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#BCLions have released American P/K Shane McDonough & American WR Jamarius Way from the training camp roster.
A bit surprised at Way. He was with us 2 years ago and showed a lot of promise. I thought he was going to be competing for one of the X or Y receiver positions.
DH
BC Fan noted in his first post that Jamarius Way was "a limited participant" so maybe he's not ready to go and they're looking at others now.
It's clear after two practices that the Lions have a lot of depth at skill positions. Several receivers appear capable of stepping into the starting lineup in place of the injured Keon Hatcher and unsigned free agent Lucky Whitehead. In fact, this may be the deepest receiving corps I've seen at a Lions' camp despite the loss of the two veterans. It will be fascinating to watch this position group when main camp opens on Sunday.
"Ability without character will lose." - Marv Levy
Great report BC FAN. Thank you for taking the time. It reminds me of the old days of beat reporters and reading the sports section of the newspaper. Sad there is so little coverage these days.
My thought is the Lions knew making the changes they made at receiver could be a point of controversy so they were very diligent about bringing in talent. Hearing the names now with a bit of a description of their play on the field brings a lot more meaning than seeing the transaction listed on CFL.ca. Lions have a history of recruiting good receivers so they appear to be continuing the tradition.
Also sounds like a good QB situation. I see Prukop as being under rated. Fingers crossed they all stay healthy.
The Lions have wasted no time trimming their roster. The only cuts that have been confirmed so far are WR Jamarius Way and American kicker Shana McDonough but posirion groups were considerable smaller for the final day of mini-camp. I counted 42 players on the field for positional drills but 53 at the end of practice.
EDITED TO UPDATE PLAYER COUNTS
Mild surprise re; Way as they've seen something they liked to have kept bringing him back. However it might be saying a lot .ore about the newcomers they've brought in than him. I'm counting 102 on the roster now so must be a 3rd one dropped since yesterday. Should be down to needing to trim 7 more.
EDIT: Looks like LB Isaiah Abraham is the 3rd player released this morning.
Last edited by Hambone on Fri May 10, 2024 3:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
You're as old as you've ever been and as young as you're ever going to be.
Rookie mini-camp wound up Friday with a crisp padded practice that featured some big plays on both sides of the ball.
Quarterbacks and receivers took lots of deep shots in one-on-ones. WR Jalon Sample, who had a good day all around, was one of several receivers with deep TD catches. He was followed by second-round draft pick Ezechial Tieide (against fellow draft pick Christophe Beaulieu), Taylor Grimes (against Chris Cooper), Mataio Talemotu (against Jassin States-McClean) and Kieran Poissant (against Duke Dawson). States-McClean redeemed himself with an interception. Other DBs with interceptions in one-on-ones were 2023 draft pick Charlie Ringland and late signee Isaiah Abraham from Western Oregon.
Vernon Adams and Chase Brice were the only QBs who took reps in skelly. VA was sharp, and showed good chemistry with Sample, who had a deep completion on a corner route against Jordan Perryman and nice catch on a curl route against Ronald Kent. Brice had one pass intercepted by Beaulieu and another knocked down by Bryce Watts.
Adams, Jake Dolegala, Dakota Prukop and Brice took a few reps in that order in a 10-minute team session. Adams completed the only pass he threw to Sample and handed to Ronald Awatt for a nice inside run. Awatt was stopped for a short gain on his second carry later in the session. No other RBs touched the ball. Dolegala was 0 for 2, with one pass to Travis Fulgham knocked down by Dawson. Prukop had the most reps, going 4 for 4, including two completions to Tieide.
Veterans report Saturday, and main camp begins Sunday morning. It should be competitive, with several starting positions up for grabs, and plenty of good candidates vying for them.
Mild surprise re; Way as they've seen something they liked to have kept bringing him back. However it might be saying a lot .ore about the newcomers they've brought in than him. I'm counting 102 on the roster now so must be a 3rd one dropped since yesterday. Should be down to needing to trim 7 more.
I suspect Way was waived because he's injured. He was on the field in uniform Thursday but didn't practise.
