No market for mutineers

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Derick Armstrong (MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ARCHIVES)

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Adarius Bowman (KEN GIGLIOTTI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

Big Country has become a man without a country. Or at least a team.

For the second straight day Winnipeg Blue Bombers wideout Derick Armstrong was held out of practice as the club attempts to salvage something from the debacle that began last Thursday when the 30-year-old refused to play in a game against the Edmonton Eskimos.

Armstrong, who holds the nickname Big Country for his off-field occupation as a rancher, is being shopped around the league as the team attempts to unburden itself of the talented but reluctant player while getting something in return.

The Bombers, who host the Calgary Stampeders Friday at Canad Inns Stadium, have had little luck arranging a trade to date, but appear comfortable to continue paying Armstrong while waiting for a deal to materialize.

Checks throughout the league came back with replies ranging from 'no interest' to 'why trade for a guy that's going to be cut?'

One thing is certain, the team is moving on without Armstrong. Management spoke to Armstrong on Monday and told him they were working toward a resolution.

"I was very pleased with the way the 52 players on the field practised (Monday) and we gave great effort. Those guys have really come together as a group and are working hard," said coach Mike Kelly, when asked about Armstrong's absence from Monday's workout. "I've moved on from that situation and it's in the hands of player personnel. I've got a football team to get ready."

The Free Press has learned the Bombers have made one addition to compensate for the imminent departure of Armstrong by signing former Hamilton Tiger-Cat wideout Scott Mitchell. The 6-foot-3, 222-pound product of Kentucky showed some flashes for the Ticats last season, pulling in 38 passes for 697 yards and two TDs after trying out for the Montreal Alouettes in 2007.

The Bombers also inquired about former Saskatchewan Roughrider receiver Matt Dominguez, but his agent said Monday the financial compensation wasn't lucrative enough for him to leave his real-estate position with a firm in Regina.

Kelly and the club have not officially said they are finished with Armstrong, who elected not to play in the season opener after being told he would be used as a backup and not a starter, but there's very little wiggle room according to Kelly's terse comments.

"We are collectively the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and we are all equally invested in this," said Kelly. "If someone doesn't want to make that investment, then they're no longer a member of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers."

With Armstrong, who has turned in back-to-back 1,000 yard seasons, out of the picture there will be more opportunity for newcomer Adarius Bowman.

"It doesn't make any difference to me. It's just another opportunity to go out and perform. Whether it's starting or coming off the bench, it doesn't make any difference to me," said the 23-year-old from Chattanooga, Tenn.

Quarterback Stefan LeFors likes what Bowman brings to the table.

"His size, his strength, his speed. He's a big target for me and he's dangerous after the catch," said LeFors, about the 6-4, 225-pound Bowman. "It's hard for a single cornerback to bring him down and it's great for me to be able to look out there and see a big guy that I'm familiar with."

With Armstrong off the roster, the team will likely add an American defensive lineman or defensive back. There's a good chance Canadian defensive lineman Doug Brown (viral infection) will not play and he'll be replaced on the roster by receiver Aaron Hargreaves.

The Blue Bombers are set to honour retired receiver Milt Stegall on Friday and Kelly was asked if the Armstrong situation would have developed under Stegall's watch.

"I don't know, yeah, I don't know. Milt accepted the role that he found himself in the last few years and understood that it was for the good of the team. That's what we're trying to do right now," said Kelly, suggesting that Stegall was willing to accept a reduced role in his later years, while Armstrong would not.

gary.lawless@freepress.mb.ca

Doug Brown, In the huddle B9

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 7, 2009 B6