CALGARY -- The Calgary Stampeders added some experience to their practice roster Monday.

The Stampeders placed defensive lineman Demonte' Bolden, offensive lineman Joe McGrath, linebacker Jason Nugent and defensive back Quincy Butler on their practice roster. All four have previous CFL experience.

McGrath was originally selected by Calgary in the 2003 Canadian college draft and spent time on the club's practice roster. He went on to play the last seven seasons with Edmonton, Saskatchewan and the B.C. Lions.



(tsn.ca)

VANCOUVER - Offensive lineman Joe McGrath, synonymous with a second-half turnaround by the B.C. Lions last year, could come out of mothballs to help the team do it a second time.

Lions head coach Wally Buono said the return of McGrath is one of the options the Lions are looking at in the wake of a torn triceps injury suffered by starting left guard Jon Hameister-Ries in practice last week. Hameister-Ries is to undergo surgery and will be placed on the nine-game injured list.

“He’d be our seventh guy [offensive lineman] at this point,” Buono said of McGrath. “He’s versatile.”

The Lions released McGrath in May, a week before the start of training, a move that was anticipated when the Lions picked up left tackle Ben Archibald. The free-agent signing gave the Lions the option of moving sophomore pro Jovan Olafioye from the left side to play McGrath’s right-tackle spot.

McGrath, 30, signed with B.C. on Aug. 19 last year after being released by the Edmonton Eskimos and took some satisfaction in making his former coach, Richie Hall, eat his words. Hall deemed McGrath "too soft." But the former Miami Hurricane was a bulwark on the offensive line as the Lions went 7-3 over their final 10 games - with the Moose Jaw native starting at right tackle - to qualify for the playoffs.

McGrath said Sunday that the Lions have discussed his possible return with his agent, Tim Fleiszer. And he bears no grudge toward the club for having released him at a personally inconvenient juncture, well after most CFL teams had posted “no vacancy” signs for their 2011 training camp rosters.

“The league is so small, players get recycled, and coaches get recycled, all the time,” McGrath said from his home in Edmonton. “I don’t take it personally [his release by the Lions] because things happen under weird circumstances. You can’t go around being upset because it’s business.

“I’ll hang up the cleats one day, but I’m not quite ready to do that yet. I’m still young enough, I enjoy the game and I still want to play.”

Hameister-Ries was injured in practice last Wednesday when he tangled with defensive lineman James Bryant, a member of the scout team. However, the initial diagnosis of a strained triceps turned out to be a false hope, when an MRI revealed the tear.

Hameister-Ries flew to Edmonton for Saturday’s game against the Eskimos and was expected to dress in a backup role , with his injured arm taped, as part of the 42-man roster. When the more serious nature of his injury came to light, however, Hameister-Ries was scratched in favour of practice roster player Adam Baboulas.

Jesse Newman started in place of Hameister-Ries at left guard in the Edmonton game.


(vancouversun.com)

Right tackle Joe McGrath was synonymous with a second-half turnaround by the B.C. Lions last year. But it brought him no guarantees for the 2011 CFL season, a fact of business life borne out by his official release Tuesday along with veteran wide receiver O'Neil Wilson.

For McGrath, the move had been anticipated since the Lions signed import free-agent left tackle Ben Archibald and coach Wally Buono suggested that sophomore pro Jovan Olafioye would be moved over to play McGrath's right-tackle spot.

"It's business, it's football, and it happens all the time," McGrath said. "You can be a rose one day, a dandelion tomorrow. But it wasn't like the decision caught me off guard. We've [McGrath and Buono] been talking about my situation for a while. No, I wasn't surprised."

McGrath and Wilson were part of a spring house cleaning which also swept out import defensive end Jeremy Geathers, who tore his ACL in his CFL debut last season and never did complete a full game with the Lions.

McGrath, 30, signed with B.C. on Aug. 19 last year after being released by the Edmonton Eskimos and took some satisfaction in making his former coach, Richie Hall, eat his words. Hall deemed McGrath "too soft." But the former Miami Hurricane was a bulwark on the offensive line as the Lions went 7-3 over their final 10 games -with the Moose Jaw native starting at right tackle -to qualify for the playoffs.

With Buono's attempts to trade him bearing no fruit, McGrath feels his release will make it easier to catch on with another CFL team. The newlyminted free agent has spent time with every one of the four teams in the West Division during his eight-year career.

"Being a free agent is nice," McGrath said. "It means the next step is somewhat in my control, where I go. I still have a lot of my football career left. Unfortunately, it won't be with the B.C. Lions. We really bonded at the end of last season. They have a great coaching staff and great players."



(vancouversun.com)