Another Zylstra on the way for Eskimos?

Brandon Zylstra won’t be with the Edmonton Eskimos when training camp opens in the spring.

And while Eskimos general manager Brock Sunderland has yet to perfect a way to clone last year’s Canadian Football League receiving yards leader, he has done the next best thing.

Zylstra’s younger brother, Shane, appeared among 10 names unveiled on Edmonton’s negotiation list Tuesday, as part of a leaguewide mandate.

“He’s my twin,” Brandon said of Shane, 21. “We think the same, we look identical. He’s four years younger but we could pass off as twins.”

Both Zylstra’s names appeared at the top of their respective team’s receiving yards list last year, too, with Shane leading the way for the Minnesota State University Mustangs, who finished 13-1 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, with 51 catches for 861 yards and 15 touchdowns last year.

“He’s striving for greatness too, he wants to be the best in what he does and he’s way ahead of where I was at that time, so I’m very excited for him,” Brandon said. “He’s a freak athlete.

“He’s one of my best friends, we’re just on the grind together, pretty much.”

But before any Eskimos fans dust off that ol’ Zylstra jersey that’s been hanging in the closet since Brandon signed with the National Football League’s Minnesota Vikings on Jan. 3, there is no guarantee a neg-list player will actually end up with their team, or even in the CFL, for that matter. Neg lists tend to be fluid with a maximum of 45 players who can be added, removed or traded at any time.

But making the process a little more transparent has found approval within the Eskimos’ own locker-room.

“I think it’s awesome, because I’m nosy,” defensive back Aaron Grymes said. “So I see guys trade people for a neg-list player and I’m like, ‘Well, who did they trade for?’

“It’s too secretive for me.”