Tuesday 15 January 2013

Hage Stays, Porter Goes

The Ti-Cats made two moves on Tuesday, re-signing Marwan Hage and releasing Quinton Porter.

Re-signing Hage was a smart move from my perspective. There are going to be a lot of youngsters coming to camp this year (Carson Rockhill, Jason Mederios, Moe Petrus, as well as holdovers Pascal Baillargeon, Cody Husband and possibly player selected in the upcoming draft) and having Hage around to show them the ropes is definitely a good thing. Also, I think he is fully capable of returning to an elite level. The last two season-ending injuries do create a bit of worry, but I think he can bounce back and return to an all-star level. I'm glad Hage is returning, but now the team needs to get on inking Peter Dyakowski to a new deal.

The release of Porter isn't too surprising. He was set to become a free agent next month and wasn't going to be re-signed, so this gives him a chance to hit the market early and find a new home. I always had high hopes for Porter, but he never quite lived up to expectations. He just didn't develop the way many thought he would. The fact that fans point to his breakout game against the Alouettes from 2008 just proves that he didn't progress like we all hoped. Maybe he can still be a viable starter in the CFL, but the clock is ticking (he's 30). I'll be interested to see where he lands.

But Porter's release leaves a hole behind Henry Burris. The only other quarterback on the roster besides Burris is completely untested second-year man Dan LeFevour. I liked what I saw out of LeFevour during the preseason, and I was a fan of his from back in his collegiate days at Central Michigan, so I have high hopes he can be the guy to take over from Burris. But the team will obviously be bringing in some quarterbacks to compete for the backup spot in training camp. Hamilton does not have the best record of developing quarterbacks, so Kent Austin has a very big decision on his hands when it comes to figuring out who the next guy will be.

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