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The Edmonton Eskimos haven’t just turned the page on the Mike Reilly Era.

When they watched their franchise quarterback hit free agency on his way back to a B.C. Lions club that traded him here in the first place six years ago, the Eskimos also closed the book on a 2018 Canadian Football League season they’d rather soon forget.

And now, with Reilly’s previously uncertain future no longer overshadowing every little bit of the Eskimos’ off-season, they finally can forget.

After all, missing out on playoffs entirely while having to witness the Grey Cup and all its festivities take place right in their own backyard was about as far as possible from their plan going in.

But looking back, not everything was as regrettable as the end result.

“I think every year, you learn, you grow,” said Eskimos head coach Jason Maas. “In a season, it’s never, ever going to be perfect. Ours was far from that.

“We did a lot of really good things, we did some things we’re not real proud of and, obviously, missing the playoffs is the ultimate bad taste in your mouth from 2018, but I don’t think it was a terrible season.”