Ottawa trades Kevin Glenn to B.C. for fifth-overall pick, then moves up to take Antoine Pruneau

It seems the Kevin Glenn watch is finally over. Glenn initially looked set to be the Ottawa Redblacks' inaugural starting quarterback this season after they acquired him in December's expansion draft, but their move to acquire Henry Burris in free agency left him disgruntled and asking for a trade. After months of waiting, the Redblacks granted his request during Tuesday's CFL draft, shipping Glenn to the B.C. Lions in exchange for the fifth-overall pick, which they then packaged with the 10th pick for Montreal's fourth and 13th picks, using those to take Montreal DB Antoine Pruneau and Queen's receiver Scott MacDonell respectively. That's a move that should solidify the Lions' quarterback depth chart behind Travis Lulay (recovering from shoulder surgery), and it should also provide some upside for Ottawa, which earlier sacrificed the first-overall pick in favour of a sure thing by acquiring Calgary lineman (and Ottawa resident) Jon Gott. Of course, that's all presuming that Glenn will accept a backup role in B.C., as he was quite unwilling to do so in Ottawa.

If Glenn does settle in behind Lulay, he could be a great addition for the Lions. Lulay's unquestionably the top quarterback in B.C., but he has been rather fragile lately, and with him still recovering from surgery, it will be nice for the Lions to have a little CFL experience behind him. They tried to do that earlier by signing former Edmonton, Saskatchewan, Winnipeg and Toronto quarterback Steven Jyles, but they weren't able to coax him to minicamp, and this move makes it seem likely that they're going in another direction. Glenn would seem an excellent candidate for that role; he's done a terrific job in Calgary over the last couple of years, filling in whenever Drew Tate's been hurt and helping the Stampeders to a Grey Cup berth in 2012 and a West Final berth in 2013. Glenn also has plenty of experience around the CFL, as this marks the sixth team he's been a part of; he's played for Saskatchewan, Winnipeg, Hamilton and Calgary, and was also briefly with Toronto and Ottawa. If he's willing to back up Lulay, he looks like the best possible option out there at that slot, and that could be important in a year where the Lions are hosting the Grey Cup (and will be even more eager than usual to get there); this is a very good B.C. team, but one that faltered a bit while Lulay was hurt last year. Upgrading their backup situation could work out well for them, as long as Glenn is willing to take a #2 job there.

Meanwhile, this move makes a lot of sense for Ottawa. They got rid of a toxic asset in Glenn, who could have been problematic as an unhappy player (and wasn't particularly necessary, as they've pretty well established Burris as the starter and Thomas De Marco as the young quarterback learning from him), and they received a high-enough pick to make it worth their while. Moreover, they got a good player in the process; Duane Forde cited Pruneau as his top defensive back prospect in this draft, and he's a natural fit at safety, which should give the Redblacks some depth there behind expansion draft acquisition Eric Fraser. This is a relatively shallow draft thanks to the eligibility rule changes, so getting back into the first round after trading their first-overall pick made a lot of sense for them. They also did so in return for a player who wasn't happy to be with them, and that should be a win-win. The question is just if B.C. will be happy with this trade, and a lot of that depends on how happy Glenn is with it.