Bombers release long-time vets Jason Vega and Steve Morley: for cap reasons?

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers made two somewhat-surprising cuts Monday, parting ways with American defensive end Jason Vega and Canadian offensive guard Steve Morley. Both had been long-time members of the club; Morley, who was picked first overall in the 2003 CFL draft (by Calgary), had been with Winnipeg since 2009, while Vega first joined the Bombers in 2011, starred with them for a couple of seasons, went to the NFL in 2013 and returned to Winnipeg in 2014. Both are prominent players, too. Bombers' general manager Kyle Walters appears to have attributed their release to salary cap concerns in the team's release:

It's remarkable to see Vega's release in particular, as he's arguably been Winnipeg's most prominent player recently. He was the team's representative at the sneak peek of the league-wide new uniforms last year, and he was one of the team's two models (with QB Drew Willy) when they fully unveiled their new jerseys. Yes, he battled through some injuries last season and missed nine games, but he did record five sacks and 16 tackles in the games he did play. He's also just 27; it would seem likely he's got some good years left, unless those injuries continue to plague him. It's going to be interesting to see where he lands.

Releasing Morley is also interesting. Yes, he's older at 33, but lots of offensive linemen manage to keep playing and playing well into their mid-to-late 30s. His release was a little more expected, especially considering that Winnipeg spent big on offensive linemen in free agency, signing Canadian centre Dominic Picard and import tackles Stanley Bryant and Marc Dile. Lots of teams always need Canadian linemen, though, and if Morley wants to keep playing, he may well get a shot elsewhere too.

Seeing long-time popular players like Vega and Morley go certainly will be painful for some Winnipeg fans, and this decision won't necessarily work out all that well for the team. The timing is also curious; if this was thanks to their free-agent spending, why wait until months later to release these guys? However, there's at least some potential logic behind the move.

In a cap-driven league, players have to be judged not just by what they bring to the table, but by how much of their production could potentially be replaced by someone cheaper. Walters is gambling that he can find cheaper players to fill Vega and Morley's roles (or that those replacements are already in-house). That isn't always easy, though; experience has its own benefits, and not everyone teams think has the potential to step up is capable of actually doing so. We'll see if these cuts prove to be the right move, or if they'll come back to haunt the Bombers.