Eskimos' receivers Kenny Stafford and Shamawd Chambers move on to Als, Riders
The Edmonton Eskimos have lost some of their key receivers in CFL free agency, with American receiver Kenny Stafford heading to the Montreal Alouettes and Canadian receiver Shamawd Chambers going to the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Both players were important pieces for Edmonton last year, with Stafford posting 732 receiving yards on 47 catches during the regular season and leading the team with nine receiving touchdowns. Chambers was limited by injuries and couldn't always find a way into the Eskimos' lineup, only recording three catches for 13 yards during the season, but he was a big factor in the postseason and was named the Grey Cup's top Canadian after making two catches for 49 yards. Both will be losses for Edmonton this coming season.
It's interesting to see Stafford heading back to Montreal, as the Alouettes traded him to the Eskimos for Fred Stamps last offseason. That move worked out well for him, as his 732 yards were a career-high, but it's unusual to see a player head back to the team that just traded him. Montreal might be a better fit for him now, though, as the Alouettes seem to be ready to make him a bigger piece of their offence. They also brought back Duron Carter, who just happens to be Stafford's cousin, from the NFL, so that reunion should help Stafford fit in there.
Chambers may be a good fit in Riderville, too. Saskatchewan already parted ways with Weston Dressler and lost Ryan Smith to Winnipeg, and they may lose other receivers like Chris Getzlaf as well. That could pave the way for some further opportunities for Chambers. He also is quite familiar with new Riders' head coach and general manager Chris Jones, who was his head coach with the Eskimos. Chambers had been in Edmonton for four years, though, so this will be a change for him. Here's the goodbye to the Eskimos' fans he posted on Instagram:
A photo posted by Shamawd Chambers (@shamawdchambers17) on Feb 9, 2016 at 2:00pm PST
It's going to be interesting to see where the Eskimos go from here, too. They still have their top two receivers from 2015, Adarius Bowman and Derel Walker, but Stafford and Chambers were a couple of important depth pieces for them. They've also lost offensive lineman Andrew Jones to Saskatchewan, and they may lose some other key contributors, including Aaron Grymes, Kendial Lawrence and J.C. Sherritt. We'll see what they do next.