Durant dreaming of more Grey Cup wins in Montreal
Former Roughriders quarterback shifts focus to helping Alouettes
MONTREAL (CP) — Darian Durant wants to put Saskatchewan behind him and get started on his new role as quarterback of the Montreal Alouettes.
Durant donned his new Alouettes jersey with his old No. 4 for the first time at a news conference on Friday, a day after inking a three-year contract reportedly worth $1.2 million.
“I’ll do everything in my power to make sure we get back to winning ways, and that’s not just the playoffs,” said Durant. “It’s all about Grey Cups.
“That’s my focus. And starting from this day, 100 per cent of my time and energy will go into that.”
The 34-year-old Durant did not want to talk about Saskatchewan, where he spent the first 11 years of his career and where he led the Roughriders to a Grey Cup victory on home turf in 2013.
A potential free agent in February, Riders coach and general manager Chris Jones traded his rights to the Alouettes on Jan. 13 after failing to reach agreement on a new contract. The move left Saskatchewan without a proven starting quarterback, but Jones didn’t want to commit to a long-term deal at top salary to an aging quarterback who has had injury trouble the last three seasons.
When asked why Saskatchewan let him go, Durant said: “I have no idea. I think everything I showed and did show that I wanted to finish my career there.
“I guess it comes down to want. This organization wanted me here . . . and they wanted to go in a different direction over in Saskatchewan. I don’t want to spend much more time talking about Saskatchewan. I’m an Alouette now. I’m very happy to be one.”