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Reilly and Mitchell are the biggest fish in the free-agent pond. Mitchell is expected to sign with an NFL team after numerous workouts in December.

Reilly is expected to draw interest from most CFL teams, but the possibility he could be looking for a contract in the $600,000 range may be too high for Saskatchewan.

The Riders could also turn to their negotiation list. Jones said there are approximately 20 quarterbacks there, including Trace McSorley (Penn State), Ian Book (Notre Dame), Joe Burrow (Louisiana State) and Mason Fine (North Texas).

Jones added that the number of quarterbacks on the negotiation list has already been discussed with Paul Jones, who was formally announced as the assistant general manager on Tuesday. Paul Jones, who spent 21 seasons with Edmonton, signed a two-year deal with the Riders.

“Everybody in the league is trying to find that guy who can be their quarterback for the future,” said Chris Jones, who will be part of the Green and White for the foreseeable future after it was announced Tuesday that he had agreed to a contract extension through the 2020 season.

Jones said the latest deal includes clauses that would allow him to leave the Riders if the opportunity to move to the NCAA or the NFL comes about. There were reports that Jones had drawn some interest from NFL teams prior to the contract extension being announced.

“I don’t think right now is the time to talk about that,” Jones said. “It’s the time to talk about extending and how we are moving forward. We have our staff back and we have a great group of young players. We’re the youngest team in the league and we’re very athletic. A big group of our veterans who are free agents have expressed an interest in wanting to be back.”