Roughriders castoff latest to join Blue quarterback contingent

By: Paul Wiecek Posted: 1:00 AM CDT Thursday, Sep. 5, 2013

IF Levi Brown turns out to be the quarterback Winnipeg Blue Bombers fans have been waiting a decade for, they will have the generous advice of the coaches of the Saskatchewan Roughriders to thank for him.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 05/09/2013 (4409 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brown, a third stringer for the NFL’s Buffalo Bills in 2010, was cut by the Roughriders in training camp this year and Bombers head coach Tim Burke said it was on Saskatchewan’s recommendation the Bombers announced Wednesday that they had signed the 6-4, 225-pound Troy graduate to their practice roster.

“Actually, it was some of the coaches over in Saskatchewan,” said Burke, when asked who’d recommended Brown.

Ruth Bonneville / Winnipeg Free Press
Newly signed Levi Brown gives Bombers five QBs at practice. — Ruth Bonneville / Winnipeg Free Press Newly signed Levi Brown gives Bombers five QBs at practice.

“They’d had him in camp and thought he was really good. I don’t know if he got hurt or they just didn’t have room for him but they thought he was really good.”

Brown was a seventh-round pick of the NFL’s Buffalo Bills in 2010 and spent his rookie season as the Bills third-stringer, seeing action in the Bills’ final game that year when he completed two of three passes for 24 yards. He spent the following season on the Bills’ practice roster.

Brown was named the Sun Belt Conference player of the year in his senior year at Troy after passing for a conference record 4,254 yards that season.

Brown was at Investors Group Field Wednesday as the Bombers practised for the first time since a loss to the Riders in Regina on Sunday dropped the team’s record to 1-8.

The addition of Brown to the practice roster means the Bombers now have five QBs on the field during practices — Brown, Justin Goltz, Max Hall, Jason Boltus and Buck Pierce.

Whether Brown gets a chance to actually play in Winnipeg remains to be seen, although it seems possible given this team has already had three starters this season.

“I don’t know enough about the offence here to know whether I fit into it better or worse (than Saskatchewan),” said Brown.

“This is my first day out here and so I haven’t had a long meeting with them yet or gotten into any scenarios.”

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca