Big Blue start season sans Sears’ services

DB, special teams guy out with ankle sprain

Posted: 1:00 AM CDT Tuesday, Jun. 28, 2011

THE Winnipeg Blue Bombers will be without the services of defensive back and kick coverage specialist Johnny Sears for "at least the next five to six weeks," Bombers head coach Paul LaPolice said Monday.

Read this article for free:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

*No charge for 4 weeks then price increases to the regular rate of $19.00 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

*Billed as $19 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.

Read unlimited articles for free today:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/06/2011 (5249 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

THE Winnipeg Blue Bombers will be without the services of defensive back and kick coverage specialist Johnny Sears for “at least the next five to six weeks,” Bombers head coach Paul LaPolice said Monday.

Sears suffered a high ankle sprain in the final minute of the fourth quarter last Thursday night against the Toronto Argonauts, injuring himself on the 73-yard touchdown run by Argos running back Chad Kackert.

Sears will start the season on the nine-game injured reserve list and is one of three key elements of the Bombers special teams unit — the other two are linebackers Clint Kent and Henoc Muamba — who will be absent when the Bombers open the regular season this Friday in Hamilton against the Tiger-Cats.

The injuries to Muamba (knee) and Kent (ankle) are not considered serious and both men could be back in the lineup as early as Week 2. Still, that’s a problem not to be underestimated on a Bombers team that struggled mightily last season to cover kicks and that has already given up a punt return for a touchdown during the pre-season.

“Those are three starters on your punt team that have basically fallen by the wayside,” LaPolice said. “So we want to make sure we continue to have talent.

Towards that end, the Bombers tracked down free agent Canadian safety Jason Nugent over the weekend.

Nugent — a Rutgers product — previously played for the Bombers during the 2007-08 seasons and was a standout on special teams. “Those two years were memorable years,” Nugent told reporters Monday. “I played with a lot of great players here and I feel like this is my home.”

Nugent was on the field at Canad Inns Stadium Monday as the Bombers staged their first practice since setting their 46-man roster on Saturday.

Nugent will start the season on the practice roster, which the Bombers released Monday morning. Joining Nugent on the practice roster are: non-import offensive lineman Brendan Dunn; import running back Alex Henderson; import defensive lineman Kenny Mainor; import defensive lineman Bryant Turner; import defensive back Arrington Hicks; and import quarterback Brandon Summers.

Summers joined the Bombers on the field for the first time Monday. A 25-year-old out of Youngstown State, the 6-0, 212-pound Summers set a single-season school record in 2009 with a 64 per cent completion rate (219-341).

“(He’s) a quarterback we’ve worked out and seen on film and liked a lot,” said LaPolice. “He can really run, he has a strong arm…We wanted him to come up, put him on the (practice roster) and evaluate him.”

— Wiecek