Esks’ Walker keen to see old buddy Manziel take the field for Alouettes
Will Johnny Manziel finally take his first Canadian Football League regular-season snap Thursday?
If so, Edmonton Eskimos receiver Derel Walker will be happy he was here to see it.
“I’m just looking forward to however it turns out,” said Walker, who caught passes from Johnny Football while the two attended Texas A&M.
But Manziel wasn’t the only former teammate on Walker’s mind during what’s been a busy week for the Alouettes front office.
Aside from Sunday ’s blockbuster Manziel deal, former long-time Eskimos receiver Adarius Bowman also wound up getting dished to Montreal after a brief and lessthan-productive stop in Winnipeg. Though, he has yet to report to his new club.
“If Johnny gets to play, if A-D gets to play, it’s a blessing on top of the game,” Walker said. “It’s a brotherhood that you build within this business, within this game of football, you build a brotherhood with a lot of great people and a lot of guys you get close with.” At least until game day. “Him going to Montreal and getting an earlier opportunity to play, it falls in his favour,” Walker said of Manziel. “But it’s us against Montreal and we’re going to go out there and handle business.”
Of course, there will be one player, in particular, out on the field who is facing a bigger battle than simply the usual us-versusthem.
With hand injuries to quarterbacks Drew Willy and Matt Schiltz, Vernon Adams Jr. was named the Alouettes starter for Thursday, earning an opportunity that can only be seen as one-and-done considering what the organization gave up to bring in Manziel.
“Exactly,” said Adams, a fivefoot-11, 200-pound Oregon product. “The last time I played a full game was 2016.
“I’m just going to go out there, make plays, do what I can, be efficient on second down, try to score some points and just try to get this win.”
But even if that happens, the future — at least the foreseeable part — is set in stone as far as the starting quarterback in Montreal.
“You could kind of look at it like that, or you could kind of look at it like this could be my last game,” Adams said. “So I’m just going to go out there and do what I can and get the ball to my playmakers.
“Whatever happens, happens. I’m just trying to get this win. Whatever happens in the future doesn’t even matter.”
While looking ahead is pretty straightforward, looking behind can be a bit confusing for Adams.
The last time he was the Alouettes starter, they won three games in a row to close out the 2016 regular season. In fact, he is officially 3-0 on his career as a CFL starter.
“The last quarterback to win,” Adams was quick to interject, as far as Montreal streaks go. “I think anybody would be disappointed to be the last quarterback to win here and then not really get an opportunity, but it’s a business and it’s just what happens up here.
“You never know what’s going to happen and they thought that was the right way to go.”
And off Adams went, traded to Saskatchewan midway through 2017, then on to Hamilton in the off-season only to be released at the end of training camp and brought back to Montreal.
But it’s the newest Alouettes quarterback everyone is talking about right now.
“I know in the back of my mind, everyone in the world knows he’s coming here to play. We all know that,” Adams said. “But I’m not worried about that right now. We’re 1-4. I’m not worried about anything other than playing and winning the game.”
If or how much the former Heisman Trophy winner will play Thursday is up in the air.
“We’ll play that by ear,” said Alouettes head coach Mike Sherman, who had a hand in recruiting Manziel, and coached the Aggies while Manziel redshirted there in 2011.
“I don’t want to put him in a situation that is uncomfortable for him with, really, two days of preparation. But then again, I do want to get him on the field and give him opportunities.
“So I’m weighing both options right now.”