The wacky Winnipeggers pull off an odd deal but really, would you expect anyone else to be involved?
Bizarre.
That's the only word I can use to describe the deal between Calgary and Winnipeg.
Deals in the Canadian Football League at this time of the year are rare, even more so when one of the teams, the wacky Winnipegers under Crazy Mike Kelly, consummate it during a game.
I'm told the deal was being done during the Winnipeg's game with Montreal which the Als won 33-14.
Calgary senior vice-president football operations/player-personnel director Jim Barker did the horse-trading with Winnipeg player-personnel director John Murphy, who used to work for him in Cowtown.
I wonder what would have happened if one of the players in the deal suffered an injury during the game? Bombers' receiver Terrence Edwards, a proven 1,000-yard guy, was knocked silly in the loss to Montreal, but he wasn't involved in the swap.
But it's an interesting deal nonetheless.
The Stamps shipped receivers Jabari Arthur (a Canadian) and Titus Ryan, plus import defensive lineman Odell Willis to Winnipeg, which essentially has acquired some young talent. Of the three, only Arthur has played one full season, and that was only in a backup role. The Stamps have also shipped fourth- and sixth-round picks in 2010.
The Stamps receive Romby Bryant, who had totalled 1,206 yards in his first season with Winnipeg last year, and Arjei Franklin, a former first-round Canadian who had been improving in his first three years in the league but was injured for most of this year with a wonky ankle. Calgary also gets a third-round pick in 2010 and the rights to an unnamed negotiation-list player.
Bryant became a terribly underused receiver in Mike Kelly's underachieving offence. The trade will likely lift the spirits of Bryant.
I understand the move from Calgary's point of view. The defending Grey Cup champions, who are in a three-way tie for first in the West with a 6-5 record, looked dull offensively in a 24-17 loss to Hamilton on Friday. They are still tinkering with their roster. Their receiving corps has been decimated by season-ending injuries, beginning with Ken-Yon Rambo earlier in the season and now Ryan Thelwell, who blew an Achilles in the loss to Hamilton. He had 31 catches for 492 yards and one touchdown and was proving to be quite useful.
While Jeremaine Copeland is having a great season, he clearly can't do it all by himself. Nik Lewis has yet to score a touchdown this year.
The Stamps can't afford to worry about the future. They want to win now and have made some key moves, notably on defence, to short up some deficiencies. Now they are looking at the offence.
Ryan had been a spare part in the Stamps' offence and had become the team's return specialist, albeit struggling badly.
Willis did well in the first third of the season, but had become the odd man out following the Stamps' rebuilding process, notably at the end spots.
For the players heading to Winnipeg, which is tied with Toronto for last in the league with a 3-8 record, this is likely a chance to receive some playing time.
This deal is all about perspective, which it usually it when talking about Kelly, the first-year head coach who has been making news for all the wrong reasons.
