Yahoo Sports 
Riders sign Kevin Glenn as a short-term insurance policy, but what will that mean for them in the long run?
that long-time CFL quarterback Kevin Glenn will be returning to his first team, the Saskatchewan Roughriders, makes a lot of sense for him. There weren't any starting jobs available this offseason, and beyond the full-circle nature of this, his chances of potentially playing a significant role seem higher in Saskatchewan (where starting quarterback Darian Durant has missed lots of time recently, and where there are no other terribly intriguing pivots on the roster) than they would just about anywhere else. However, while this deal offers some potential short-term benefits for the Roughriders, it also could deprive them of other opportunities to strengthen their roster elsewhere and/or build for the long term. Will trying to mitigate short-term injury risk work out for Saskatchewan, or is this a deal that's better for the player than the team?
The logic behind the Riders' decision to sign Glenn is easily apparent given their 2014 season. They were rolling along fine until Durant went down in early September, but they fell off a cliff after that. Primary backup Tino Sunseri was mostly ineffective and third-stringer Seth Doege was even worse, leading the team to bring 41-year-old Kerry Joseph out of retirement in October and start him a week later. Joseph was their main starter down the stretch and in their playoff game against Edmonton, but he was pulled after throwing five interceptions in that one, and Sunseri couldn't lead the Riders to a comeback. Joseph then retired (again) this offseason. Signing Glenn gives Saskatchewan a younger (he'll be 36 in June) option than Joseph, and one who's been a CFL starter more recently (he largely filled that role for B.C. last year thanks to Travis Lulay's injury issues), but someone with much more three-down experience than Sunseri or Doege. If Durant is hurt again, that could be quite useful. However, there are potential problems to consider as well.
For one thing, Glenn wasn't terribly good last season. Yes, he threw for 3,918 yards and 17 touchdowns, but that came with 17 interceptions and just a 85.2 quarterback rating as well. It says a lot about his play that the Lions, who still have Lulay's health to worry about, didn't offer Glenn a new contract. Some of that may not be Glenn's fault, as B.C. had playcalling and schematic issues under first-year offensive coordinator Khari Jones and also saw some less-than-stellar performances from several receivers, but it's notable that his stock isn't at anything near a high right now. He'll also be another year older this season, and while some quarterbacks can be effective in their late 30s and early 40s, not all of them can. While Glenn certainly knows the CFL (he's eighth in all-time passing yardage), there's no guarantee he'll even be able to keep playing at the level he showed in 2014, much less improve on that. Thus, while Glenn may provide some insurance, just how effective that insurance will be is up for debate.
Even if we were to assume that Glenn will, in fact, be the best possible quarterback option the Roughriders could come up with if Durant is hurt (there are decent odds in favour of this, but as the preceding paragraph illustrates, it's far from a sure thing), that doesn't necessarily make this a good move. Every CFL signing comes with an opportunity cost; you've now committed part of your salary cap and likely at least some of your playing time to a particular player, meaning those resources can't be used elsewhere. Those are important elements to consider here as well.
First, let's discuss the money. Given Glenn's veteran status, he's likely making at least a bit more than a CFL rookie (or even someone with a little experience like Sunseri) would. That's money Saskatchewan will be spending on the backup quarterback position that they wouldn't if they'd gone a different route, and that means they have less money for the rest of the roster. That likely means they'll have one or two less-proven players instead of alternatives; consider how they signed free agent OL Gord Hinse, who's shown some potential, but wasn't one of the most-coveted linemen on the market. Exactly how much money Saskatchewan's paying for Glenn versus a generic replacement quarterback isn't known thanks to the CFL's hidden salaries, but it seems fair to assume that they could have found a cheaper option and thus had more money to spend elsewhere. Investing in the backup quarterback position like this may also pay off, but it requires two separate things to happen: Durant getting hurt and Glenn replacing him effectively. Neither of those is a guarantee.
There's also the matter of playing time to consider. Giving Glenn QB2 reps (in practices and possibly in games) means that those reps aren't going to a younger quarterback the Riders could be developing. Whether that should be Sunseri, Doege or someone else who isn't currently on the roster is another subject of debate, but it's clear that Saskatchewan isn't actively developing a quarterback with Glenn as their primary backup. (There is still some development of the #3 and #4 quarterbacks, and Glenn may even be able to help there given his experience, but that would seem likely to be less valuable than repeated reps at #2.)
Will that matter in the end? Not necessarily; Durant's only 32, so if he stays healthy, they may not need a replacement any time soon (and building up a replacement too soon can cause them to leave for a starting job elsewhere, as Saskatchewan found with Drew Willy, Toronto found with Zach Collaros and B.C. found with Mike Reilly). However, developing backups that way gives you a potential trade chip at worst (both Saskatchewan and B.C. got something in return for those moves), and it gives you perhaps your next franchise quarterback at best. Bringing in Glenn suggests that the Riders are putting quarterback development on the back burner for now in favour of focusing on winning now. That may well pay off for them in the short term if Durant stays healthy and effective or if Glenn proves to be a reliable replacement for him. This move should be considered in terms of what they're not doing as well as in terms of what they are doing, though. They're not focused on developing a young QB, and they're investing resources in their backup quarterback that could be used elsewhere. We'll see if those decisions prove to be the right call.
