Kory Sheets signs with Raiders, increasing Riders’ losses and forcing an offensive identity shift

The Grey Cup champion Saskatchewan Roughriders have suffered substantial losses already this offseason, and they took another hit in free agency Wednesday—but not from a fellow CFL team. Instead, it came from the NFL's Oakland Raiders, who signed former Riders' running back Kory Sheets. Sheets' loss isn't entirely unexpected, as he had previously worked out for several NFL teams, including the Raiders and the Indianapolis Colts, and there could have been a free-agency bidding war for him even if he did stay in the CFL. However, his departure still adds to the significant attrition the Riders have already experienced this offseason, and it perhaps leaves a bigger hole than any of the team's other losses.

What Sheets did in 2013 was remarkable. Early on in the year, he set a record for the most rushing yards ever in a three-game stretch, incredible considering how the CFL's adapted into more and more of a passing league over the years. Sheets' presence allowed the Riders to become a throwback team that ran the ball far more than anyone else, and that strategy paid off for them, as they used it both to have a dominant first half of the season and to make a run through the playoffs to the Grey Cup. It was a strategy centred around Sheets, though, so it's no coincidence that they went into a three-game skid when he got hurt snapped that slump when he returned. He was also crucial to their Grey Cup victory, setting an all-time record with 197 rushing yards and shattering Johnny Bright's 1956 record of 169 yards in the process. While Saskatchewan also found success through the air with Darian Durant and an impressive receiving corps, and while their solid defence played a major role in their Grey Cup win, Sheets was the core of the Roughriders' offensive identity. He won't be easy to replace.

How will Sheets do in the NFL? Well, there's no guarantee of success for players going from the CFL into that league; while some turn into stars south of the border, many bounce around from team to team or get cut altogether, and the NFL's offseason roster expansion to 90 players (while the in-season roster limit is just 61) means a lot of the players who sign there aren't necessarily going to stick. Sheets' odds would seem to be more favourable than most, though. While his initial NFL stint as an undrafted free agent out of Purdue wasn't that promising (he played in just two games with three teams from 2009-2011), he has decent size (he's listed as 5'11'', 206 pounds), much more than most CFL running backs, and that could make him a better fit for the size-focused American game than many who have tried to make the transition. It helps that multiple NFL teams were interested in him, too, as that interest likely helped drive his reported $30,000 signing bonus, quite large for a CFL player. More than anything, that speaks to his chances of sticking around; teams don't offer bonuses unless they're pretty sold on a player. That's good news for Sheets, but bad news for Riders' fans hoping he'd come back quickly.

Adding to the Riders' problems is that Sheets is far from the only loss they've suffered. Star receiver Weston Dressler also went to the NFL this offseason, signing with the Colts at the end of January, and the team's already lost several key players in free agency and pre-free-agency deals, including Canadian LB/DB Craig Butler, import LB Abraham Kromah and import backup QB Drew Willy. None of those guys will be particularly simple to replace. Sheets may be the most difficult to make up for, though, considering how much of their offensive identity was bound up in him. We'll see where they go from here, but it's likely going to be a very different-looking Rider offence next season.