The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have parted ways with two veteran players: Receiver Chris Bauman and Offensive Lineman Alex Gauthier. Both were scheduled to become free agents on February 16th.
I honestly do not understand the point of releasing two would-be free agents a mere two weeks before they were probably on their way out the door anyway. Seems like an odd move.
There was some clamouring among the fan base for the team to move Heaven and Earth to re-sign Bauman. He had one helluva month to end the season in 2010, and it looks like he may have turned a corner. Of course, it's entirely possible that he just caught lightning in a bottle and will go back to being the unreliable player he was during most of his tenure in Hamilton.
Gauthier might just be the age factor, or as Drew Edwards states, the Cats may go with two Americans on the Offensive Line instead of the one they went with in 2010.
I'm not too upset about either player leaving town. Matt Carter seems like he could fill in fine for Bauman, and if the Cats are going with two Import O-Linemen, Belton Johnson looked very good when Jason Jimenez was injured last season.
To be perfectly honest, I think the loss of both will be unnoticeable.
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I think we will miss Gauthier. But I bet SMS planning came into play here - in terms of value for money, the team probably figured they could save a few bucks. Still, Johnson was quite good when he filled in for Jimenez, who was good himself when he came back from injury. This probably solidifies Ryan Hinds' place in the secondary, assuming we go with one NI receiver most of the time.
ReplyDeleteThe timing may be odd, but I think it may be the team doing each player a bit of a favour. They can now negotiate freely with anyone and with less pressure - whether that benefits more the players or the teams who may want them I don't know. But it was probably also evident that the Cats were not going to be able to re-sign either player so why wait?
Bauman, despite those with the man crushes and hopes of his superstardom, is replaceable. I'd like to see what Carter can do in an expanded role, and if Nicolson is re-signed and recovered from the concussion he may also provide what Bauman did, for less money. I wish Chris the best of luck, perhaps a new home will do him good.