Mild surprise re; Way as they've seen something they liked to have kept bringing him back. However it might be saying a lot .ore about the newcomers they've brought in than him. I'm counting 102 on the roster now so must be a 3rd one dropped since yesterday. Should be down to needing to trim 7 more.
I suspect Way was waived because he's injured. He was on the field in uniform Thursday but didn't practise.
Time to move on then. Staying healthy hasn't been one of his strong suits.
You're as old as you've ever been and as young as you're ever going to be.
The roster on the website lists 99. I estimate they still need to cut 2 more to get to 85. Possibly they have an injury or two that takes care of that.
Amongst the 99:
Injured & won't be in main camp - Hatcher, Hinsperger, Lee III
Veterans took to the field alongside rookies Sunday morning for the first day of main camp. There were no further cuts other than those announced Friday and Saturday, and all vets reported as expected. Second-year receiver Bryson Daughtry rode the bike on the sidelines but there was no indication that anyone else was injured.
Practice was just a one-hour walkthrough, but the first day of camp is usually the most important because we get to see which players take first-team reps on both sides of the ball. Barring injuries and a few open positional battles, the players who take first-team reps on the opening day of camp are usually Game 1 starters in the regular season.
The biggest changes from 2023 are at receiver and defensive back. To no surprise, new Lions given first-team reps on offence Sunday included free-agent RB William Stanback, former NFL WR Travis Fulgham, utility WR Justin McInnis and second-year receiver Ayden Eberhardt. Look for Hollins to take Luck Whitehead's old spot as boundary WR and Eberhardt to take Hollins' former spot in the field side. McInnis, who started several games In place of Dominique Rhymes last year, takes over the position. Fulgham, a former Philadelphia Eagle, takes the place of injured SB Keon Hatcher. Receivers taking second-team reps were Terry Williams, Jalon Sample, Stanley Berryhill, Kieran Poissant and Jeff Cotton. There were no changes from the offensive line that finished the 2023 season.
The defensive shakeup came as a surprise. In the secondary, only CB Garry Peters' role on the corner is unchanged. Veteran national Adrian Greene slid out to the opposite corner, being replaced at safety by veteran backup Patrice Rene. FA acquisition Ciante Evans was at one halfback position and rookie Ronald Kent from Central Michigan was at the other. That unit bears watching closely. As expected, veteran free-agent Pete Robertson stepped in at end opposite veteran Sione Teuhema, and hometown hero Christian Covington lined up alongside Josh Banks inside.
Here is a full list of first-teamers:
OFFENCE
QB Vernon Adams
RB William Stanback
FB David Mackie
WR Alex Hollins
WR Ayden Eberhardt
WR Justin McInnis
SB Jevon Cottoy
WR Travis Fulgham
LT Jarell Broxtron
LG David Knevel
C Michael Couture
RG Sukh Chungh
RT Kent Perkins
DEFENCE
DE Pete Robertson
DE Sione Teuhema
DT Josh Banks
DT Christian Covington
MAC Josh Woods
WILL Ben Hladik
SAM Manny Rugamba
CB Garry Peters
CB Adrian Greene
HB Ciante Evans
S Patrice Rene
HB Ronald Kent
Covington, Hladik, Greene and Rene give the Lions four projected national starters on defence, which would likely be the most of any team. With five first-team nationals on offence, the Lions have lots of rotational flexibility. I'll keep an eye on these units daily and note any changes and regular rotations.
There was no passing on Day 1, and only a few field goal reps at the end of practice. The first field goal team is an all veteran unit headed by K Sean Whyte, holder Stefan Flintoft and second-year long-snapper Riley Pickett. Dylan St. Pierre snapped on the second unit, with Vernon Adams holding for Whyte. Former NFL long-snapper Kyle Nelson took reps on the third unit.
Expect the tempo to pick up and balls to start flying Monday morning.
I wonder if there's been a number change. I don't recall seeing 14 out there but I'll check tomorrow. I couldn't understand playing a raw rookie at HB.
I wonder if there's been a number change. I don't recall seeing 14 out there but I'll check tomorrow. I couldn't understand playing a raw rookie at HB.
Roster still shows 14. Maybe under the weather or otherwise not available to participate today.
You're as old as you've ever been and as young as you're ever going to be.
