Carter lines up as the ‘axe’ receiver for Boatmen

Duron Carter doesn’t have an axe to grind with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Carter will face his old team Saturday when the Toronto Argonauts (3-8) host Saskatchewan (7-5). It will be Carter’s first contest against the Riders since they released him Aug. 11.

“No, I don’t think I’m an axegrinding guy,” Carter said Friday. “I don’t think my axe skills are that (good).

“But you know, axe-throwing is something in Canada that I’ve seen and I want to get into.”

Riders head coach/GM Chris Jones has no animosity toward Carter.

“Duron is a great player,” Jones said. “He’s going to be a vital part of their offence, I’m sure, and we’re going to have our hands full covering him.

“Until you’ve been around Duron you don’t know exactly what he is.”

The six-foot-five, 205-pound Carter was in his second season with Saskatchewan when released. He was the Riders’ leading receiver last year with 1,043 yards and eight TDs on 73 catches but spent most of 2018 playing cornerback.

“I’m sure there will be fireworks and everything at the beginning but at the end of the day it’s just another regular-season CFL game,” Carter said.

Carter, 27, made his Toronto debut Sept. 8 in a 36-25 home loss against Hamilton. Carter is slated to start against Saskatchewan.

Toronto is eight points behind first-place Ottawa (7-5) in the East Division standings and six adrift of second-place Hamilton (6-6). There’s also ground to be made up on the B.C. Lions (5-6) and Winnipeg Blue Bombers (5-7), who’re tied for fourth in the West Division

The Argos have long struggled to attract fans, prompting numerous suggestions of a disinterest between Toronto sports fans and the CFL franchise.

“I think it (disinterest in Argos) is very overrated,” Carter said. “Last game they had the top blocked off but the game was pretty much full.

“People recognize us on the street, there’s people at practice so I think the media does a terrible job of expressing how Toronto Argonauts fans really are.”