Receiver Matthews not on shelf for very long

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This article was published 30/08/2019 (2248 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It sure didn’t take long for Chris Matthews to find work.

The former Winnipeg Blue Bombers wide receiver was released on Wednesday and, by Friday morning, he already had a new team — the Montreal Alouettes.

“Man, I’ll say we’re all happy just to see a guy like Chris get picked up as early as he did,” said Bombers defensive end Willie Jefferson, who wore Matthews’ No. 13 practice jersey on Wednesday. “It’s a blessing for him, man, just for him to not have to go home, then come right back to Canada and stuff like that. Just for him to have a team that wants him right now. It’s good for him and his family.”

Montreal’s assistant general manager is Joe Mack, who was the Bombers’ GM from 2010-13. Mack was the one responsible for originally bringing Matthews to the Blue and Gold, and the CFL, in 2012.

Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea was asked if he was surprised to see Matthews sign elsewhere so soon.

“I’m not. I was asked that before, and I said I thought he would sign somewhere,” O’Shea said. “That would make sense. Joe Mack brought him in, didn’t he, to the CFL?”

O’Shea was once again asked for the reasons behind releasing Matthews.

“I already talked about them: Darvin Adams is coming back and Kenny Lawler and our young guys. Those are all… those haven’t changed.”

Matthews will have opportunities to get some revenge against his former squad this season, as the Alouettes and Bombers play each other twice more this season. The Bombers will head to Montreal on Sept. 21 before hosting the Alouettes at IG Field on Oct. 12. Jefferson expects Matthews to have a big chip on his shoulder.

“That’s fine. It’s going to be fun, man,” Jefferson said. “I’ve been going against Chris since camp. We know the things that he’s good at, the things that he’s bad at. He still has to go out there and get accustomed to their playbook. When we do have the chance to go against him, he’s going to go against the Winnipeg defence like he’s been going against since camp.”

The Labour Day Classic hasn’t been kind to the Bombers, as they’ve only managed to win once in their past 14 tries. But O’Shea said those struggles mean nothing heading into Sunday’s game at Mosaic Stadium against the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

“I don’t know what our record is. I wouldn’t pay too much attention to it,” O’Shea said. “Each year brings a new contest, and I don’t know that you carry any momentum from one year to the next for that date.”

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One player you definitely don’t need to educate on the Labour Day Classic is Bombers receiver Nic Demski. The Winnipeg native has experienced it as a fan, but also with the Riders, as he spent 2015-17 with Saskatchewan.

“I got a lot of memories on both sides of the field, I guess you could say,” said Demski, who has caught 24 passes for 348 yards and three touchdowns this season. “But, you know, it’s just tradition, man. Especially being from Winnipeg, I’ve heard about this game growing up and been to a couple games growing up. So, I just know how much energy, pride and emotion are behind these games. It’s something you really look forward to.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31

Taylor Allen
Reporter

Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor.

Every piece of reporting Taylor 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.