[IMPORTANT: Make this 4 times longer with much more detail]
Pat Steinberg CFL.ca @Fan960Steinberg The Toronto Argonauts got the job done last year. They qualified for the playoffs for a fourth straight season and won the 111th Grey Cup, the team’s second title in three years. But as much as there was to celebrate in 2024, the Argos have already made their pivot. RELATED » CFL.ca’s top 30 pending free agents » More 2025 Free Agency news and notes » Argos release linebacker Jonathan Jones » View the 2025 schedule here! » Subscribe to the CFL’s official YouTube channel » Subscribe to the CFL’s newsletter for exclusive offers and league updates Through the Lens: CFL Head coaches and general managers meet in Charlotte [1 of 72] (Krista Jasso/CFL.ca) For head coach Ryan Dinwiddie and general manager Pinball Clemons, the focus has completely shifted. Last year is in the past and the quest for another championship is fully underway. TURNING THE PAGE “You take a little bit of time off,” Dinwiddie told CFL.ca from head coach and general manager meetings this week. “I took about two weeks off and then got back into it and looked at our roster.” Dinwiddie is no stranger to this process. After winning the 109th Grey Cup in 2022, Toronto turned their focus rather effectively. The Argonauts came back the following year with changes but ready for a brand-new challenge. And the responded to that by tying a CFL record with a 16-2 regular season before bowing out to Montreal in the Eastern Final. “You talk with Pinball,” Dinwiddie said. “What’s the salary cap looking like? Who needs raises? We went through all those things and looked at…players across the league that potentially will be free agents. “And then we’ll be back in March for two weeks and obviously getting ready for the draft.” In a league as cyclical and ever-changing as the CFL, you just can’t rely on success from the past season. Even as defending champs, the next season is always a new, difficult challenge. It’s clear the Argos are living that this winter. ROSTER RELOAD The Argos traded for linebacker Cameron Judge earlier in January, sending Folarin Orimolade to the Stampeders (Daniel Crump/CFL.ca) The Argos have a way of doing things under Clemons and Dinwiddie. They’ve been pragmatic when signing their own pending free agents to extensions and strong at identifying talent elsewhere. In a league governed by a salary cap, difficult decisions need to be made on a yearly basis. And those choices are always more acute when you’ve had the success Toronto has had over the last four seasons. “You always have to transition your roster every year and bring in new guys,” Dinwiddie said. “That’s just salary cap management. Rookies are paid a lot less than established veterans. So, we know we have to change our roster each year. That’s just how the business of it goes.” After their 16-win campaign in 2023, the Argonauts said goodbye to key contributors like Jamal Peters , Adarius Pickett , Brandon Barlow , AJ Ouellette, and DeWayne Hendrix last winter. And as difficult as that was, Toronto did a great job of filling the gaps. They did that by making savvy trades, elevating internally, and signing players from other CFL teams and from outside the league. The result the following season was a generational defensive line, a ton of forced turnovers, an outstanding run game, and a Grey Cup. We’ve seen the same philosophy at work again this off-season. The Argos sent defensive end Folarin Orimolade to the Calgary Stampeders in exchange for linebacker Cameron Judge . They also shipped two-time All-CFL right tackle Dejon Allen to the BC Lions for a draft pick and linebacker Ryder Varga . Dinwiddie admitted both moves were driven by the salary cap. But that doesn’t mean he’s not excited to welcome a couple new players to the Double Blue. “(Judge) can rush the passer, decent tackler,” said Dinwiddie. “But he can play in the sky and use his eyes (when) we put him in a robber coverage. He’s done a really good job with that. I think he’s a versatile guy, a very competitive guy. This is what we wanted to bring to our locker room. “And we all know (Varga) can play special teams, which is big. But we feel like he’s going to get on the field. We might have a different package of linebackers going into this season. Dejon was great for us, but this was a chance for us to get a solid Canadian and lose some salary to go pay some of these other players.” BUCKLE UP Toronto has lots of work to do. Of their pending free agents, the Argonauts have only re-upped with boundary corner Tarvarus McFadden. They still have decisions to make on the likes of Jake Ceresna , Ka’Deem Carey, Nick Arbuckle , and Wynton McManis , among others. And they also know they’ll be at the top of the mountain in 2025. But this team knows how to play with a target on their back. And they know exactly what they’re getting into starting this spring. “We wanted to build this,” Dinwiddie admitted. “We wanted to build a consistent winner. Even in year one we lost in the Eastern Final. We feel like every year we’ve been there having a chance to play for a Grey Cup. But I think all nine teams are pretty close as far as talent level and those things. It’s not going to be easy.” And let’s not forget a rather crucial aspect. Toronto is set at quarterback with 2023 Most Outstanding Player Chad Kelly under contract for this season. Even better, Kelly is progressing well from the broken ankle he sustained in last year’s Eastern Final that forced Arbuckle into Grey Cup action. “Chad was actually walking on (his ankle) like two weeks later,” Dinwiddie revealed. “I was like ‘come on man, don’t be pushing it too hard.’ He was eager to get it healthy, he was doing treatment all through the holidays at the facility. So, he’s pretty close now, he’s probably about two months away, I would say.” Get all the top stories from across the league delivered to your inbox.
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