CFL ROUND-UP
GUELPH, Ont. – Dontrelle Inman has cut short his return to the Toronto Argonauts.
Toronto placed the veteran receiver on the retired list Monday, one day after he opened training camp with the CFL club. Inman, 34, spent two seasons with the Argonauts (2012-13) before heading to the NFL and suiting up for the Los Angeles/San Diego Chargers (2014-16, 2019), Chicago Bears (2017), Indianapolis Colts (2018), New England Patriots (2019) and Washington Commanders (2020).
Inman decided to continue playing football after serving as coaching intern last year with the NFC-champion Philadelphia Eagles. And when Jim Barker, then a senior adviser with the Argos, came calling, Inman figured the best place to finish his playing career was where it essentially began.
Inman helped Toronto win the 100th Grey Cup in 2012 after being signed in 2011 as an undrafted free agent by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Barker was the Argos’ GM in 2012 but recently left the CFL franchise to rejoin TSN as a football analyst.
Inman’s retirement was surprising given the six-foot-three, 205-pound receiver not only looked to be in terrific condition, he performed very well during Sunday’s opening practice. Afterwards, he talked openly about wanting to continue to play and what he could bring to the table for his former team, which will be defending a Grey Cup title in 2023.
EDMONTON – Canadian offensive lineman Theren Churchill has been traded by the Toronto Argonauts to the Edmonton Elks.
Toronto gets a 2024 conditional sixth-round draft pick that can be escalated to a fifth-round pick in return.
Churchill was drafted by the Argonauts in the first-round of the 2020 CFL Draft and won a Grey Cup with Toronto last season.
The 28-year-old Churchill played in 10 games in 2021 and 11 games in 2022.
The six-foot-six, 295-pound lineman from Stettler, Alta., played collegiate football at the University of Regina.
OTTAWA – The Ottawa Redblacks have signed ex-Hamilton wide receiver Bralon Addison to a one-year deal.
Addison played in eight games last season with injuries limiting his playing time, recording 43 catches for 433 yards.
Through 31 career CFL games from 2018-2022, all with the Tiger-Cats, Addison has caught 143 passes for 2,013 career yards, 837 yards after the catch and scored eight touchdowns.
Addison was named a CFL All-Star in 2019, recording 1,236 receiving yards.
He also helped Hamilton reach the Grey Cup in 2019 and 2021.
Addison suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in 2022.
GUELPH, Ont. – Andrew Harris knows all too well just how monotonous, repetitive and tedious CFL training camps can be.
Harris, entering his 13th CFL season, reported to the start of the Toronto Argonauts’ camp Sunday at Guelph University. But this one’s much different because it’s Harris’s last as an active player.
“It’s about enjoying the process and enjoying the journey,” said the 36-year-old Winnipeg native. “Everything (in camp) will be for the last time, everything will be the last go at it.
“Some of the guys and the coaches have tried to get me a little emotional about that. But I’m going to save the emotions until the end and, like I said, just enjoy the process.”
Harris pondered retirement this off-season after helping Toronto edge Winnipeg 24-23 in the 2022 Grey Cup game. But he opted to return and split rushing duties with American A.J. Ouellette to not only help the Argos defend their championship but chase a fourth consecutive title (2019 and ’21 with Winnipeg) and fifth overall.
Harris’s first Grey Cup title came in 2011 with the B.C. Lions.
“After last season I was 80 per cent sure I was going to retire but I’m really happy I didn’t,” Harris said. “My body feels great but the biggest thing is being in the locker-room with these guys and the camaraderie we have.
“Once we get into the season, it’s going to get wound up and be about competing and winning games. Right now I’m enjoying the process and I’m really happy with my decision.”
(CP)
