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It’s likely far too early to start predicting where Arbuckle may end up, but there do appear to be a few potential landing spots. The Ottawa Redblacks struggled at quarterback all season, and that would seem like a possibility — although they don’t have a head coach now, so who knows? — and the Toronto Argonauts could be in the market, as well.

In seven games as a starter this season, Arbuckle led the Stamps to a 4-3 record, but none of the three losses can really be pinned on his performance. The 26-year-old finished the season having completed 174-of-238 passes for 2,103 yards and 11 touchdowns.

“(Starting) is obviously something I want to do,” Arbuckle said. “I thought I did pretty well, and there’s thing I can improve on, but I thought I was getting better the more I played. Hopefully, I’ll get a chance to play more in the league.”

It can’t come as any surprise to the Stampeders that Arbuckle wants to look for an opportunity that will give him a bigger role.

That doesn’t necessarily mean they’re not going to pitch him on signing a new contract with the organization. There are a lot of free-agent quarterbacks this off-season, including Zach Collaros, Chris Streveler and Jeremiah Masoli. They’ll all be looking to start next season, as well, so it’s not as if it’s written in stone that Arbuckle will get a perfect offer elsewhere.

“I haven’t talked to Nick yet, on that,” said Stamps head coach Dave Dickenson. “I want to say that he’s a good pro and he’s taken the long road — there’s no doubt about it. He’s had a lot of bumps there. We’ve been one of those guys who have supported him and gave him, hopefully, an opportunity and coaching and (helped take) his game to another level. I would think it will always sort itself out.

“I would never want a guy on my team that’s happy to be a backup or on the practice roster. I want everybody pushing hard to play and be the best they can be and then the type of guy that Nick is that understands he can only control what he can control and when he gets his chances he makes the most of it but isn’t going to be a distracting force. He’s a good person and a good man and a good football player.”

daustin@postmedia.com

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