Rogerio Barbosa/Montreal Alouettes
CFL.ca Staff
MONTREAL — If the Montreal Alouettes do in fact have the oldest group of receivers in the CFL, it also happens to be the most experienced.
The departure of 24-year-old rising superstar Duron Carter and the addition of Fred Stamps and Nik Lewis to complement mainstay S.J. Green undoubtedly alters the age demographic of Montreal’s pass-catchers.
But while Stamps is 33 and Lewis is 32, both are likely future Hall of Famers. And according to 29-year-old Green, both looked fresh and in their prime during the Als’ Vero Beach mini-camp back in mid-April.
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The Alouettes held their annual mini-camp in Vero Beach, Fla. earlier this month. Here are the best images.
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“So far it’s been great,” said Green, a perennial top-five receiver in the CFL. “We have a lot of good communication.”
“It’s been a lot of fun being around those guys, whom I think are future Hall of Famers in this league.”
The Als’ offensive transformation over the last few years is well-documented. The days of Marc Trestman and Scott Milanovich on the sidelines and Anthony Calvillo slinging the football feel long over.
It was during last year’s impressive 8-2 stretch run to close out the season when a new offensive configuration finally took shape, led by Jonathan Crompton, Green and the young emerging Carter.
With Carter departed, Lewis and Stamps aren’t here solely to be a decoy or provide a few pointers. Stamps’ production over the last several years speaks for itself, while Head Coach Tom Higgins said in Florida don’t expect Lewis to take a back seat either.
“He has had a really good off-season,” said Higgins of Lewis. “I have a personal relationship having been with Nik before and I can tell you he’s very confident as a receiver.”
“There are some things that we’re thinking we might be able to do with Nik that play to his advantage,” he continued. “He’s still playing against a very talented group of receivers so we’ll see how it plays out, but so far he’s smiling and we’re smiling.”
Lewis, a Stampeder for 11 years since joining the league back in 2004, saw both his playing time and production dwindle over the past two years. After battling for playing time in a crowded Calgary receiving corps, a move to Montreal provides a fresh start and a chance to get more involved again.
Stamps, meanwhile, is just a year removed from leading the CFL with 1,259 receiving yards in 2013, before last year seemingly falling out of favour with new Eskimos head coach Chris Jones. Stamps took a secondary role in the offence to CFL-leading receiver Adarius Bowman, but there’s little reason to believe he’s any less capable than two years ago.
Off the field, General Manager Jim Popp said both are fitting in quite well – something he said is a priority when it comes to signing free agents.
“It’s part of our research,” said Popp. “Before we sign a veteran player from another team, we want to know their character and how they fit into a locker-room. We know these guys that are great locker-room guys and they’re leaders.”
After watching the team’s three-day mini-camp at historic Dodgertown, Popp says he’s confident they’ll play a valuable role in the team’s leadership core.
“They’re leaders in the locker-room and they fit in nicely,” said Popp. Everyone’s accepted them.”
“They’re getting familiar with our coaching staff and now when we go to training camp they’ll feel extremely comfortable.”
Overall, the outlook surrounding the Alouettes’ offence entering 2015 is far more optimistic than a year ago. The team also added national speedster Samuel Giguere in the off-season, making up one of if not the best receiving corps in the CFL.
The biggest pressure in the end may be on Crompton, facing the task of having just one football but so many great weapons – a task he was already confronted with throughout mini-camp.
“It’s really funny out here joking around about how to spread it around, because we’ve only got one ball and all these guys to try to get it to,” said Crompton. “But the guys know if they’re not getting it, they’re going to give themselves up and get somebody else open, so we’ve got a really unselfish group of guys out here.”
In the end, the Als’ offence will be one to watch in 2015 – especially the ‘big three’. Between them in their careers, Stamps, Green and Lewis have amassed 24,700 yards and 152 touchdowns on 1,669 receptions.
“It’s humbling for me to be in the same huddle and on the same field as those guys,” concluded Green.
