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Argos release Hazelton, Gurley and Elliott, their top three receivers last year
In 2015, the Toronto Argonauts' top three receivers were a trio of talented rookies, Vidal Hazelton, Tori Gurley and Kevin Elliott. Those three receivers, dubbed "The Three Towers" by CFL.ca's Don Landry, looked likely to have the Argos set at the position for years to come, and that was part of why they let the Ticats outbid them for veteran receiver/returner Chad Owens in free agency. It didn't work out that way at all, though; in a relatively shocking move Monday evening, the Argos announced (a couple of hours after TSN's Matthew Scianitti first reported it) that they've released all three of Hazelton, Gurley and Elliott, plus fellow receiver Phil Bates. This release comes only a day after Toronto head coach Scott Milanovich went on a rant about a few unnamed players on his team:
"There are a couple of guys that maybe aren’t on board as much as they need to be,” Milanovich told reporters following Sunday’s game in Montreal. “It starts with the preparation, it starts with the attitude in the locker-room. Coaches, players, staff — everybody. We need to make sure it’s the right one. We’ve got to get the right people on the bus. That’s where we’re at at this point.”
Milanovich's comments in the release also make it seem like attitude may have been a factor:
“Obviously these decisions are very difficult to make, but I believe they are in the best interest of this football team,” said Head Coach Scott Milanovich. “We remain committed to winning this year and making a final push for the playoffs.”
The production these three guys put up last year was remarkable. Hazelton led the team with 803 receiving yards on 70 catches and had 10 touchdowns, earning both a selection as the Argos' rookie of the year and the divisional nomination for the league-wide award, while Gurley posted 791 yards and 10 touchdowns (tied for the CFL lead) on 58 catches and Elliott added 642 yards and eight touchdowns on 50 catches. However, things weren't going as well for them this year. Gurley and Elliott both missed time with injuries, and Hazelton was frequently a healthy scratch. Still, based on on-field production alone, this would be surprising; Gurley was the third-leading receiver on the team with 509 yards and led the Argos with five touchdowns despite playing in just nine games, while Hazelton and Elliott were fifth and sixth in yardage with 361 and 294 yards (and three and two touchdowns) respectively in eight games each. (Bates, by contrast, only played in two games and recorded three catches for 20 yards.)
This housecleaning gets more remarkable still when you consider these players' ages. They weren't the youngest rookies out there, as they all have some NFL experience, but Elliott is just 27 and Hazelton and Gurley are both 28. They should have plenty of good CFL seasons left from an age perspective, and they all showed they can post some significant production when called upon this year. That makes it very clear that this wasn't about their talent or their ability, and that will make it interesting to see if any other CFL team takes a look at them.
Lots of teams are out there looking for a playoff push, and a glut of proven CFL receivers just became available. Maybe in the right situation, one or more of these guys might find a perfect fit and resume their rise to CFL stardom. Other teams may be skeptical of adding them given Toronto's drastic action here, though. It's exceptionally rare to see teams cut young, talented and proven guys like this, and that rarity means there will be a lot of doubts hanging over these three guys going forward.
However, this also raises big questions about the Argonauts and their management. Is cutting three young, talented players like this really what's best for the club? A lot of that depends on what exactly these guys did, which we don't really know from outside, but it's worth pointing out that Montreal receivers Kenny Stafford and Duron Carter got in a much more public confrontation with quarterback Rakeem Cato a few weeks back, and all sides involved managed to get over it and come together to put up a spectacular performance against these Argos Sunday. Was releasing these three top players, who looked to be key components of the team's future so recently, really the best option? We'll find out, but it seems likely that Toronto's push towards the playoffs will get much more difficult without them.
