Brandon Banks to the Argos? On Super Bowl Sunday in the NFL. The Argos continue to go all in to make a push for a CFL championship this coming season. As teased by Toronto early Sunday morning and then reported by TSN’s Dave Naylor. The Boatmen are on the verge of announcing the addition of former league MOP and four-time all-star WR Brandon Banks.
Toronto has now made the signing of Brandon Banks official.
The Argos Add More Star Power With Brandon Banks
The Toronto Argonauts will have no shortage of star power on their roster in 2022. The Double Blue has added three of the most prolific CFL playmakers this offseason.
In megastar RB Andrew Harris and two prominent superstars from their rival, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
The Boatmen have brought onboard elite pass rusher Ja’Gared Davis to bolster the Argos defence. And now, have added to their offensive attack by signing away’ Speedy B’ from their arch-nemesis.
Toronto’s offseason mantra is’ Unfinished Business.’ Because of how close the team came to competing for a Grey Cup in 2021. But one has to ponder whether these high-profile acquisitions are attached to more than just the football side. After all, there’s no question that Harris, Davis, and Banks add some sizzle to the Argos box office. An area where Toronto has struggled in recent times.
There’s also no question what Andrew Harris and Ja’Gared Davis bring to the equation on the football side. Despite being at an advanced age, they are still difference-makers on the field and off.
However, Brandon Banks is another story. At 34 years of age, he is coming off of his worst season in Canada. Only three years and two seasons removed from being named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player. Banks in ten games played a year ago. Registered only 44 receptions for 474 yards, with just two touchdowns, and averaged ten yards per catch. As a result, It’s fair to question whether time and injuries have chased down ‘Speedy B.’ A dynamic player who has left defenders in the dust for several years.
Are Brandon Banks’s best days in his rearview mirror?
Like Andrew Harris, Banks will have a lot of motivation to prove the doubters and his former team wrong. Speedy B will get a chance to play his former team, Hamilton, four times next season. Maybe five if the two rivals clash again in the playoffs.
The difference between Harris and Banks is that in Brandon’s case, he won’t have to carry the load on offence for Toronto. From 1-5, The Argos boast arguably the top starting receiving corps in the CFL.
The returning McLeod Bethel-Thompson, who led the CFL in majors in 2019, and Toronto to an Eastern Division title in 2021, will have a lot of toys to play with in 2022. Notwithstanding having Andrew Harris in the backfield and six of the team’s top offensive linemen returning from a year ago.
At receiver, Toronto has Eric Rogers, DaVaris Daniels, the recently signed Markeith Ambles, Juwan Brescasion, and emerging star national receiver Kurleigh Gittens Jr. Banks will be tasked with complimenting that group by bringing his open-field ability and 4.3 speed to the Double Blue’s passing attack.
Does Banks, a future CFL Hall of Famer, have one more superstar run left in him? He might not be the same player he has been. But the Argos are banking on ‘Speedy B’ being one of the final pieces to their Grey Cup puzzle.
Below is the Argos press release this morning.
ARGOS INK 2019 MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER & FOUR-TIME CFL ALL-STAR BRANDON BANKS
TORONTO – The Toronto Argonauts announced today they have signed American WR Brandon Banks.
“We want to welcome Brandon and his family to Toronto and couldn’t be more excited for him to join the organization,” said Argos Head Coach Ryan Dinwiddie. “Brandon gives us a ball in hand receiver and a vertical threat to our passing game while providing veteran leadership. What he’s done in this league is phenomenal and we are thrilled he’ll be in Double Blue.”
Banks, 34, was the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player in 2019, is a four-time CFL All-Star (’14-’15, ‘18-’19), six-time East All-Star (’14-’19), and was the league’s Most Outstanding Special Team’s Player in 2015. The speedy 5’7, 150lb receiver spent the last eight seasons in Hamilton (’13-’21) playing 111 games while climbing the Tabbies franchise record books every season he played before finishing first in kick return yards (3,773), punt return yards (3,049), missed field goal return yards (779) and missed field goal return touchdowns (5), finishing second in total touchdowns (62), combined yards (13,686) and punt return touchdowns (7) and inside the top eight in receptions (442), receiving yards (5,678) and receiving touchdowns (44). Banks’ had a magical 2019 season leading the CFL in every major receiving category on route to 112 catches, 1,550 yards, 13 receiving touchdowns, and two missed field goal return touchdowns, a Most Outstanding Player Award, and a birth in the Grey Cup. Last season injuries held Banks to 10 games played but the playmaker still hauled in 44 catches for 474 yards and two touchdowns helping Hamilton get to the Grey Cup for the second season in a row.
Prior to coming north of the border, the North Carolina native and Kansas State alum played three seasons with Washington’s NFL team (’10-’12) where he saw action in 41 games and tallied over 2,800 kick return yards and a return touchdown, over 900 punt return yards and 11 catches for 35 yards.
