Toronto Argonauts general manager Jim Barker has all but ruled out the return of Chad Owens and Swayze Waters this season.

The veteran slotback and kicker are free agents, and even though they have been key contributors to the offence, Barker is planning to move forward without them.

Owens, the CFL’s most outstanding player in 2012, remains on the open market while Waters, the league’s most outstanding special teams player in 2014, is awaiting an NFL tryout.

Barker called Owens a “salary casualty.”

“There’s a certain level of salary he deserves to command,” the GM said, “and we just don’t have the money. In free agency, you overpay. I don’t necessarily believe we overpaid a ton, but we decided to upgrade our Canadian talent. With that there are casualties.”

Owens was one of the highest-paid players on the Argos but, at age 33, injuries have taken a toll.

He has also become expendable because a new crop of talented receivers showed promise last season, including Diontae Spencer, Kevin Elliott, Vidal Hazelton and Tori Gurley. In addition, Canadian slotback Anthony Coombs has two CFL seasons under his belt.

Barker feels Owens still has plenty to offer in the CFL and that he will land somewhere.

Waters, who has had several prior stops in the NFL, wants to try the NFL market again. His timeline meant Barker could not wait to find out if Waters would be successful south of the border.

On Tuesday, he signed non-import Lirim Hajrullahu from the Blue Bombers, who in turn found his replacement in Hamilton’s Justin Medlock.

Hajrullahu, who played at the University of Western Ontario, can perform all three kicking functions and, because he is Canadian, he doesn’t tie up a roster spot that could go to an American.

Hajrullahu struggled last season with the Blue Bombers but in 2014 he was the West Division’s nominee as the most outstanding special teams player in the league, losing out to Waters.

“He had a tough year last year but he has shown what he can be,” Barker said.

Hajrullahu also has not missed a game to injury. Although Waters is perhaps the best kicker/punter in the CFL, he had an injury-plagued season in 2015.

“I’m expecting Swayze to sign in the NFL,” Barker said. “He’ll kick in front of some special teams coaches. He’s at an age (28) where if he’s going to do it, he needs to do it now. If things don’t work out for him, we’ll see what happens at that point. We signed Lirim to come in and be our kicker.”

Two days into free agency, the Argos lost some other key starters from last season.

The latest to leave are linebacker Greg Jones and running back Curtis Steele, who both signed with Saskatchewan Roughriders.

The Argos have also lost quarterback Trevor Harris and running back Brendan Gillanders to Ottawa, and veteran centre Jeff Keeping and defensive tackle Euclid Cummings to Winnipeg

On Day 2 of the CFL’s free-agency period, Barker was dealing again, giving up offensive lineman Bruce Campbell, who was sent to Saskatchewan for the first pick in the fourth round (27th overall) of the 2016 CFL draft and the rights to a negotiation list player.

Over the past two days, the Argos have re-signed linebacker Cory Greenwood and veteran running back Brandon Whitaker.

The coming CFL season is an important one for the Argos, who move into BMO Field from the Rogers Centre.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

“This is a huge year for us,” Barker said. “We have new owners. We’re playing in a new stadium. Our fan-base is going to be, we hope, rejuvenated, and it’s crucial for us to be successful. We can’t experiment. It’s important for us to put a team on the field that knows what we expect, that knows the demands and what it takes to win.”

It was also important for him to beef up on protection for 36-year-old quarterback Ricky Ray by signing six-foot-seven, 315-pound tackle Josh Bourke from the Montreal Alouettes and up-and-coming offensive lineman Corey Watman, who is six-foot-two and 294 pounds, from the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated from a previous version to correct that running back Curtis Steele signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.