Star LB Fills Void

Photo: Courtesy CFL

After trading away the rights to Cameron Judge, the Toronto Argonauts could have sat tight, relying on their stable of young linebackers to fill the void. However, that's not Pinball’s style. Instead, Toronto has brought in a player considered to be one of the most talented linebackers in the CFL the last time he was in Canada. American Wynton McManis was with the Calgary Stampeders from 2017 to 2019. Over that span, he played in 43 games, tallied 104 tackles, four sacks and two forced fumbles, winning the grey cup in 2018.

McManis spent part of last season with the New Orleans Saints, playing in one game, and finished the season on the Miami Dolphins’ practice squad.

McManis, like so many Argos defenders, brings flexibility to the workplace. In Calgary, he was used primarily as a WILL linebacker, which is what he will almost certainly play in Toronto as he fills in for the departed Cameron Judge. That said, while he's slightly undersized for a middle linebacker at 6’1”, 225lbs, there's no question about his ability to play that spot as well, something he did in Calgary when needed.

If the season were to start to today, Henoc Muamba would play at MAC with McManus at WILL and Chris Edwards at SAM, a fearsome trio to be sure. Edwards will begin the season on the suspended list, so if there's another move to make at linebacker, and we don’t think there needs to be, it will be at the SAM backer spot.