Bombers sign Canadian LB Sam Hurl; will they be able to use him as a starter?

It took a while for the first free agent signings to happen Tuesday, with teams perhaps learning from the fine Edmonton general manager Ed Hervey received for his 2013 jumping of the gun. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers gave us the first official deal around 1:35 p.m. Eastern, an hour and a half after free agency started, with Kirk Penton of The Winnipeg Sunreporting that they'd signed Canadian linebacker Sam Hurl from the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Hurl was one of our five players to keep an eye on, so it's appropriate that he's started the free agency wave. The big question may be about how the Bombers plan to utilize him.

The Roughriders picked Hurl 12th overall in the 2012 CFL draft following his strong CIS career with the Calgary Dinos, and he quickly turned into a valuable special teams player for them, recording 17 special teams tackles that first season. Injuries limited him in 2013, though, and it wasn't until this year he got a chance to be a regular contributor on defence. He started nine of Saskatchewan's 18 games, recording 36 tackles and two fumble recoveries. Hurl is still a solid special-teams player (he notched 16 tackles on special teams this year), but the question is if he can make the jump to being a regular defensive starter, and if Winnipeg will give him that chance.

CFL free agency is often about fit as well as money and term, and it seems likely that the Bombers said they'd give Hurl at least an opportunity to earn a starting spot. There was interest in him from other teams, including Saskatchewan and Ottawa, so this wasn't Hurl jumping at the only opportunity he saw. Winnipeg didn't regularly start a Canadian at linebacker last season, but the Bombers have found success with that approach before, with Henoc Muamba doing well enough for them at middle linebacker to earn an NFL spot. As Ed Tait of The Winnipeg Free Press writes, Winnipeg's also accumulated some Canadian depth in the linebacking corps, which should give them the ability to start one guy (likely Hurl, but camp competitions could change that) without having to juggle the import ratio if he gets hurt:

There's high upside here for the Bombers. Hurl played well for the Roughriders in the nine games he did start in 2014, and he contributed at a couple of different positions in the linebacking corps. However, there is risk involved as well. Hurl's resume as a starter is relatively thin, so this is still a gamble that he can handle that role. If not, one of their other Canadian linebackers may be able to step up, but if that doesn't work out, then they could be faced with some midseason ratio juggling. At the least, Hurl gives them a proven Canadian special-teams presence, which is always valuable. Winnipeg fans will certainly be hoping that they get a Canadian defensive starter out of this too, though.