The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have made significant changes at quarterback as they signed Zach Collaros and released veteran Henry Burris.
Collaros previously quarterbacked for the rival Toronto Argonauts before he was released on Jan. 29. Hamilton signed him the next day.
Collaros, Ricky Ray’s former backup, started seven games last season when Ray was out of the lineup with various injuries.
He threw for 2,316 yards on 287 attempts, completing 190 of his passes for a completion rate of 66.2 per cent. He threw for 14 touchdowns and six interceptions throughout the season.
The moves appear to be the result of Hamilton preparing for the future. Collaros is 25 years old, while Burris is 38.
Burris put up impressive numbers throughout the season, leading the league with 4,925 passing yards. He threw for 24 touchdowns and 19 interceptions, with a completion rate of 65.8 per cent.
Burris led the Ti-Cats to the Grey Cup but fell short to the Saskatchewan Roughriders by a score of 45-23. Burris threw for no touchdowns and one interception in the championship game.
The future is uncertain for Burris, who wants to continue playing. A possible destination for the aging but elite quarterback is Winnipeg. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers played several quarterbacks last season, including Justin Goltz and Max Hall, but none played well enough to establish himself as the team’s starter.
Hall had Winnipeg’s greatest completion rate at 57.2 per cent, only good enough for 10th in the eight-team league out of quarterbacks with at least 100 passing attempts.
