Stamps saves his best for the games
Series of injuries have wreaked havoc on practice time
There are many things that Fred Stamps loves about football. Winning — something he’s only getting reaccustomed to this year — tops that list. Leading the Canadian Football League in receiving yards last year is another one of them, as is making absurd, cartoon-like catches.
What the eight-year Edmonton Eskimo doesn’t like is missing practice, something he’d done twice this week ahead of taking part in Wednesday’s session at Commonwealth Stadium.
“Nobody wants to miss practice. But you know, there are some things you have to do,” Stamps said. “But the main thing is our coaches understand what is going on. Our trainers do a good job of getting guys back on the field, but I’m fine, I’m just ready to play.”
This pattern was a familiar one last year, as Stamps battled a foot injury much of the season. He’d heal up as best he could through the week and more often than not, went out and did what he does so well. He made tough catches, took contact and continued to pick himself up off the ground, and do it all again.
“It’s not that I sat out of practice (last year). In the past I really had injuries, it’s not like I wanted to sit out of practice. It’s just (there are) some things you have to do.
“It’s football. You guys (reporters) hold (microphones and recorders), but we take hits and bruises, it’s football.”
After being reminded that carpel tunnel syndrome is no laughing matter (all career choices carry their own work hazards), Stamps said he’s looking forward to reuniting with a few former Eskimos when the Ottawa Redblacks come to town on Friday night.
“I’m looking forward to seeing all those guys, especially on defence. We just want to put together a full game and come out a with a victory,” Stamps said, referring to former Eskimo Marcus Henry, who was cut on medicals day and signed by Ottawa.
“We can’t look past those guys. They’re a very good football team,” Stamps said. “They’re not coming in here to lay down. They’re coming in here to try to win and we have to protect our home.”
While Stamps was ready to go on Wednesday, the Eskimos’ trainers stayed busy. Defensive end Odell Willis was on the field briefly, before jogging back to the locker-room and staying there for the rest of the day. Linebacker J.C. Sherritt, who just played in his first game in Week 2, was absent from practice. Defensive back Marcell Young has missed the week of practice but hadn’t officially been ruled out on Wednesday. He hurt his knee late in Friday’s game.
CROMPTON RELEASED
Jonathan Crompton’s time in Edmonton came to an end on Wednesday when the club announced his release. The former Tennessee Volunteer spent the 2013 season on the Eskimos’ active roster and made 30 of 58 passes for 451 yards, with five touchdowns, one on the ground and threw five interceptions.
The arrival of Pat White, who the Eskimos are using in short-yardage situations and on special teams, has now led to the release of two quarterbacks. The team released Jacory Harris on June 15, after its first pre-season game