Whenever Ricky Ray decides to retire, the Argonauts now feel they have his heir apparent in place.

The Boatmen reportedly have agreed to a two-year contract extension with pending free-agent quarterback James Franklin and are expected to make the official announcement on Friday.

The 6-foot-2, 225-pound Franklin was acquired from the Edmonton Eskimos on Dec. 11. Without a contract, Franklin was considered one of the top players pending CFL free agency on Feb. 13.

The 26-year-old Missouri grad had seen minimal playing time as the primary backup to Mike Reilly the past three years but his stats, even in a small sample size, are still impressive — 116-for-176 passing (.659) for 1,449 yards, 12 touchdowns and just one interception. This past season, playing in three games, he was 13-for-19 for 142 yards, two TDs and zero picks.

Franklin has also rushed 18 times for 145 yards — all but five of those coming three seasons ago.
Ray, who led the Argos to their second Grey Cup title in six years this past season, has yet to decide if he will return for another season or retire.

If Ray returns, it’s expected Franklin would spend next season learning the Argos system with an eye to taking over as the starting QB in 2019.