CFL NOTEBOOK
TORONTO – Edmonton quarterback Mike Reilly and Saskatchewan defensive back Nick Marshall and receiver Jordan Williams-Lambert are the CFL’s top performers for Week 10.
Reilly had 424 passing yards while completing 88.5 per cent of his passes in the Eskimos’ 40-24 win over visiting Montreal on Saturday.
The CFL’s reigning most outstanding player threw for three touchdowns and ran in another.
Reilly leads the league in yards (3,046) and touchdowns (19).
Marshall scored two touchdowns as Saskatchewan beat Calgary 40-27 Sunday to hand the visiting Stampeders their first loss of the season.
The defensive back scored one touchdown on a 67-yard interception return and another on a three-year run to become the first Roughrider to score an offensive and defensive touchdown in the same game since Jack Gotta in 1963.
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MONTREAL – Quarterback Johnny Manziel was not at the Montreal Alouettes’ practice on Tuesday after missing a week while on concussion protocol.
A team spokesman would not confirm that he remains under concussion protocol.
The team has only two practices this week so it appears unlikely that Manziel will play Friday night against the visiting Toronto Argonauts.
Antonio Pipkin made his first CFL start and looked promising in a 40-24 loss in Edmonton on Saturday. Pipkin is expected to start again versus Toronto.
Manziel started the previous two games for Montreal (1-8), looking sharper in the second outing. The former Heisman Trophy winner finished the game in Ottawa despite take by a nasty hit to the head while trying to run in a touchdown.
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VANCOUVER, B.C. – Micah Awe is heading back to the B.C. Lions.
The team announced Monday that it has agreed to terms on a contract with the six-foot, 220-pound linebacker.
Awe spent the 2017 campaign with the Lions, appearing in 18 regular season games _ getting the starting nod in the final nine _ and collecting 54 tackles along the way.
The 24-year-old was released by the club in January to pursue an opportunity in the NFL. He signed a reserve/future contract with the New York Jets.
But he was waived by the Jets at the end of April.
“Micah reached out to the club about the possibility of a return and we’re very pleased to have him back,” said Lions general manager Ed Hervey.
“As a free agent who had a very impressive CFL debut last year, he had the opportunity to potentially sign with any club in the league and I believe his desire to return to the Lions speaks to the culture we are building here in B.C.”
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BUFFALO – It didn’t take Jon Ryan long to find a new home.
The Buffalo Bills announced Tuesday that they have signed the Regina-born punter to a one-year contract. The move comes a day after the Seattle Seahawks released Ryan after 10 seasons.
Ryan will be reunited with kicker Steven Hauschka, who’s also a former Seahawk.
Ryan posted a lengthy goodbye to the Seahawks and their fans on social media Monday morning.
“I never wanted this day to come, but knew it would someday,” Ryan wrote.
Ryan was among the most popular Seahawks players for his skill as a punter and his personality off the field. But his time in Seattle appeared to be up when Michael Dickson was selected in the fifth round of this year’s draft.
Ryan played for three head coaches in Seattle, starting with Mike Holmgren in 2008, Jim Mora in 2009 and the past eight seasons under Pete Carroll.
He was responsible for one of the most important touchdowns in franchise history, throwing a TD pass on a trick play in the 2014 NFC Championship game that helped Seattle reach its second straight Super Bowl.
Ryan’s note had a special message for Seattle fans.
“You embraced a pale-skinned, red-headed Canadian with a speech impediment and made him feel like a superstar,” Ryan wrote. “I will forever be grateful.”
(Canadian Press)
