TORONTO - The Toronto Argonauts will once again have an open competition at quarterback when training camp opens this summer.

Toronto acquired veteran quarterback Steven Jyles from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Wednesday for the fourth pick in this year's Canadian college draft and a conditional 2012 fourth-round selection. That pick could become a second-round selection depending on how many games Jyles plays for the Argos.

And Jim Barker, Toronto's head coach and GM, said Jyles will be given every opportunity to compete with incumbent Cleo Lemon for the starting job.

"Cleo was told at the end of the year there would be competition," Barker said via telephone from Colorado. "I felt like Cleo's mobility was something he needed to work on and I'm sure he is doing that. It will be an open competition and the best guy will play.

"I wanted somebody who had great mobility . . . he (Jyles) can make plays when things break down. One statistic our coaches came up with was last year well over 60 per cent of the scoring drives in the CFL had one broken play in it where the quarterback made something happen and that's an important factor in our league to be able to have a quarterback with that kind of mobility."

Jyles, for one, is looking forward to having the chance to compete for the No. 1 job.

"That's a great feeling," he said. "I'm really excited now."

"I'm looking forward to being part of a great team and having the chance to contribute."

Jyles, 28, also acknowledged the importance of mobility at the quarterback position.

"When your quarterback has the ability to run and make plays and get first downs with his legs, that adds something to the game the defence has to concentrate on," he said.

However, questions do exist about Jyles and Lemon as both are recovering from off-season surgeries -- Jyles had right shoulder surgery while Lemon underwent an operation on his right pinky finger.

"But I'm a lot more excited about our quarterback situation now than I was this time last year," Barker said. "The thing with Steven Jyles is he had a year to play and put up impressive numbers.

"He got signed (as a free agent by Winnipeg) just before I got here last year so we didn't get a chance at him last year because I've liked him for a while."

Jyles said his rehab is progressing well, adding he started throwing about two weeks ago and remains pain-free.

"I've got my range of motion and flexibility back so I'm really fired up," he said. "It's just a matter of strengthening my arm back up throwing the football."

The deal gives a rebuilding Winnipeg club two early first-round picks as the Bombers also own the first overall selection after posting a league-worse 4-14 record last year. And with Buck Pierce firmly entrenched as the starter and emergence of third-stringer Alex Brink, Jyles had become expendable.

"With the importance of non-import players in our league, combined with how we feel about our current quarterback situation with Buck Pierce and our young quarterbacks, we're very happy with the transaction we were able to complete," Bombers GM Joe Mack said in a statement.

Lemon got the nod as Argos starter ahead of four other quarterbacks following last year's camp -- former NFL players Gibran Hamdan and Ken Dorsey, former Saskatchewan backup Dalton Bell and rookie Danny Brannagan of Burlington, Ont. Barker's decision to start Lemon was somewhat surprising given Bell had a better camp statistically.

Lemon adjusted slowly to the wide-open Canadian game, completing 285-of-462 passes (61.7 per cent) for 3,433 yards. But he had more interceptions (19) than touchdown tosses (15) and didn't consistently show he could run away from a heavy pass rush and either head upfield for a positive gain or extend a play and give his receivers time to get open downfield.

Toronto's offence did boast the CFL's second-ranked rusher in newcomer Cory Boyd (1,359 yards) but finished the season ranked last in scoring (20.7 points per game), total yards (316.3 per game) and passing (221.1 yards per game).

The Argos rode the combination of Boyd, solid defence and stellar special-teams play from returner Chad Owens to a 9-9 record and third-place finish in the East Division. More importantly, Toronto found itself back in the CFL playoffs after registering just seven wins the previous two seasons combined.

The club's amazing turnaround help Barker secure the CFL's coach of the year award.

Jyles was 3-8 as Winnipeg's starter last year in relief of Pierce, who missed time with a knee injury and dislocated elbow. Jyles finished 196-of-318 passing for 2,804 yards with 19 TD strikes against just seven interceptions. But he also fumbled eight times, losing five.