By Richard Obrand,
MontrealAlouettes.com
Als sign trio
Just hours before the CFL free agency period began, Alouettes’ Vice-President and General Manager Jim Popp announced that import wide-receiver Kerry Watkins and non-import fullback Kerry Carter have both signed two-year deals, while import defensive end Jermaine McElveen will stay with the Als for another season.
All three deals feature an option year following the final year of their contracts.
“It’s great that Kerry (Watkins) has decided to continue his career with us; he was the final piece of our starting 12 to lock in for 2010. We are happy that he wants to continue to be a part of our winning organization,” Popp said.
As for Jermaine, we’re very happy with his steady progress since he first joined us and we know his best years are yet to come. Kerry (Carter) is also a great signing – he has battled through some tough injuries, but we know his best years are ahead of him.”
Watkins, 30, is entering his seventh year with the Alouettes following a 2009 season that saw him finish second in the CFL with 1,243 receiving yards. The two-time CFL All-Star was also fourth with 81 receptions and second among Montreal receivers with eight touchdowns.
Carter will play his fourth season at fullback with the Alouettes. He played an instrumental role in Montreal’s dramatic comeback win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the 2009 Grey Cup by catching a five-yard pass late in the game for a two-point conversion late in last November’s final.
He is 29.
A Chicago, IL native, McElveen re-signs with the Als with 26 defensive tackles, four special teams tackles and three sacks in 25 career games with the team.
Free agency begins
As players all over the CFL saw their contracts expire at Tuesday’s 12:01 am deadline, allowing them to sign with any team in the league, general managers league-wide began rebuilding and reconstructing their football teams for the upcoming 2010 season.
The Toronto Argonauts, last season’s eighth-place team, didn’t waste any time to dip into the market, announcing the signings of cornerback Byron Parker and offensive lineman Cedric Gagne-Marcoux on Tuesday.
Having played his first four seasons with the Argonauts prior to being traded to the Eskimos last season, Parker is very happy to be returning to a familiar part of the country.
“I love it there,” Parker said on TSN.ca. “I’m familiar with the city and the people are familiar with me.”
Big names dealt
Days after signing the duo of Parker and Gagne-Marcoux, the Argos announced that they have traded recently signed receiver P.K. Sam to the Calgary Stampeders for All-Star receiver Jeremaine Copeland.
“I’m very excited to welcome P.K. Sam to the team” said Stamps head coach and GM John Hufnagel on TSN.ca. “He has two years of CFL experience under his belt and definitely has shown signs that he could be a breakthrough player in 2010.”
“I’m really excited about the trade,” said Sam. “I’m looking forward to going to camp with a team that has won a lot of games the past few years and has a legitimate shot of getting back to the Grey Cup.”
Last season, Sam recorded 27 catches for 327 yards and two touchdowns.
Copeland heads to Toronto following an impressive 2009 season that saw him receive CFL and West Division honours.
“Jeremaine is a productive receiver who brings a presence to our receiving corps, said Argos head coach Jim Barker. “I’ve won championships with him in three different cities and I don’t believe there is a player in the world who is better with a ball in the air than Jeremaine.”
