Tiger-Cats release Cobourne, Rottier: how focused are they on winning now?
It turns out the signing of Martell Mallett did in fact spell doom for incumbent Hamilton Tiger-Cats running back Avon Cobourne. The team released Cobourne and offensive lineman Simeon Rottier Wednesday, and both of their replacements seem likely to be less experienced. The soon-to-be-33 Cobourne had a decent season for the Tiger-Cats in 2011 and played a crucial part in their playoff upset of Montreal, while Hamilton selected the 28-year-old Rottier first overall in the 2009 draft and appeared to have him as an important part of their offensive line; he started at right guard in every game they played in 2011. Both were deemed expendable, though, and replacing them is an interesting gamble for a team that appears to be trying to win now on several other fronts.
In Cobourne's case, the primary rationale here appears to be age and money. Older running backs don't tend to last too long in the CFL, and particularly not old, well-paid ones. Cobourne was a key free-agent acquisition by Hamilton in the 2011 offseason, and he reportedly picked up a deal in the range of $125,000 a year, which may have made him the highest-paid running back in the league. Understandably, after signing Mallett to a contract reportedly north of $100,000, they didn't want to have that much cash tied up at the tailback position, and the older player making more money was an easy target. (For the record, Cobourne's tweets show he's being very classy on his way out; there is language some may find offensive on his feed though.)
However, while getting younger is a laudable goal, there are still concerns here for Hamilton. Their primary running back is now presumably Mallett, a guy who hasn't seen any notable game action since tearing up the CFL in 2009. Mallett bounced from NFL practice roster to practice roster in 2010 and 2011, but never played a regular-season snap. He's only 25, and his CFL stats (1,240 yards, 5.8 yards per carry, six rushing touchdowns, 342 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns in 2009) are impressive, but they come with three key caveats; they're a small sample size of one season, they came in a B.C. offence that was very good at running the ball (the NFL-bound Stefan Logan was Mallett's primary predecessor in 2008, and he picked up 889 yards with a 7.3 yards-per-carry average), and two full seasons have passed since, so they may not be an accurate indication of where Mallett's currently at.
Mallett also reportedly suffered a significant injury with the New York Giants in August, and was released with an injury settlement, so there may be health concerns here as well. His backup now appears to be Terry Grant, who has pretty much the same profile; young and impressive in a small sample size, but unproven over a larger period of time. Keeping both Cobourne and Mallett certainly posed challenges from a financial standpoint, but Cobourne's presence would have provided a change of pace thanks to his receiving skills, and he would have given Hamilton an experienced backup in case the younger players failed. With him gone, the margin for error is substantially reduced.
Rottier's story has similarities and differences. The main issue here appears to be Rottier's desire to return home to Edmonton, but there may be more to it as well. Rottier was a pending free agent, and it's possible the Tiger-Cats weren't willing to pay him enough to entice him to stay in Ontario. If so, that's worrying on a couple of fronts.
Rottier was drafted first overall by Hamilton in 2009, and the Tiger-Cats developed him into a successful Canadian offensive lineman who started every game for them at right guard in 2011. Capable, reasonably-young (Rottier is 28), polished Canadian offensive linemen don't grow on trees, and neither do high draft picks. It's possible the Tiger-Cats could go older to replace Rottier (his listed backup on their depth charts in 2011 was generally 32-year-old Wayne Smith), but they might also try to address the position through the draft. Either way carries challenges, as draft picks often take a while to develop into starters and while Smith has plenty of CFL experience, he's only spent one season with the Tiger-Cats, so starting in their offence may still be an adjustment for him.
Replacing Cobourne with Mallett and/or Grant is the sort of move that seems very likely to pay off in the long term. Cobourne was highly unlikely to still be an effective starter in 2013 or 2014, and grooming a younger, cheaper replacement is well worthwhile. Rottier's departure may hurt more, given his youth and the high draft pick used on him, but if the Tiger-Cats can draft and develop a new Canadian for his spot, that would also help long-term. Both of these moves may cause problems for Hamilton in 2012, though; Mallett could be very good, but gambling on someone with his limited record is risky, and Rottier is highly likely to have been a better fit at the Ticats' right guard slot in 2012 than either Smith (who he beat out for the job last season) or a drafted replacement. There's always the chance of signing a veteran in free agency or making a trade, but both of those routes may prove to be as if not more expensive than keeping Rottier would have been.
Of course, CFL teams do have to always think about both money and the long term, but several of Hamilton's other moves this offseason have appeared to be focused on winning now. Most notably, there's their decision to trade for soon-to-be 37-year-old quarterback Henry Burris; that's the sort of move you don't make unless you think you have a real shot to win immediately. (A slowly-building strategy also likely would have involved keeping head coach Marcel Bellefeuille, who made notable progress every season.) Keeping a close eye on both the budget and the future is always valuable, but fielding the best possible team during a limited championship window is also essential. These moves by the Tiger-Cats appear to be focused more on the former strategy, and it's going to be particularly interesting to see how they play out in the short term.