Harris rests while youngsters get reps

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/07/2021 (1518 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

After leaving Day 3 of training camp on Monday early because of an appointment, Winnipeg Blue Bombers star running back Andrew Harris was a spectator on Tuesday. 

But there’s no reason for anyone in Bomberland to be concerned, it’s just the perks you receive when you’re 34-years-old and the CFL’s all-time leader in yards from scrimmage by a Canadian player.

“We don’t need Andrew to practise right now. We need to get the reps for the young guys that are going to be with us in that kind of capacity all year long and evaluate those positions,” O’Shea said.

“I would say this: Andrew is probably going to take it easy for the next couple weeks and then he’ll be ready to go when I ask him to be. If I asked him to practise today, he’d practise today. If I asked him to practise tomorrow, he’d practise tomorrow. But I’m not going to ask him to practise for a little bit because we need to figure out who’s behind him and what they’re doing.”

With Harris taking it easy and Johnny Augustine battling an ailment that’s kept him from participating in the first four days of training camp, the reps have gone to second-year running back Brady Oliveira and rookie Kyle Borsa.

VETERANS EAGER TO COME BACK

The cancelled season gave left tackle Stanley Bryant and wide receiver Darvin Adams a chance to figure out what they were going to do post-football, but that doesn’t mean they’re ready to hang up the pads just yet.

Bryant, 35, started a trucking company with some friends, and Adams, 31, started his own remodeling business, doing ceramic tiles, rebuilding bathrooms and things of that nature.

“I’ve got three kids so it don’t stop. The bills never stop.The first of the month keeps coming,” Adams said. 

But even though these veterans are entrepreneurs, and Grey Cup champions, it was an easy decision to return to Winnipeg in 2021. Bryant was asked if retirement ever crossed his mind.

“I would say no, because I know I still have a lot left in the tank and then also I just love playing the game of football,” Bryant said.

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“My mind is right, my body is fine, so those are key components that I always think about. As long as those two are fine, then I’m always willing to play the game of football.”

Adams had a similar response.

“I love Winnipeg. I’m gonna retire here,” said the receiver. “There’s always a time to adjust, so when things happen, it happens in real life. Football isn’t the only thing that I do. So I just  was happy and really glad that I was taught a trade that really helped me during this pandemic. But of course, I’m always ready to play football so I was never thinking that I would stay home.”

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.