Stamps hurry Matthews into lineup

GAME DAY: B.C. AT CALGARY, 5 P.M.

CALGARY — Returning to the Canadian Football League is not like riding a bike, says receiver Chris Matthews.

The CFL’s most outstanding rookie in 2012 when he was with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Matthews is back in the league with the Calgary Stampeders.

A receiving corps ravaged by injuries accelerated Matthews’ re-entry. He’s on today’s game roster against the B.C. Lions less than two weeks after his signing.

The six-foot-five, 228-pound Californian caught four passes for 109 yards and a touchdown in the 2015 Super Bowl in a losing cause for the Seattle Seahawks.

Matthews was released from the Baltimore Ravens in late 2017.

He said adjusting to the Canadian game again isn’t automatic. Matthews has been in hurry-up mode learning an unfamiliar offence in Calgary.

Stampeders quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell has helped him a lot, Matthews said.

“It’s a lot of intricate parts to our offence that makes us unique,” Matthews said Friday. “Bo did something amazing for me today. He wrote down a lot of things I needed to understand during the game. He wrote it down, drew up the picture and everything.

“I’ve never had anybody do that for me and I’ve been around great quarterbacks. That just showed me these guys really want me to succeed and to help him win.”