Ticats’ Martell Mallett signing could spell end for Cobourne…but it doesn’t have to

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats made one of the most surprising moves of the 2012 CFL offseason Monday, signing former B.C. Lions' running back Martell Mallett, who went to the NFL after winning the CFL's outstanding rookie award in 2009 with the Lions. As both Drew Edwards and Josh Smith point out, the move could spell the end of Avon Cobourne's time in Hamilton. Despite his remarkable playoff performance in the Tiger-Cats' 52-44 victory over Montreal, Cobourne is coming off a down year overall where he only averaged 4.8 yards per rush (a career-low average, except for seven and 33-attempt seasons in Montreal in 2006 and 2007), and he is turning 33 in March. As we've seen earlier this offesason with the release of Joffrey Reynolds, the CFL often isn't kind to older running backs, especially ones like Cobourne with large contracts. Despite all that, though, it's quite possible that the team could still keep Cobourne for at least this season.

First, it's worth pointing out that Cobourne was still reasonably effective in 2011 despite the decline in his yards-per-carry average. 961 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns are not bad totals, and Cobourne added another 459 yards on 50 receptions, which speaks to his value as a receiver out of the backfield. Yes, he was inconsistent at times, but on an offence frequently described as "the CFL's Jekyll and Hyde", inconsistency was hardly unique to Cobourne. In fact, he was one of their better weapons for much of the year, and one who was particularly focused on by many defences thanks to the problems with Hamilton's downfield passing game. Having a highly-paid 33-year-old running back is obviously concerning, but Cobourne hasn't looked particularly washed up yet. If the Tiger-Cats wanted to keep him for at least the 2012 campaign, there would be a case for that decision. Heck, that's what most expected them to do before the Mallett signing dropped out of the blue.

It's also well worth pointing out that Mallett is far from a proven saviour. He has all of one CFL season under his belt, and although his 2009 campaign with B.C. was highly impressive (he ran for 1,240 yards and six touchdowns, caught 43 passes for 342 yards and two touchdowns, averaged 5.8 yards per carry and picked up a franchise-record 213 rushing yards in one game), it isn't exactly a large sample size. Moreover, since then, Mallett has been bouncing around the NFL, getting picked up and eventually cut by the Philadelphia Eagles, the Cleveland Browns, the Eagles again and finally the New York Giants. He never recorded a single regular-season NFL statistic, and left the Giants with an injury settlement in August, so he may have health concerns as well. He's only 25, so if healthy he should have plenty of good years left, but the annals of those who have had one amazing CFL season and never again reached that peak are lengthy.

This is why the most logical solution for the Tiger-Cats may be keeping both Cobourne and Mallett, at least through training camp and potentially through the entire 2012 season. Relying on either exclusively could be problematic, but both have potential for a solid campaign. Of course, the Tiger-Cats also have the soon-to-be-25 Terry Grant, who impressed with a 7.6 yards per carry average last season, but over half of his 151 yards came from a single 89-yard run, so he's far from a sure thing either. The long-term future of the Hamilton running back position would appear to be with younger players like Grant and Mallett, but that doesn't mean that future has to be right now. It's worth noting that Mallett's contract may not be huge (as he hasn't played anywhere since August, seems to have run out of NFL options, and most CFL teams aren't looking for starting running backs right now), and Hamilton should be in a decent salary-cap position thanks to renegotiating Henry Burris' contract, so it may be possible to keep all three running backs around.

Regardless of what the Tiger-Cats decide to do with Cobourne, though, the point is that signing Mallett doesn't mean they have to cut him this season. They obviously can if they want to, and that would certainly free up some dollars, but that would also mean that they're relying on a tandem of young, relatively unproven backs for this campaign. Given that Hamilton appears to be trying to win now (which moves like trading for soon-to-be-37 quarterback Henry Burris would suggest), that could be a significant problem. Keeping Cobourne and Mallett at least through training camp and potentially throughout the season would give them some insurance against either age suddenly catching up with Cobourne or Mallett showing that he's lost some of what he once had. As both of those are somewhat reasonable concerns, an insurance policy might not be a bad idea.