Brink remains Blue

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/02/2012 (5222 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Why would Alex Brink take a pass on free agency and choose to come back to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, where there already was a logjam at quarterback?

The answer is based in a faith he’s put in the organization. Brink has been told he’ll be coming into training camp as the No. 2 guy on the depth chart, a verbal understanding that was reason enough to return to Winnipeg.

“My conversations with (Bombers GM Joe Mack and head coach Paul LaPolice) indicated that I’m going to have an opportunity to compete with those guys; that I will come into camp as the backup, and that’s part of the expectation in re-signing,” Brink said, officially agreeing to terms with the Blue and Gold on Monday.

The 26-year-old inked a two-year contract extension just two days before the start of the CFL’s free-agency period, which begins Wednesday at 11 a.m.

The Bombers are down to seven players who are eligible for free agency.

For a moment this off-season, it looked like Brink was the odd man out in the Bombers quarterback department. The two other free-agent pivots — starter Buck Pierce and backup Joey Elliott (who missed most of the 2011 campaign with a knee injury) — had already signed deals with the club. Tie those deals to what Mack said earlier in the winter, that it would be “unlikely” the Bombers would be financially able to get all three pivots under contract, and it looked like Brink was headed elsewhere.

That never came to pass. Instead, Brink and Elliott will compete for the Bombers backup gig at training camp.

Brink, entering his third year in the CFL, threw for 1,023 yards (89-for-140) with five touchdowns and four interceptions last season. He made two starts and appeared in eight games in 2011, rushing for 148 yards and six touchdowns, as he was trusted as Winnipeg’s short-yardage quarterback.

His progression in his two years as a Bomber was noticeable. So much so, that’s it’s a bit of a surprise he’s staying in Winnipeg. A look around the league reveals potential backup spots in Saskatchewan, Edmonton, and Toronto — suggesting there could have been a market for the 6-3, 216-pound pivot and a chance for more playing time.

Pass, Brink says.

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“It’s about continuity in my career,” said Brink, adding he’s looking forward to working with new offensive co-ordinator Gary Crowton, who coached at Oregon back when Brink was at Washington State.

“It’s not easy to go to a new team, meet all the new guys and pick up a new system, just to be a backup somewhere else. It’s important to have an understanding and a comfort level of where you are.

“That’s what Winnipeg can provide me in comparison to other places.”

The Bombers have five quarterbacks under contract for the 2012 season: Pierce, Brink, Elliott, Justin Goltz and Brandon Summers.

adam.wazny@freepress.mb.ca