Courtesy Vancouver Sun:

Dave Dickenson wants to return next season and be the Lions starting quarterback. So does Jarious Jackson. And so does Buck Pierce.

All three were accommodated in 2007 and, through injury, all took turns at being The Man. Whichever way you slice it in ‘08, however, three is a crowd.

“It all depends on what Jarious decides to do,” Dickenson acknowledged Monday on Garbage Bag Day, as the Lions packed up the remnants of their lockers following Sunday’s 26-17 ouster by the Roughriders in the West Division final. “If Jarious decides to leave, that affects me. There’s better odds of me coming back if he goes. You gotta try and find a salary structure that works.”

Dickenson, paid about $400,000 this past season, knows that the restrictions of the CFL cap system won’t allow a quarterback to be compensated at that level unless he’s No. 1. Jackson, who won more games than any of the three quarterbacks, probably earned less than a quarter of that amount while playing out his option. He becomes a free agent on Feb. 15, unless the Lions sign him to a new deal. Naturally, having proven his worth, he could wait to see how the market reacts to his inflated profile.

“I don’t know if they think Jarious is going to the next guy, if they want Buck to be that guy or they want to give me another year,” says Dickenson, whose current contract runs through the 2009 season.

“There’s a lot of imponderables there. I don’t know if there’s a right answer. Whatever they decide, all three of us would like to be The Guy here.”

Asked if he would restructure his contract and take a pay cut to return, Dickenson told Jim Morris of Canadian Press: “I don’t know what I’m going to take. I understand that, if you’re going to get paid the way I get paid, you are the starter. You need to play the majority of the games. That didn’t happen this year. I understand there will be issues [concussion history] there. I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Proving that there’s more in his repertoire than just the ability to stay healthy, Jackson was the bargain of the season, his stature growing from game to game until Sunday, when nerves, a lack of execution and the Roughriders got to him. He was pulled just before the first half ended.

Despite completing just three of 12 passes, he was miffed that Wally Buono pulled him just as Jackson believed he was starting to find his rhythm. He acknowledged his feelings later to reporters but didn’t make it an issue.

“That’s why I work so hard in every offseason, to hopefully get that opportunity to be The Guy,” Jackson said. “I was blessed to have that opportunity, and I had a great supporting cast around me to achieve those goals. I’m going to talk to Wally and see what his ideas are. I like this organization, I like this team. Honestly, though, whether I’m back is all related to Dave’s contract, Buck’s contract, and the cap. That’s why I have an agent.”

Just as Dickenson acknowledged that Jackson’s next move will determine where the dominoes fall, the latter threw the onus back on him.

“I don’t see why Buck wouldn’t be back,” Jackson said. “As far as Dave, that’s up to him. He has a health issue he has to think about. That’s going to be his call.”

Confronted with health issues of his own, Pierce could face offseason surgery on his right shoulder, the most serious of a series of injuries that affected his throws (shoulder, hand), his mobility (foot) and his ability to breathe and take a hit (ribs).

“Buck played fairly well, but he had a lot of injury problems as well,” Dickenson said. “What are they going to do with that situation? I don’t know.”

Said Pierce, “I’m tired of sitting out, I’m tired of being hurt. It’s been an emotional season for me. My body hasn’t felt well. Every time I got back into a rhythm, and started playing well, I got hurt. That’s tough. We all want to be out there playing and contributing.”

Although his team’s quarterback carousel was the football media’s topic du jour, Buono said it’s much too early to discuss his future moves, given that the Lions are still numb and less than 24 hours removed Monday from digesting the loss to Saskatchewan.

“We haven’t sat down with the players, we haven’t sat down with the coaches,” he said. “I don’t think it’s fair to be discussing all these things today. Right now, we’re just trying to wrap up this year. Obviously, there are things that have to be addressed. Some will be addressed a lot quicker than others.”