Lions among Duron Carter suitors after boot from Roughriders
By his own admission, Chris Jones released a “very good player” when the Saskatchewan Roughriders head coach/GM gave Duron Carter his walking papers on Saturday.
But it’s unclear whether Jones tried dealing Carter before cutting Saskatchewan’s top receiver of last season, especially with four other teams — Toronto, Hamilton, Montreal and B.C. — now interested in Carter following his release.
That’s not to suggest Jones could have commanded a firstround pick for the six-foot-five, 205-pound Carter. After all, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers got a conditional 2019 eighth-round selection last month from Montreal for Adarius Bowman, a four-time 1,000-yard receiver.
However, Carter is six years Bowman’s junior.
Jones wouldn’t offer reasons for Carter’s departure. Jones said he and Carter met daily during the 2017 season, and although that practice ended this year, the two still huddled periodically.
Carter is certainly no saint. There were reports an altercation with a teammate led to his release, something Jones wouldn’t address directly.
In 2016, Carter was suspended for one game after bumping Ottawa head coach Rick Campbell during a game. He and fellow receiver Kenny Stafford were released later that season following an incident during practice with quarterback Rakeem Cato.
Last off-season, Carter got into legal hot water with two marijuana-possession charges. One remains before the courts in Saskatoon but Carter received an absolute discharge after pleading guilty to an earlier charge in Winnipeg. The outspoken and gregarious Carter remains popular with fans, having over 22,000 Twitter followers.