Receiver Durant strikes new deal with Stamps
B.C. native looks to bounce back after injury cut short his 2017 season
It was, Lemar Durant insisted, all in good fun.
But when Calgary Stampeders fans and teammates alike read his cryptic two-word tweet — “free agency” — last week, considering Durant could be a prospective free agent in February, some began to worry.
“Yeah, yeah,” Durant said with a chuckle from his home in Vancouver. “We’d had talks with Calgary and I knew that was going to happen. I was actually just watching some of the baseball free agency and I was like, ‘Ah man, it’s kind of wild here right now.’ But then I was like, if I tweet ‘free agency’ no one will really know what I’m talking about and we’ll see what people are saying. So I just went ahead and tweeted it. It actually caused a bit more of a stir than I thought it would.”
Worriers can now relax, as the Stamps and receiver came to an agreement on a contract, announced Monday.
“That was always my intention,” Durant said. “I wanted to sign back with Calgary. Just to get it out of the way is nice because I can just focus on getting better instead of having that thought always in my head: Where am I going to be? Am I going to end up in the right situation? So, just to have that stress off helps a lot.”
Stampeders general manager John Hufnagel put out a release.
“Lemar has made steady progress since joining the team three years ago. We’re counting on him to be an important part of our offence in 2018.”
Durant was in his third CFL season when disaster struck during a game in August against the Toronto Argonauts. He was injured after catching a 20-yard pass from quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell. The result: a torn ACL and meniscus and the end of his 2017 season.
“The surgery went well,” the 25-year-old said. “They say I’m ahead of schedule right now, so everything is looking good. I keep progressing every day so I should be fully ready for camp and no problems going into next season.
“It was devastating. It was a major shot to me. It felt like I was starting to come into my own and just started showing what I can do,” he said. “I still feel that I haven’t shown everything I can do. I feel I have so much more to prove to myself, too, so that just hurt. But this is the sport I play and things like that can happen. As long as I stay positive and go about rehabbing in the right way, I’ll be back next season better than ever.”
Heading into his fourth campaign, the talented 6-foot-2, 230-pounder will be looking for the breakout year he planned for 2017.
“That’s the thing,” he said. “I’m still young, but I’m not a rookie anymore. It’s time to actually make a statement. The year before in the playoffs is when I really started coming out and making plays. I have a great relationship with Bo and the coaches and they know my abilities. With Calgary wanting me back and us being able to work out the deal fairly easily, we’re both on the same page and everything will work out.”
Now it’s just a matter of rehabbing that knee and making sure it’s in tip-top shape come training camp in the spring. That’s still a work in progress.
“I can’t fully cut or do any major lateral movements,” the Simon Fraser product said. “But most of the restrictions are starting to go away. So it’s pretty much building up my strength and doing everything linear right now. I’ll keep in contact with the surgeon and some of the other physio guys and they’ll let me know when I can start opening up and doing everything. But as far as right now, it feels great.
“Sometimes I get frustrated because I want to do everything, but I know I have to stick to the process.”