Argonauts bring back star RB Chad Kackert, add James Yurichuk to linebacking corps

Another one of the most notable free CFL agents out there is off the board, as the Toronto Argonauts signed 2012 Grey Cup MVP Chad Kackert to an extension Friday afternoon. Kackert was once thought to be headed to the NFL, and there was even a report Friday that he'd signed a deal with the New York Jets, but Kackert refuted that one himself on Twitter and later tweeted that he "couldn't be happier to be staying in Double Blue." Keeping him is a significant gain for the Argonauts, as is bringing in Canadian linebacker and Brampton native James Yurichuk from the B.C. Lions. Making it back to the Grey Cup is never easy, but newly-extended Toronto GM Jim Barker has kept one key piece of the puzzle that led to their triumph last year and added another player who might be an excellent fit.

Why would Kackert choose to stay in the CFL when he had NFL interest? Well, there are likely a couple of factors involved. For one thing, he's smaller (5'8'', 201 pounds) than most NFL running backs, and NFL executives have proven quite unwilling to give smaller RBs a serious chance in the past. For another, this is likely a function of what kind of NFL deal he was offered. With NFL training camp rosters expanded from 80 to 90 last season, but final rosters (active and practice) remaining at 53, there are 10 more players who will go to each NFL team's camp and wind up being cut each year. In fact, almost half of the players in a given NFL camp won't make that team (perhaps more than half if you consider that some practice roster slots are frequently given to other teams' cuts). Players who aren't offered significant signing bonuses are the most likely to be cut, and it's quite possible this happened with Kackert. If so, he may have opted to take a sure thing in the CFL over a vague possibility in the NFL. There's some logic to that, too, as many who have gone to the NFL and got cut have been unable to work their way back into key CFL roles. It's also possible Kackert just enjoys Toronto and wants to keep being a part of the Argos' success. In the end, regardless of why Kackert made this call, it's one that's going to make Toronto fans happy.

The Yurichuk signing is also potentially quite notable. The fourth-overall pick in the 2009 CFL draft, Yurichuk's had some impressive moments in B.C., but he's mostly been used as a special-teams player and a backup linebacker. There was speculation he'd take over the Lions' middle linebacking role last year, but that wound up going to Adam Bighill (who went on to have a tremendous year, obviously). At the very least, Yurichuk's an extremely capable special-teams player and backup, but he also perhaps has the potential to be a ratio-busting starter for Toronto. Keep in mind that the Argos have another impressive Canadian linebacker, too, Jason Pottinger. Teams are often hesitant to go to a Canadian starter if they don't have another non-import backup who can fill in in case of injury, but when a team accumulates two capable Canadians at a position, that's often a sign that they're looking to make it one of their non-import slots. That could be the case with the Argos this year. Toronto should be a good fit for Yurichuk, as he'll likely get more of a chance to show what he can do than he did in the Lions' stacked linebacking corps. The only challenge for him may be finding new mountains to celebrate on...