NFL castoff Cory Brandon was long on the B.C. Lions' radar
By Lowell Ullrich, The Province September 2, 2014
There would be no way for the latest member of the B.C. Lions' offensive line to understand how he could go from NFL unemployment to a starting gig for the CFL team in a week.
And for Cory Brandon there was even less inclination to find answers.
Football is, after all, a transient life and there isn't enough time in a day to explain how the Lions have been watching Brandon for three seasons, waiting for the chance to take him off their negotiation list and get him on to the field.
A more superstitious type, however, might want to start casually inquiring exactly what it is that has caused the Lions to go through the number of tackles they have tried to employ since the off-season departure of Ben Archibald through forced retirement. All Brandon had to do to determine why he was with the starters at only his second CFL practice Monday was to look at rookie Hunter Steward off to one side in a cart, a pair of crutches close at hand.
The amount of turnover at the position Brandon will play Friday when the Lions travel for their first meeting with the Ottawa Redblacks has clearly exceeded epidemic proportions. Since starting the search to replace Archibald, the Lions have gone through a dozen candidates (see chart), making it even more startling how right tackle Jovan Olafioye avoided not getting caught up in the roster roulette. Olafioye was initially tabbed to replace Archibald before the Lions had second thoughts. It's Brandon who is lucky number 13.
Some players weren't good enough, or at least not up to the Lions' exacting standards.
Some suffered injury misfortune, like Steward, who underwent foot surgery last week and will at least be out a month.
Some players got homesick. Some weren't truthful and eventually let it be known they weren't interested in a CFL stipend.
But absolutely nobody on the Lions has a reasoned theory as to why they might as well have installed a turnstile at the most important position in the offensive protection unit.
"I've got to say it's a little freaky, all right," said Steward, who was injured in the fourth quarter of the Lions' loss against Saskatchewan but finished the game.
"You almost don't want to tell anyone what has happened this season at the position."
You'd think the Lions might be hesitant to start Brandon, given that only a month ago they handed the position to a newcomer, Ryan Cave, and had horrendous results.
Cave began his CFL career after only three practices - replacing the injured Andre Ramsey in July - and was cut after two starts. Ramsey has mostly recovered from toe and tibia issues, general manager Wally Buono said, a tacit suggestion that his stock has dropped.
Jermarcus Hardrick, also a regular-season casualty, went so far as to point out his recovery from an MCL injury by posting a workout video on Instagram last week.
But the Lions will try the same formula again, hoping that the 13th time is indeed the charm.
"It's been a challenge," understated coach Mike Benevides, who formally reinstalled Travis Lulay as starting quarterback in place of Kevin Glenn at the start of the practice week Sunday.
"But whether it's (replacing) the nickelback or cornerbacks, the organization has done a great job filling holes."
Around the Lions these days, however, change has become such a part of the regular routine that a newcomer can fit in almost instantly. With rookie Casey Chin on the roster, B.C. didn't have to acquire a new long snapper when Jordan Matechuk underwent season-ending finger surgery last week, but did so anyway, signing non-import Mike Benson on Sunday.
Rookie nickelback Josh Johnson was back with the first unit Monday on defence after MCL surgery. Import Ernest Jackson, however, was not with the starters on offence, and with Tim Brown returning kicks the Lions may have discovered a way to keep the league's hottest special teams player on the roster, though Benevides offered a variety of options. "We'll have to find (ratio) flexibility on the defensive side with our defensive tackle and also in the receiving corps," the head coach said.
It seemed perfectly normal, in fact, that Cody Husband was with the starters at right guard Monday instead of Dean Valli, who said back spasms won't prevent him from playing in Ottawa, or that centre
Matt Norman was at work even though he underwent arthroscopic knee surgery last week.
None of this is particularly relevant for now to Brandon, whose career has been in a state of flux since he went from being on the NCAA's Outland Trophy watch list - the award goes to the top college offensive lineman - while at Oklahoma to an undrafted third-stringer in his senior year.
That drop-off went about as fast as his stops with four NFL teams, which included the first three pre-season games with the Seattle Seahawks last month.
"You look back to learn," said the 26-year-old Brandon, who has been on the Lions' radar since he played briefly for the Spokane Shock of the Arena League three seasons ago.
"I have a son. I'm getting married in February. I don't want to sit out any longer."
Given the luck anyone has had playing the position for the Lions in the past few months, he might want to try paying for the honeymoon while he has the chance.
lullrich@theprovince.com
Twitter.com/fifthqtr
Tackling a dilemma
It's been a struggle to keep a left tackle with the B.C. Lions, or one who wants to remain in the CFL, this season. A list of players who have come and gone since the club's offensive mini-camp in April:
•Cut in training camp: R.J. Dill, Stephon Heyer, Jason Slowey.
•Injured during training camp: Rico Forbes. Left during training camp: Garrett Chisolm, John Estes.
•Cut during regular season: Ryan Cave, Nyere Aumaitre, Jarien Moreland.
•Injured in regular season: Andre Ramsey, Hunter Steward, Jermarcus Hardrick.
•Still on roster: RT Jovan Olafioye.