Stampeders sign former Redblack Brandon McDonald after losing Burnett, Simpson

Back in August, Brandon McDonald was cut by the CFL's Ottawa Redblacks on his 30th birthday for swearing at an opponent, resulting in a crucial penalty that led to Ottawa losing 30-24 to Toronto. A month later, the Calgary Stampeders have given McDonald a late birthday present, bringing him in (along with fellow import defensive back Keith Lewis) Monday after Joe Burnett was placed on the six-game injured list. The loss of top defensive back Burnett was just one of many bad ones the Stampeders suffered in Friday's win over Winnipeg, as star linebacker Juwan Simpson is expected to be out four to six weeks with a fractured clavicle, and there's still no update on defensive back Adam Berger. Thus, McDonald has been signed to their active roster, while Lewis has been added to the practice roster. Will McDonald be able to step in quickly, make an impact in the Calgary secondary, and prove that the Redblacks were wrong to cut him, or will his penalty-prone ways continue with the Stampeders?

There's a lot to like about McDonald, a Memphis Tigers' product and a veteran of 80 NFL games with the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2007-2012. He has experience with Calgary's defence and defensive coordinator Rich Stubler, too; McDonald first came to the CFL with B.C. in 2014, but was cut in camp and picked up by the Stampeders later in July. He only wound up playing in two games last year, including one start, and was later cut by Calgary, but the Stampeders should know what they're getting in him. Moreover, he should be more adapted to the CFL now than he was in his first stint in Calgary. After the Stampeders cut him, he signed with Ottawa and played two games with the Redblacks in 2014, then eight this year before he was cut, and he led Ottawa in tackles (33) and interceptions (2) this season before he was axed. Defensive backs with his mix of CFL and NFL experience, plus familiarity with Calgary's scheme and roster, aren't easy to find.

McDonald did have penalty issues in Ottawa, though, and they went just beyond the objectionable conduct penalty that finally got him cut. He picked up another objectionable conduct penalty this year with the Redblacks for trying to kick a ball into the stands in a game against B.C., plus two unnecessary roughness penalties, four unnecessary contact penalties, two pass interference penalties and a penalty for an illegal block on a kick return. Ottawa GM Marcel Desjardins told Gord Holder of The Ottawa Citizen that "We can’t have the lack of discipline continue when we have tried to correct it a number of times" when he cut McDonald, and that "He’s a good football player. It’s not an ability issue." Desjardins also said that the Redblacks had tried to trade McDonald to no avail, and it's interesting that no team has picked him up in the intervening month; that suggests Ottawa wasn't the only team with concerns about McDonald's penalty-prone nature. We'll see if he can sort that out in Calgary and step into the void left by the likes of Burnett and Simpson, or if his second stay with the Stampeders will be as short as the first.