Another comparison between the NFL and CFL: Whoa, CFL free agency season is quick. Within about 10 days of opening, nearly all key acquisitions have been made and, though we still await combine and draft, plus another influx of cut NFL players, betting the CFL in 2020 is already clearer than the NFL – at least as far as NFLbets is concerned.
To the CFL bettor, the odds table on the “To Win the 2020 Grey Cup” at My Bookie (and any site taking CFL bets, really) is quite the outlier compared with recent years, namely in that the New England Patriots-like Calgary Stampeders are not the New England Patriots-like odds-on favorite to win the CFL Championship. Instead, the numbers break down like so.
Hamilton Tiger-Cats: +300. After going 15-3 and completely dominating the league all year, the Ticats got manhandled by Winnipeg in the 2019 Grey Cup. In free agency, Hamilton lost top-notch LT Ryker Matthews but, if possible, might have improved on defense with the return of LB Larry Dean and high hopes for a comeback out of Quadarius Ford. All things considered, 3/1 may be the best value you can get on the Ticats in 2020.
Saskatchewan Roughriders: +400
Winnipeg Blue Bombers: +500
Calgary Stampeders: +500. The three West Division teams that bookmakers like the best in 2020 were all notably quiet this offseason: The Riders, oldest team in the league, re-signed nearly all their veteran FAs except Namaan Roosevelt; the defending champion Blue Bombers did likewise, losing now-backup QB Matt Nichols but little else; and the Stamps are presumably going the route of (you guessed it) the New England Patriots and looking for players to fill niche spots.
Edmonton Eskimos: +800
Montreal Alouettes: +800. This pair of odds NFLbets doesn’t get at all. The Eskimos had arguably the worst offseason of the CFL teams, losing the most FAs overall including Monshadrik “Money” Hunter and the aforementioned Larry Dean.
Meanwhile, the Alouettes may have had the most tumultuous offseason of all: The Als bid adieu to DB Chris Ackie, who went to Toronto; DB Patrick Levels and WR Devrier Posey to Hamilton; RB William Stanback to Las Vegas Raiders; and WR Quan Bray to, presumably a federal penitentiary after getting busted alongside Cleveland Browns OL who was busted along with famous Rams draft bust Greg Robinson for trying to tote 157 pounds of marijuana across the border.
So maybe … a breakeven free agency for the Alouettes…? Nevertheless, Montreal has not lost Coach of the Year Khari Jones or breakout QB Vernon Adams Jr. Montreal at 8/1 is hardly an outrageous bet already, but those odds might get a bit better yet. The Eskimos NFLbets wouldn’t touch with an 8/1-foot pole.
BC Lions: +800. Fair enough, the Lions went out and binge-shopped again this offseason and last year’s mad-money expenditure got BC an early end to the season. However, QB Mike Reilly certainly digs on the addition of Ryker Matthews and the pieces seem to all be in place, so 8/1 certainly isn’t outrageous.
Ottawa Redblacks: +1200. CFL fans know to be wary of the Redblacks since the second year of their existence in 2015 and the prospects with Paul LaPolice coming over from the OC job in Winnipeg are none too shabby. But after hitting the reset button last year to trigger the rebuilding process and taking on former Stampeders backup QB Nick Arbuckle as the starter signals that change might come a little more slowly than the team’s first rise to CFL supremacy.
Toronto Argonauts: +1400. The Argos would likely need a well more impressive offseason than simply signing Matt Nichols, plus 3rd or 4th WRs Juwan Brascacin and Devaris Daniels from Calgary and Edmonton, respectively – particularly when the already below-average defensive lost nearly 120 tackles between Addul Kenneh and Kevin Fogg plus the additional departure of Quadarius Ford. We see this 14/1 bet as a waste of good betting money.
–written by Os Davis
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