CFL NOTEBOOK

WINNIPEG – Chris Matthews is done with the NFL.

The veteran receiver agreed to terms with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Friday, returning to where he began his CFL tenure in 2012. After four seasons (2014-17) south of the border with Seattle and Baltimore, Matthews opted to sign a long-term deal with the Bombers rather than continue pursuing NFL opportunities.

“I’m not looking to go back to the NFL at all,” Matthews said during a conference call. “So why not commit somewhere longterm and see where it takes me?

“Winnipeg has been great to me. From the time I got to Winnipeg to the time when I left, that was probably the most fun football I’ve played in a long time.”

Matthews had 81 catches for 1,192 yards and seven TDs with Winnipeg in 2012. He was limited to four games the following season before heading to the NFL.

He was a member of Seattle’s Super Bowl squad in 2014, registering five catches for 109 yards and a TD. He was a leading candidate for game MVP honours but that went to New England’s Tom Brady following the Patriots’ 28-24 victory.
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ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – Receiver Duke Williams doesn’t blink an eye when reminded he’s participating in the Buffalo Bills’ rookie camp three days short of his 27th birthday.

“I feel like I’m 21,” Williams said, breaking into a wide grin Friday after spending the session with players six and seven years younger. “But I’m not worried about it. I’m just here to play. That’s all I can do. Age don’t matter.”

Williams, whose first name is D’haquille, is in Buffalo attempting to make up for lost time in what could be his final shot to make an NFL roster.

“I wouldn’t say this is my last chance. But I’ve made my mistakes, and I’ve learned from them,” he said. “So it’s always in the back of my head: ‘Go get it. You ain’t got no more chances to mess up.”’

Williams is referring to his well-publicized checkered past.

It’s one in which he went from being considered a potential first-round draft pick to an undrafted free agent after being kicked out of Auburn during his senior year in 2015 following a bar fight in which he broke the jaw of teammate Xavier Dampeer.

And it was only after a brief and failed bid to earn a spot on the Los Angeles Rams’ roster in 2016 that led to Williams spending the past two years confronting his shortcomings and rededicating himself to football by playing in Canada for the Edmonton Eskimos.

“Edmonton is always home for me because they gave me the opportunity at rebirth and to get back to where I need to be,” said Williams, coming off a season in which he led the Canadian Football League with 1,579 yards receiving, and scored 11 touchdowns. “They will always have a place in my heart.”

Williams is equally thankful to the Bills for signing him to a reserve-future contract in January. He chose Buffalo over about four other NFL teams because of how the Bills are rebuilding through youth.

“Everything’s starting from the ground up right now, and I want to be a part of it,” said Williams, who combined 135 catches for 2,294 yards and 15 TDs in 31 career CFL games.
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TEMPE, AZ – Receiver Bryant Mitchell was cut by the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals on Friday.

Mitchell signed a reserve/future contract with the Cardinals back in January after three years in the CFL. Given he had a stellar 2018 season in Canada with the Edmonton Eskimos, and chances are Mitchell returns to the CFL for a better opportunity.