Argonauts acquire Joseph from Riders
TSN.ca Staff
3/5/2008 11:03:47 PM
The Saskatchewan Roughriders will start the 2008 CFL season without the head coach and starting quarterback that led them to their first Grey Cup in 19 years.
The Toronto Argonauts have called a news conference for Thursday morning to announce the acquisition of Kerry Joseph from the Riders.
In return, the Roughriders receive import defensive end Ronald Flemons, import offensive tackle Glenn January, the Argos' first-round selection in the 2008 Canadian college draft and their second round selection in the 2010 draft. The Argonauts will also receive the Riders' third round pick in the 2010 Canadian Draft.
"This decision was very tough and emotional for Kenny (Miller) and myself," stated Riders general manager Eric Tillman in a statement. "But, in the end, we felt trading Kerry to a team which was willing to satisfy his contractual expectations was the right thing to do."
Related Info
Joseph, who took a $125,000 pay cut to help the Roughriders stay under the cap last season, led his team to the Grey Cup in November. But after the victory, Joseph made it clear that he would like to be compensated to the level of the other top-flight quarterbacks in the league, meaning an annual salary in the neighbourhood of $300,000.
"In our face to face meeting a couple of weeks ago, Kerry continually cited the contracts of Ricky Ray, Casey Printers and Henry Burris as the barometer for elite quarterbacks," Tillman explained.
"As returning MVP, we understood his frustration, but, with our cap situation, those numbers, ranging from $350,000 to $475,000 or more, are very challenging. That said, could we have stepped up in a big way financially? Yes, of course, we could have. But, with Kerry turning 35 this season, he was already scheduled to get a raise this year of $25,000 or so. And, while we were willing to increase that raise even further, we were not willing to go so high that it would have forced us to make other decisions with three or four other players, which we didn't view to be in the best long term interest of our club."
Joseph is slated to make $250,000 this season, the final year of his existing contract.
Last season, Joseph threw for 4,002 yards with 24 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He also ran the ball for 737 yards and 13 touchdowns.
January started 15 games for the Argonauts in his rookie year of 2007. He split his time between right and left tackle and also started in the East Final versus Winnipeg. Prior to joining the CFL, January played four seasons at Texas Tech. He was the Texas Tech Lineman of the Year and named to the First-Team All-Big 12 Conference in his senior season.
Flemons spent the past two seasons with the Toronto Argonauts where he split his time between defensive end and defensive tackle. He dressed in all 18 regular season games and the playoff game last year and recorded 11 defensive tackles and a quarterback sack.
Flemons was originally drafted in the seventh round by Atlanta in the 2001 NFL Draft. He spent five years in the NFL with Atlanta, New Orleans, Miami and Seattle. Flemons spent four years at Texas A&M where he was a four-year letterman.
Earlier this year, head coach Kent Austin - who was named CFL Coach Of The Year last week - left the team to become the offensive coordinator at his alma mater, Ole Miss.
TSN.ca Staff
3/5/2008 11:03:47 PM
The Saskatchewan Roughriders will start the 2008 CFL season without the head coach and starting quarterback that led them to their first Grey Cup in 19 years.
The Toronto Argonauts have called a news conference for Thursday morning to announce the acquisition of Kerry Joseph from the Riders.
In return, the Roughriders receive import defensive end Ronald Flemons, import offensive tackle Glenn January, the Argos' first-round selection in the 2008 Canadian college draft and their second round selection in the 2010 draft. The Argonauts will also receive the Riders' third round pick in the 2010 Canadian Draft.
"This decision was very tough and emotional for Kenny (Miller) and myself," stated Riders general manager Eric Tillman in a statement. "But, in the end, we felt trading Kerry to a team which was willing to satisfy his contractual expectations was the right thing to do."
Related Info
Joseph, who took a $125,000 pay cut to help the Roughriders stay under the cap last season, led his team to the Grey Cup in November. But after the victory, Joseph made it clear that he would like to be compensated to the level of the other top-flight quarterbacks in the league, meaning an annual salary in the neighbourhood of $300,000.
"In our face to face meeting a couple of weeks ago, Kerry continually cited the contracts of Ricky Ray, Casey Printers and Henry Burris as the barometer for elite quarterbacks," Tillman explained.
"As returning MVP, we understood his frustration, but, with our cap situation, those numbers, ranging from $350,000 to $475,000 or more, are very challenging. That said, could we have stepped up in a big way financially? Yes, of course, we could have. But, with Kerry turning 35 this season, he was already scheduled to get a raise this year of $25,000 or so. And, while we were willing to increase that raise even further, we were not willing to go so high that it would have forced us to make other decisions with three or four other players, which we didn't view to be in the best long term interest of our club."
Joseph is slated to make $250,000 this season, the final year of his existing contract.
Last season, Joseph threw for 4,002 yards with 24 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He also ran the ball for 737 yards and 13 touchdowns.
January started 15 games for the Argonauts in his rookie year of 2007. He split his time between right and left tackle and also started in the East Final versus Winnipeg. Prior to joining the CFL, January played four seasons at Texas Tech. He was the Texas Tech Lineman of the Year and named to the First-Team All-Big 12 Conference in his senior season.
Flemons spent the past two seasons with the Toronto Argonauts where he split his time between defensive end and defensive tackle. He dressed in all 18 regular season games and the playoff game last year and recorded 11 defensive tackles and a quarterback sack.
Flemons was originally drafted in the seventh round by Atlanta in the 2001 NFL Draft. He spent five years in the NFL with Atlanta, New Orleans, Miami and Seattle. Flemons spent four years at Texas A&M where he was a four-year letterman.
Earlier this year, head coach Kent Austin - who was named CFL Coach Of The Year last week - left the team to become the offensive coordinator at his alma mater, Ole Miss.
