“Make no sense.”
It’s a three-word message Kelvin McKnight posted on his Twitter account on June 16, a simple summation of his emotions after being cut loose by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers one day shy of the club’s Week 2 matchup against the Ottawa Redblacks.
Over the next few weeks, he’d tweet “Lord be with me,” “humility,” and “Shed a tear, wipe my face & kept it pushing.”
The raw emotion turned to leaning on a higher power, which then pivoted into acceptance and the renewed motivation to continue chasing the dream.
On Tuesday, about six weeks after losing his spot on the Bombers roster, and with the Bombers dealing with a bevy of injuries at the receiver position, the speedy wide-out was back at IG Field with another opportunity after being added to the practice roster.
“It wasn’t the first time I’ve been released,” said McKnight, who was home in Florida when he got the call from the Bombers. “I got released by the Denver Broncos, twice. I got released by the New England Patriots. I got released here. So that was my fourth time.”
Mentally, he had run this route before. He knew what to expect.
“I wasn’t a young player,” the 25-year-old said. “I wasn’t stuck in my emotions. Understanding that this is a business, sometimes knowing it has nothing to do with your play. I just stayed ready.”
Ready, because in McKnight’s mind, he knew the call was going to come.
The Samford University alum, who set school records for receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns over a four-year span, played eight games with the Bombers last season, catching 15 balls for 96 yards. He got his first CFL start against the Toronto Argonauts last August and, while inactive for the 108th Grey Cup, won the second of Winnipeg’s back-to-back championships last December.
Getting cut, if nothing else, caught McKnight off guard, even as he was nursing a leg injury he picked up in training camp.
Regardless, it was back to the drawing board.
McKnight linked back up with his trainer back home and began working out as if he was preparing for training camp again.
“Staying frosty, staying fluid and staying in shape,” he said. “That’s really it.”
Being back in Winnipeg, you got the sense from McKnight on Monday that he only looking forward now.
Everybody’s journey is different, as he put it, and you can’t compare yours to anyone else’s.
With injuries to fellow receivers Nic Demski and Greg Ellingson, and the latest coming to Carlton Agudosi in Winnipeg’s 24-10 victory over the Edmonton Elks last week, McKnight could be staring down another opportunity to put his stamp on a permanent roster spot.
There was no update on Ellingson’s status from head coach Mike O’Shea on Monday. He did not practice. Ellingson was on the one-game injured list, missing the Elks win. Demski, meanwhile, is on the six-game list and also didn’t participate in practice, while Agudosi’s ankle injury, picked up in the fourth quarter last Friday, is expected to keep him out for some time.
O’Shea said McKnight would have likely still been with the team if the 2021 practice roster, which allowed five more guys as part of COVID contingencies, was still around.
“We liked what he did last year, and we liked what he did in training camp, there were other guys we liked a little more,” he said. “But he’s one of those guys who’s very versatile, who knows all positions across the board. He works hard. It’s a no-brainer to bring him back.”
Add quarterback Zach Collaros to the long list of those happy to see McKnight back in the dressing room on Tuesday.
Collaros’ options at receiver have been steadily dwindling over recent weeks as the injury bug has caught hold.
“Unbelievable route runner,” Collaros said. “He’s smart. He knows what we’re doing, inside and out. And a great teammate.”
Agudosi injury tough to swallow for Collaros
Never mind the fact that he’s seeing fewer and fewer familiar options to toss the ball to each week, it’s the injuries, at a personal level, that have hit Collaros deeper than the playbook.
It’s part of the game, and Collaros understands the next-man-up mentality offers opportunities for other guys.
But watching Agudosi get injured in training camp this past spring, and then released before being brought back to the practice roster late last month, hasn’t been easy to watch at times.
“Everybody has a lot of respect for Carlton, from watching him last season (Agudosi spent the year on the practice squad), being here early in the morning, working out, doing whatever he had to do for his rehab for his injuries, being locked in at meetings, at practices, and biding his time, paying his dues.”
Agudosi’s chance came in Week 7, his CFL debut — one for the ages after coming down with six catches, 70 yards and two touchdowns in front of his wife and newborn daughter, who made the trek up to Winnipeg for the game.
His follow-up in Edmonton last week was much-anticipated. The ankle injury in the fourth quarter that knocked him out of the game, and one that will likely keep him on the sidelines for several weeks, wasn’t.
“It sucks,” Collaros said. “It’s part of the game, but on a personal level, nobody wants to see that.”
sbilleck@postmedia.com
Twitter: @scottbilleck
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