Salgado looks for bigger role with Stamps in 2020
Mexican receiver stays in Calgary to train in hopes of landing spot on special teams
Andres Salgado didn’t get a tonne of time on the field last year for the Calgary Stampeders. He’s hoping to change that if and when there’s a 2020 season.
Off the field, though, Salgado is almost the poster-boy for some of what commissioner Randy Ambrosie was looking to accomplish when he launched the CFL 2.0 initiative last off-season.
Since he came up to Calgary from Mexico City last spring, there’s never been a second where it wasn’t obvious how much Salgado was treasuring the opportunity to play football in the CFL.
He grinded at every practice, despite being only days removed from playing in Mexico’s LFA championship game before training camp.
After the 2019 season ended, he even opted to stay in Calgary all winter to train with teammates instead of going home.
Salgado has more than proven how much this CFL opportunity means to him. Now, he’s focused on earning playing time.
“I want to try to play more receiver and have more receiver opportunities (in 2020), but position myself as a starter on special teams,” Salgado said on a Wednesday morning media conference call. “I’ve talked to (special teams co-ordinator Mark Kilam) about it and I have to find a home on special teams.
“That’s the easiest way to step on the field, to be part of the special teams game plan and it’s something I’ve been working on the entire off-season.”
While the COVID -19 pandemic interrupted some of their preparation time, Salgado regularly trained with Stampeders teammates Hergy Mayala, Colton Hunchak and Mike Klukas throughout the winter.
Not all of the CFL’S “global players” did that. Understandably, many returned to their homes.
With the CFL 2.0 initiative expanding in 2020 and more players from international markets being made available to teams, competition for spots is likely to be tough.
Staying in Calgary and training should give Salgado a head start against whatever competition is at camp.
“The competition for global spots is going to increase and I like that. I like the challenge. I like to compete against top players,” Salgado said. “It’s just going to be a huge increase in competition and you’ve gotta be better, especially on special teams. That’s my main focus. I know I can play receiver, I’ve talked to (the Stampeders coaches) and they said I could play, I just had to be consistent and learn my stuff.”
With Ambrosie admitting that the CFL faced considerable financial challenges when he spoke to the House of Commons standing committee on finance in early May, questions about CFL 2.0 have resurfaced. Those questions usually boil down to whether the league should really be focusing on international markets instead of trying to improve the situation domestically.
Salgado has seen first-hand how quickly interest in the CFL has grown among his former teammates in Mexico, though.
“They just want to be updated every day,” Salgado said. “They are so eager to be here to take their opportunity to prove themselves and earn their shot in the CFL.”