The one time Mighty Casey has struck out. Again.
Now the question is: will any other team in the Canadian Football League take a shot on signing Casey Printers, the talented but petulant quarterback who has flamed out in Hamilton and now B.C.?
The Lions released him on Oct. 13, only two days after he berated a teammate during the team’s stunning 47-35 overtime loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The Lions coughed up a 32-11 lead in the game, much of it due to undisciplined penalties by the defence.
After throwing an interception, which was returned for a touchdown on the final play of the game, Printers flung his helmet and chewed out receiver O’Neill Wilson, the intended receiver.
Printers’ childish hissy fit played out in front of the TV cameras and is now YouTube material.
Because he is a six-year veteran who cannot be released without pay after Sept. 1, Printers receives his final four pay cheques. If the Lions make it to the post-season, he will receive a playoff share.
However, should another team sign Printers, the Lions may be off the hook, depending on what the contract stipulates.
And what if the Toronto Argonauts decided to sign him? He would leave one David Braley-owned team for another.
That’s an interesting scenario – and would again point to the conflict of having one person own two teams – but remember this is the CFL and anything is possible.
Moreover, the Argos aren’t exactly solidified at quarterback. Cleo Lemon has been average in his first season and has missed one game with a concussion.
But can anyone harness the 30-year-old Printers? This is a guy who was voted the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player in 2004 with B.C. He is also the guy who pouted because he wasn’t given the starting assignment in the Grey Cup that year.
And he is the same guy who was signed by the Ticats to a four-year, $1.7 million contract, in September, 2007 and lasted only one-and-a-half season because of terrible play. Neither the Hamilton fans nor the Ticat players were sad to see him go. He wasn’t well liked by either faction.
Wally Buono took a shot on Printers last August and signed him to a contract – believed to be pro-rated for $70,000 a year – and he came to the team much more humbled than when he left the team after signing with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2006.
He lasted one-and-a-half seasons in the NFL, holding a clipboard and never seeing action in a regular-season game.
Printers began his second stint with the Lions last year on the five-person quarterback depth chart. He did not sulk, nor did he mouth off about wanting to be the starter. It was a new Printers, a model player who did not place himself above the team. Through a series of circumstances, he rose to the starter’s job towards the end of the season and put up some decent numbers. He led the team to victory in the crossover playoff game against Hamilton in the Eastern semi-final, but the Lions’ season came to an end losing to the Montreal Alouettes in the Eastern Final.
Anointed as the starter and given a new contract in the off-season that included several performance bonuses, Printers started off the season with a win but then struggled before being sidelined three games later with a knee injury. The Lions have since lost seven straight games, going through a string of quarterbacks in the process.
Travis Lulay started against Winnipeg, but had to leave the game because of a minor injury.
Printers’ post-game pouting didn’t sit well with Buono, who had seen this type of behaviour before and doesn’t want to endure it again. Printers had his chance and blew it.
Maybe frustration got the better of him, but Buono had warned him.
So now Printers is in limbo.
Again.
Only this time he might not get another chance.
