Surprise roster moves a positive sign for the Edmonton Eskimos
The release of wide receiver Jamaica Rector was one of many shocking moves the Eskimos made. However, they are obviously confident with the players they have.
The final cut-downs of the Edmonton Eskimos created quite stir in the city where the most popular topic seems to be the “Taylor vs. Tyler” debate, which will mercifully come to a close shortly. Among the names released by the Eskimos were veteran long snapper Taylor Inglis, talented wide receiver Jamaica Rector and one time first overall draft pick Adam Braidwood. All three have proven that they can both play and contribute effectively in the CFL in the past, so the decision to release them is more than a little interesting.
Long snapper is one of the truly undervalued positions on a football team, one which fans seem to only truly appreciate after a botched snap on a game-winning field goal or a crucial punt, goes horribly sideways and allows the opposing team to snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat. Inglis was probably one of the best in the league at his profession, executing at near one hundred percent efficiency over the past two seasons. The fact that the Eskimos decided to release him speaks more to the talent that the team has at other positions, than the diminishing of his skills or importance to the team. At least to start the 2010 season, the Eskimos will rely on linebacker Tim St.Pierre to handle the long snapping duties in addition to playing his normal role on special teams and as a back-up linebacker.
Jamaica Rector could be one of the most talented players in the CFL released on Thursday and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him on anther team’s roster before the start of August. The import wide receiver was a victim of the Eskimos being extremely deep at receiver heading into camp. The roster was further complicated when Kelly Campbell reported a week late after trying his hand at the NFL in 2009. Rector had an impressive pre-season, making four catches for 66 yards in limited action. In 14 starts for the Eskimos in 2009, he compiled 532 yards and one touchdown on 48 catches. Despite the past production, Rector could not move ahead on a depth chart that boasts 2009 receiving leader Fred Stamps and four very talented non-imports in Kamau Peterson, Andre Talbot, Andrew Nowacki and Brad Smith.
In a league where having talented non-import starters is imperitave for teams to have a chance at the Grey Cup, the release of Adam Braidwood caught a lot of people off guard. Most had him pencilled in as a potential starter for the Green & Gold in 2010. Instead, Braidwood will need to work his way up the depth chart from the practice roster. The two years he spent recovering from a devastating injury suffered near the end of the 2007 season look like they have finally caught up to the former first overall draft pick. It will be interesting to see if another team around the league that runs into early season injury issues along the defensive line would be willing to add him to their roster.
The release of those three players bodes well for the Eskimos in a year where they will be hosting the Grey Cup on their new field turf. If they feel capable of relinquishing players with this amount of talent, it must mean that they feel that they have better players on their current roster.
Gizzie Willie is a popular CFL blogger, writing for the Edmonton Eskimos, as well as his blog, EsksNation.ca, which focuses on the Edmonton Eskimos specifically.
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I was surprised with the release of Challenger and Rector. I am not sold on Edmonton's receiving core, with the exception of Stamps and Campbell.
Really Jon?!? The release of Challenger and Rector was not exceptionally surprising. Rector was simply a victim of the numbers game, however, Challenger was outmatched by other non-imports. As for the other Esks receivers, Kamau Peterson is one season removed from being the Most-Outstanding Canadian, Andre Talbot is a 700-yard per year receiver. Brad Smith showed well in the pre-season and Andrew Nowacki is very solid. As for the other imports, Jason Barnes and Efrem Hill were just a cut above Rector. There is a lot of talent at Ricky Ray's disposal this year.
We shall see. Peterson is coming off of a sub-par season. Talbot saw almost no time last seasone because of injury. Smith is an unproven player and Nowacki only averages around 400 yards a year.