CFL NOTEBOOK: WILLIAMS ACTIVATED IN BUFFALO, EDMONTON SIGNS WALKER
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – Former Edmonton Football Team star wide receiver Duke Williams has been elevated to the Buffalo Bills’ active roster for only the second time this season ahead of Saturday’s first-round playoff game against the visiting Indianapolis Colts.
The Bills’ top two receivers, Stefon Diggs (oblique) and Cole Beasley (leg), are nursing injuries and have been listed as questionable for the team’s first home playoff game in 25 years.
Williams registered no stats in one appearance in Week 7 against the New York Jets this season.
Last season, Williams made 12 catches for 166 yards with one touchdown in four games for the Bills. He had four catches for 49 yards and was targeted 10 times in Buffalo’s loss to Houston in the first round of the playoffs last season.
Williams signed with the Bills in January 2019 after two strong seasons with Edmonton.
Williams led the CFL with 1,579 receiving yards in 2018.
WALKER SIGNS LONG-AWAITED FREE AGENT DEAL
American receiver Derel Walker is back with the Edmonton Football Team.
Walker returned to Edmonton on Friday. He spent the 2019 season with the Toronto Argonauts.
Walker began his CFL career with Edmonton in 2015 and was the league’s top rookie after registering 89 catches for 1,110 yards and six TDs. He helped the franchise win the Grey Cup that season.
Walker joined the Argos as a free agent in 2019, registering 65 catches for 1,040 yards and six TDs. He became a free agent after the season.
Walker has recorded 362 catches for 5,248 yards and 32 TDs over five CFL seasons.
HOMEGROWN DB SIGNS WITH ALOUETTES
The Montreal Alouettes have signed Canadian defensive back Marc-Antoine Dequoy to a three-year deal.
The Als picked the University of Montreal product with their first pick in last year’s CFL draft, 14th overall.
Dequoy, a Montreal native, was cut by the NFL’s Green Bay Packers in training camp last year after signing as an undrafted free agent.
“I got the chance to get to know Marc-Antoine well with the Carabins and I am looking forward to seeing him play with the Alouettes, in his hometown,” Alouettes general manager Danny Maciocia, the former coach of the University of Montreal, said in a statement.
BOMBERS RE-SIGN FOUR
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers agreed to terms on one-year contract extensions with offensive lineman Geoff Gray and linebacker Shayne Gauthier, both Canadians, American linebacker Tobi Antigha and American defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat on Friday.
All four players were slated to become free agents next month.
Gray, a six-foot-six, 310-pound Winnipeg native, joined the Bombers in October 2018 after NFL stints with Green Bay, the New York Jets and Cleveland. He appeared in 13 games in 2019, 12 starts.
Gauther, of Dolbeau-Mistassini, Que., has spent the past four seasons with Winnipeg after being taken in the fourth round, No. 28 overall, by the Bombers in the 2016 CFL draft.
Antigha played in 11 games with Toronto in 2019, registering 20 tackles and two interceptions.
Jeffcoat returns for his fourth season with Winnipeg. He had five sacks, 23 tackles and two forced fumbles in 12 games in 2019 and then had two sacks and a forced fumble in a Grey Cup win over Hamilton.
CALGARY NATIVE BACK WITH STAMPS
The Stampeders have re-signed Calgary-born offensive lineman Ryan Sceviour.
Picked eighth overall in 2018, the University of Calgary product started all 18 games for the Stamps in 2019.
“Ryan stepped in and did an excellent job for us in 2019 and I look forward to seeing his continued development as one of the pillars of our offensive line,” Stampeders president and general manager John Hufnagel said in a statement.
The Stampeders also re-signed American receiver Kamar Jordan and American quarterback Dakota Prukop and signed Canadian receiver Trivel Pinto.
Jordan missed the entire 2019 regular season with a knee injury before returning for the playoffs. He was a West all-star in 2018.
Prukop originally signed with Calgary last year after three seasons with Toronto.
Pinto was Calgary’s second-round pick (12th overall) in the 2020 draft. He was a first-team all-Canadian twice at UBC.
ROUGHRIDERS MAKE TWO MOVES
The Saskatchewan Roughriders have extended the contract of American linebacker Gary Johnson Jr., and signed American receiver Charone Peake.
Johnson has signed a two-year extension after initially joining the Roughriders in October 2019.
Peake joins the Roughriders after four years in the NFL with the New York Jets and Jacksonville.
(Canadian Press)
