So Long, Rodriguez

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats announced today that they have traded WR Prechae Rodriguez to the Saskatchewan Roughriders for WR Adam Nicolson, a 3rd Round Draft Pick in the 2011 CFL Draft and the rights to a negotiation-list player, who Perry Leftko of Sportsnet.ca predicts is Return Specialist Chris Williams.

I predicted that Rodriguez wouldn't be long for the team when the Cats traded for Maurice Mann, so seeing that he was traded today wasn't a surprise. He was a good player a couple of seasons ago, but last year he was injured and ineffective. With the surplus of talent at the WR/SB position for Hamilton, it only made sense to unload an underperformer like Rodriguez.

I don't know much about Adam Nicolson. He's a Canadian, which is a good thing, but I don't see him contributing much on offense; with the team already having Arland Bruce, Dave Stala, Marquay McDaniel, Chris Bauman, Maurice Mann and Drisan James, I don't see where Nicolson will fit. My guess is that he'll fit in on special teams and contribute there.

The acquisition of Chris Williams might be the key here. I don't know anything about him either, but the chatter is that he is a marvelous return man, so perhaps he could fill the void the Tiger-Cats have at that spot. Of course he's only on the negotiation list, which means he isn't signed to a contract, just that the Cats have first "dibs" on him should he be released from his NFL commitments.

I wish Prechae luck in Riderville. I hope he adds something to that team. With his physical gifts he can dominate, but he has yet to show he can do so consistently. Maybe a new location will be just what he needs.

Here's a video of Prechae talking about one of the prettiest catches I have ever seen.



The Cats also announced that they have released Tyler Ebell. He didn't contribute anything while in the Black & Gold last year, so I just thought I'd mention it as an aside.