It was well before the celebration of Matt Nichols’ return – before all the back-slapping and hand-shaking earlier this week – that the Winnipeg Blue Bombers football brain trust was in full number-crunching mode.

It’s true that the signing the club’s starting quarterback to a new deal that will take him through 2019 is mammoth for a franchise that has been pining to find a bona fide No. 1 pivot for a few seasons now.

Just as mammoth is the price tag, paying Nichols an average of more than $400,000 over the course of the three-year contract.

And with that deal now out of the way and with the Canadian Football League’s free agent market scheduled to open Feb. 14^th a basic question remains for the Bombers:

Now what?

Seven names on the Bombers prospective free agent list have been signed or had their contracts extended in Nichols, kicker Justin Medlock, left tackle Stanley Bryant, receivers Darvin Adams and Gerrard Sheppard, long snapper Chad Rempel and quarterback Dom Davis (a full list of transactions, signings and extensions can be found here).

Newcomer Kenny Stafford – ex of the Montreal Alouettes – was also added this week while veteran pivot Kevin Glenn was released, by his request, to have a chance to test the market for his services earlier.

That leaves 13 players still unsigned and inching closer to becoming free agents: receivers Clarence Denmark, Rory Kohlert, Quincy McDuffie and Tori Gurley; linebackers Khalil Bass, Tony Burnett, Sam Hurl and Jesse Briggs; defensive tackle Euclid Cummings; safety Macho Harris; defensive back Teague Sherman; offensive lineman Jeff Keeping, and fullback/linebacker James Tuck.

That’s a lot of talent with undecided futures, and it’s all but a given not all of them will be back in 2017. That’s simply the reality in trying to fit all those pieces onto the depth chart while staying under the salary cap.

That was the subject matter of a conference-call meeting GM Kyle Walters, head coach Mike O’Shea, assistant GMs Ted Goveia and Danny McManus and National Scout Craig Smith were mulling over earlier this week.

“We kind of put in our 2017 cap numbers and who fits in where and if we sign this guy, where does he fit and who’s got to go,” explained Walters. “There’s still another month where we control the rights of all the pending free agents… so you’ll see more of those guys getting offers.

“I’m not sure who’s going to sign or who’s not going to sign, but we’ll put offers out that fit in with what we can do financially and see where that goes.”

Walters would not comment on negotiations with specific players, those who won’t be offered deals will be informed by O’Shea. As well, players chasing NFL deals – Burnett, for example, has worked out for at least five teams – have until the end of this month to exhaust their attempts to land futures deals down south.

Walters also said the free agent landscape is already shaping up to be an intriguing one. With more players than ever signing one-year deals, teams are opting to lock up their quarterbacks to big-dollar contracts. Ditto for star position players, whether they are receivers, running backs or linebackers.

The fallout from that is a wage scale that will see high-end talent getting their dollars and more teams relying on the CFL Draft and U.S. scouting to find younger, cheaper talent to fill in some of the gaps on the depth chart.

And that means the veteran spot starter or depth player who has carved out a decent career may be feeling a financial squeeze come Feb. 14^th.

“You need to be sure handing (the big contracts) out and you’ve got to be tough on those middle-ground guys,” Walters explained. “Guys aren’t happy to hear that and agents aren’t happy to hear that. With the high end and the low end, there’s not a lot left for the middle guys.”

SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED

QB Matt Nichols – three-year contract
QB Dom Davis – two-year contract
LT Stanley Bryant – one-year extension
K Justin Medlock – one-year extension
LS Chad Rempel* – two-year contract
WR Darvin Adams – three-year contract
WR Gerrard Sheppard – two-year contract

ADDED

WR Kenny Stafford – two-year contract

RELEASED

QB Kevin Glenn

PENDING

LB Khalil Bass
LB Sam Hurl*
LB Tony Burnett
LB Jesse Briggs*
DT Euclid Cummings
DB Macho Harris
DB Teague Sherman*
WR Rory Kohlert*
SB Clarence Denmark
WR Tori Gurley
WR/KR Quincy McDuffie
FB/LB James Tuck*
OL Jeff Keeping*

*Indicates: Canadian