Depth in the backfield
LIONS: Acquisition from Alouettes provides insurance alongside Johnson and Rainey
The B.C. Lions added a running back Monday, acquiring Brandon Rutley from Montreal for future considerations
At worst, Brandon Rutley sounds like an important insurance policy for the B.C. Lions.
The Lions added the 29-year-old running back Monday in a trade with the Montreal Alouettes for future considerations.
The 5-foot-11, 192-pound Rutley, who grew up in Martinez, Calif., before going to San Jose State, has spent parts of five seasons in the CFL, including the past four with the Alouettes. He has 1,263 yards on 248 carries over his career and four touchdowns.
Rutley’s greatest CFL game likely came against the Lions in the 2014 East Division semifinal, when he got the start for Montreal in place of an injured Tyrell Sutton (ankle) and rushed for 98 yards on 17 carries and scored a touchdown in a 50-17 romp over B.C.
Lions general manager Ed Hervey talked about Rutley possibly pushing Jeremiah Johnson for the starter’s role at training camp. He also talked about how before the trade Chris Rainey would have automatically been next in line at running back if Johnson went down for an extended period and the Lions want to avoid overloading Rainey considering his importance on special teams.
“The trade helps us create a more competitive environment at training camp,” said Hervey. “We have to come in and be ready to compete for our positions. Regardless of how well we played as individuals last season, we need to get more out of our players.
“We also want to be even more of a running team this year and that’s going to put more emphasis on the running backs. It’s already a physically demanding position. How many teams do you see start the season with a running back and go through the entire season with just him? We want to make sure we had another quality veteran we could rely on.”
Rutley and Rainey were teammates on the 2014 Alouettes. Rainey had seven carries for 78 yards with one touchdown in the blowout.
Rutley was on the Lions’ negotiation list for a time years ago, but they dropped him. He signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2012 after a stint at an Oakland Raiders NFL mini-camp. They released him and he signed with the Alouettes during the 2014 campaign.
He got into 12 games with Montreal in both 2015 and 2016. He signed a two-year deal with Alouettes last February, but then saw action in only five games this past season with 49 carries for 291 yards.
“He’s shown, when he’s played in games, that he can be effective,” said Hervey. “He needed a fresh start. Hopefully he sees this an opportunity.”
Johnson, 30, rushed for 913 yards last season on 158 carries. He scored nine touchdowns along the ground.
Rainey, 29, saw his carries go up last season from 2016 (54 compared to 36), but saw his rushing yardage drop (226 compared to 309). There was a boost in his receiving numbers from 2016 (30 catches, 252 yards) to 2017 (51 catches, 494 yards).
His punt-return numbers last season (80 returns, 690 yards, 8.6 average) were down from the previous campaign (68 returns, 942 yards, 13.9 average), while his kickoff-return averages were similar between last year (72 returns, 1,671 yards, 23.2 average) and 2016 (58 returns, 1,359 yards, 23.4 average).
Oddly enough, the Lions open the regular season against Montreal on June 16 at B.C. Place. The Alouettes and Lions made another trade earlier this winter with B.C. landing defensive end Gabriel Knapton for receiver Chris Williams.