Toronto Argonauts: What the Zach Collaros trade means going forward

The second Pinball Clemons era with the Toronto Argonauts has begun and their first move was sending Zach Collaros to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

The Toronto Argonauts began the Pinball Clemons era with swift efficiency yesterday, trading Zach Collaros to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

The trade ended Collaros’ lacklustre second stint with the Argonauts, and is a clear indication that the team was looking to extract any value from players acquired during the Jim Popp era. When Popp brought the then 31-year-old Ohio native in from Saskatchewan July 31st, it was thought to be a clear indication that management was not ready to punt on the season.

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The team had hoped Collaros would bring a level of competitiveness to the quarterback room, something that was lacking at the time as the team was struggling with Mcleod Bethel-Thompson.

In reality, the relief the Argos were waiting for never materialized. Zack never saw the field during live play, and only resumed throwing a ball in practice in September, more than a month after being acquired.

Still, the word from Argos management is that the new regime hasn’t soured on Collaros, and there is a possibility he could return in the offseason.

Coming back to the Argos is a third-round draft pick, with an additional first-round pick if Collaros re-signs in Winnipeg. The (possible) assortment of picks in the upcoming draft was said to be a huge driving force in getting the deal done, as the Argos gear up for quite the rebuild.

In the end, with the year that James Franklin and Bethel-Thompson have had, Collaros still held the biggest upside, and commanded the most interest from teams around the league. While all three were thought to be in play, it was clear that the only one that could realistically return a possible first-round pick was Collaros.

If Pinball and the rest of management believe Collaros will either return to Toronto or stay in Winnipeg, then the trade becomes a no-brainer. The crowded Argos quarterback room will be cleared out at the end of the year, with Franklin and Bethel-Thompson, in particular, becoming free agents. The Argos could find themselves with a very talented, rested quarterback who could offer consistency under center – or at the very worst, a first-round pick in next year’s draft.

That’s the “glass-half-full” version.

The other version is much more muddled.

Collaros could sign somewhere else, of course. His second stint with the Argos had to be frustrating, and with Matt Nichols seemingly returning next year, it’s not clear that the role he would have in Winnipeg would be a desirable one.

And there is also the very real possibility that the Argos get their man back, only for his injury woes to continue, and they find themselves in the same predicament – with their starter injured, and the rest of the season a revolving door of backup quarterbacks trying to stop the bleeding.

All of these are possibilities, and make this trade even harder to evaluate. Still, in the here and now, the Argos are happy with their deadline deal.

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It gives Pinball more to work with, and gives him another chance to bring in someone of his choosing as he rebuilds this team into a winner.

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