Baggs Cut

Sometimes the writing is on the wall long before anyone sees it, and the news that Stevie Baggs has been released is actually not a surprise. In fact, not to long ago I openly wondered (third-to-last paragraph) if Baggs would be the next big-name player to become a former Tiger-Cats. This is one of those times I didn't want to be right.

For Head Coach George Cortez to say that this was not a financial decision is ludicrous. While last season was far from a banner year for Baggs, and regardless of what Cortez says to the contrary, Baggs was not put in a position to succeed by former Defensive Coordinator Corey Chamblin. He didn't go from the player we saw at the end of 2010 – where in seven games he amassed five sacks, three fumbles recoveries, one interception and two touchdowns, and was named the Defensive Player of the Month for October – to the neutered player we saw for much of 2011 in one off-season.

But Baggs can now add his name to the others on the long list of highly questionable, and in some cases downright idiotic, decisions the team has made over the last eight months.

Baggs still has a lot left to give and whichever team lands him will be getting not just a great football player but a great human being. I wish him the best of luck in the future, and I imagine that we'll be seeing Shakespeare making more plays in the not-to-distant future.