Blue to shuffle deck again

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This article was published 15/07/2015 (4041 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Football giveth and football taketh away.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are likely going to trade one hand injury for another this week with the imminent return of defensive back and kick returner Troy Stoudermire and the loss of veteran defensive lineman Bryant Turner.

Turner, who missed Tuesday’s practice, will miss the two of weeks, with an apparent hand injury of unknown origin, according to head coach Mike O’Shea.

Stoudermire, meanwhile, is gearing up for a return in some capacity after practising in full garb Tuesday for the first time since the infancy of training camp, when he broke his hand.

“I feel great. I’ve been training before I even got out here so I don’t feel this is my first time out,” Stoudermire said. “The hand felt great.”

He saw snaps at halfback and on offence on Tuesday.

“Coach O’Shea asked me to come over and take a few snaps on offence, so I did that, but I think I’m just mainly on defence,” Stoudermire said.

“I’m expecting to do the same thing I did last year: punt return and kick return. Wherever the team needs me at, I’m ready to do whatever. I’ll be there.”

Asked where fans might see Stoudermire on Saturday night in Calgary against the Stampeders, O’Shea was offering up more comedy than reality.

“Probably starting quarterback,” he said.

Stoudermire’s presence on offensive snaps may have had something to do with the absence of Darvin Adams, who was sick Tuesday, according to the club.

Justin Veltung, the incumbent return specialist while Stoudermire has been sidelined, also saw reps at receiver.

O’Shea hopes Adams will be available for Wednesday’s practice.

One man’s misfortune is another man’s opening in the CFL.

— — —

With Turner expected to miss time, CFL newcomer Nate Collins could be in line to take his place come Saturday in Calgary.

Collins, who was banged up during much of the Bombers training camp, was shown some additional grace from O’Shea due to the head coach liking what he saw.

“He’s does show a good football IQ, explosion, good short-area quickness, as the scouts like to say,” O’Shea said. “He’s a guy, when we brought him in, the scouts through very highly of him.

“I like what I saw today in practice, I like what I saw today in one-on-ones. It’s going to come down to his fitness levels because he has been off for a little bit.”

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O’Shea seemed slightly in awe of Calgary’s ability to plug players into positions vacated due to injury and not skip a beat.

“It doesn’t seem remarkable, it seems typical — that’s a place we’d like to be,” O’Shea said. “They’ve managed to get done what they needed to get done. They stepped up and won a game (in Week 3) when it looked like they were going to be short-handed.”

Meanwhile, O’Shea’s mantra of taking one game at a time isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. It’s a tried and true cliché, but a necessary one, he said.

“If you look too far ahead, you’re going to get punched in the mouth. It seems simplistic to everybody, but that’s the way it has to work.”

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca

Scott Billeck
Reporter

Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade’s worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024.  Read more about Scott.

Every piece of reporting Scott produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.