It’s as if Denmark never left

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 31/07/2016 (3359 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Months before the start of the 2016 CFL season, Clarence Denmark and Bryant Turner were the longest-standing members of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

After the Bombers went 5-13 in 2015, Denmark, a veteran receiver, and Turner, an anchor on the defensive line, were the only two players remaining from the team that made it to the Grey Cup final in 2011, each having played five seasons with the Blue and Gold.

With the Bombers acquiring a number of new pieces in the off-season, including major upgrades to the receiving group and on the D-line, Denmark and Turner were deemed expendable. They were released March 22, months before the start of training camp, seemingly never to be heard from again (Turner has since signed with the B.C. Lions).

So it was both surprising, and yet not all that unusual, given the Bombers’ current predicament, to see Denmark on the field Sunday at Investors Group Field, participating in drills at practice as if he’d never left. It was as if he hadn’t spent the last couple of months without a job.

“I was totally surprised to get the call,” said Denmark, 30, after Sunday’s workout. “I didn’t believe it was real at the time.”

The reason for his return is the same as why the Bombers dropped Denmark in March: Supply and demand. Right now, Denmark is in high demand; evident by the fact he’s already started working with the first-team offence and is expected to start Wednesday when the Bombers welcome the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to town.

The Bombers need Denmark as much as they need Jace Davis, or Thomas Mayo, or Rory Kohlert, or Kris Adams, or anyone healthy enough to play receiver right now. Weston Dressler and Ryan Smith, the two major off-season signings at receiver that led to the departure of Denmark, are both out with injuries, along with Darvin Adams, who could miss as many as seven weeks with an upper-body injury.

Thus, it wasn’t whether Denmark was available, but how fast could he get here.

“Basically, how fast can you pack?” is how Denmark described it.

Simply put, the Bombers are in desperation mode. A convincing 30-23 win over the Edmonton Eskimos last week has kept them above water, for now, improving their record to 2-4 on the year. But with Winnipeg on a short week and Hamilton coming off a bye, they needed someone who could come in and learn quickly.

They needed a guy like Denmark.

“He can look at the film, look at pictures very quickly and understand what a defence is trying to do and what our offence is trying to do to beat that,” said head coach Mike O’Shea Sunday. “It just comes with that kind of experience. You’re not going to find that on the streets somewhere — a guy to step in and be able to go out there and play his best on such short notice.”

Thing is, that’s pretty much where the Bombers found Denmark — the same place they tossed him when they decided to terminate his contract over the winter, clearly feeling the numbers on his paycheque didn’t quite add up to his value on the field.

“Sometimes the business gets in the way. We can move that out of the way again and everything will be great — and I’m sure it will be,” said O’Shea. “Everybody wants to keep playing, so it’s a good opportunity.”

In five seasons with Winnipeg, Denmark had 306 catches for 4,165 yards and 16 touchdowns, and was named a CFL all-star in 2014 — a year he racked up 1,080 yards, the second most of any receiver in the league.

“I had seen where the team was going and obviously I wanted to be here,” said Denmark. “But it’s a business at the end of the day, and of all people I know that. I’ve been on the good side of it for a while and when the bad side comes you just got to deal with it.”

Released by Winnipeg, Denmark was picked up by the Saskatchewan Roughriders, a stint that ended with him being one of the final cuts. After that, Denmark said the thought of life after football began to creep into his mind. But he never quit on his body, returning to daily workouts back home in Jacksonville, Fla., making sure he was ready if — and when — a call came.

It was fitting when it did finally come, Denmark was sitting on his couch watching the Bombers defeat the Eskimos, cheering for the team that had given up on him but now wanted him back. The feeling was mutual.

“Winnipeg is my team, regardless of what happens,” he said. “I played here five years and that’s always going to be my team no matter what.”

— Jeff Hamilton