both teams really profit from this trade? The answer is yes, but only if you consider that they're looking at different timeframes.

There's not much question that this move makes Saskatchewan better this year and Winnipeg worse. Hall is one of the league's best pass-rushers, and although the Riders don't have a huge need there thanks to the presence of two strong ends in Ricky Foley and John Chick, bringing him in could allow them to use a rotational system that keeps everyone fresh. The B.C. Lions, amongst other teams, have found great success doing just that along their defensive line the past few years. Meanwhile, while Neufeld was Saskatchewan's starting right tackle earlier this season after he returned from a broken leg, he's been replaced by import Devin Tyler for the last two games (Tyler shifted over from the right guard slot, which has since been filled by 2012 top draft pick Ben Heenan). Trading a backup offensive lineman for the league leader in sacks should make the Riders stronger as they approach the playoffs.

The value for Winnipeg is in the longer run, though. While the 2-12 Bombers haven't been officially eliminated from postseason contention yet (they could theoretically make the playoffs by winning their final four games and having the Montreal Alouettes lose their last four), this season is all but over for them. This isn't a team that has much of a chance of postseason action, and it likely isn't a team that could do much in the playoffs even if it somehow got there. It is a team that needs to build for the future, and that's what interim general manager Kyle Walters is doing here. While Hall's incredibly talented, he's a free agent after the season and has already indicated he wants to test the NFL waters. Plenty of CFL sack artists have successfully made that transition in the past, including Cameron Wake, Armond Armstead, Jason Vega and Phillip Hunt. Hall's 28 with some past NFL experience, and he would seem likely to at least get a look south of the border. Even if he didn't, though, he'd still be a CFL free agent, and it's unlikely he'd resign in Winnipeg. Thus, he's an asset for the rest of this season, but not likely one for the Bombers after that.

By contrast, Neufeld is under contract through 2015, and the Bombers already expressed interest in him this offseason before he resigned with Saskatchewan. While he's battled a broken leg this year and hasn't been dominant when he has played, he's a young (24) Canadian with the ability to play tackle. Those guys are rare: in fact, although Heenan has mostly played guard thus far, a big part of what led to him being taken first overall was his potential ability to fill a tackle slot. With 2012 first-round pick (third overall) Tyson Pencer not making a prime-time impact just yet, Neufeld is an intriguing addition who should firm up the Bombers' Canadian content and give them more depth along the offensive line. That was definitely a weak spot for them this season: the team used three Americans on the line earlier this year thanks to a wave of injuries and a lack of Canadian depth, which hindered their ratio flexibility elsewhere, and they threw imports Dan Knapp and Jarvis Jones into the fire, starting them only days after signing them.

This isn't Walters' first move to beef up his offensive line, as he traded for Toronto non-import centre/guard Marc Parenteau last month. (Parenteau is currently on the nine-game injured list, though.) It's unlikely to be his last, either; that's a group that has some talented veterans, including Glenn January and Steve Morley, but has substantial questions about its younger faces and about its overall depth. Neufeld should help on both those fronts, and he's an acquisition that could pay off down the road. He's not a player of Hall's calibre thus far, but that doesn't mean Winnipeg lost this trade. The Riders are just very focused on the now, as they should be (and they didn't give up too much to really hurt their future), while the Bombers' front office is already looking to next year, as they should be. It's a case of two organizations dealing with different timeframes, and both could wind up profiting from this trade.