Bombers release Kevin Smith

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/06/2014 (4155 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Kevin Smith “era” with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers lasted all of five days.

The Bombers released the former Detroit Lions star Monday morning after he pulled a hamstring in Sunday’s first official day of training camp.

Smith, who stood out in last week’s rookie camp, was hoping to reclaim his career after a year away from the game. But early Sunday he pulled up lame after catching a pass, watched the rest of the first session and then was nowhere to be seen for the second workout.

“First, there was the hamstring,” began head coach Mike O’Shea when asked about the decision Smith’s release. “We’re not in a position to not have bodies in camp. We brought that many tailbacks to camp so that we could have competition.

“Secondly, rather quickly it became apparent that the Bombers weren’t his first priority. He had a couple other things on his mind that he wanted to get done so it was not a hard decision.”

The Bombers are big on newcomers Nic Grigsby and Paris Cotton, both of whom are pushing incumbent Will Ford for the starting tailback job, as well as Canadians Carl Volny and Errol Brooks.

The club also announced the signing Monday of import offensive lineman Ed Prince (6-5, 290) who played at Kansas State after transferring from Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Mississippi while details are being worked out on a new deal for receiver Brett Carter, who watched practice Monday but will soon be on the field. The Bombers are getting thin at the Canadian receiver spot with Jordan Brescacin and Kurt Goodrich both injured and Cory Watson spending the day watching, but not participating.

Ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPEdTait