Kenny Stafford absolutely knew the question was coming.
Yes, as much as the veteran receiver is positively giddy to have signed a two-year deal with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, there are some lingering questions about what unfolded last fall in his final days with the Montreal Alouettes.
And so in order to move on to his next chapter, Stafford understood fully he had to attempt to fill in some of the blanks from his controversial and bizarre release from the Alouettes last October – along with Duron Carter, his cousin – that sent the two veteran receivers to the unemployment line.
“It was all out of my control,” began Stafford from Florida. “You can ask any question you want about what happened there. I’ve never been fined, never was a headache, never caused a commotion, was one of the first receivers in and last to leave.
“It was an experience. It’s something I don’t want to take back. I went through it, it happened.”
Just to recap, the Alouettes were in a stretch that saw them go 1-6 and have GM Jim Popp relinquish his coaching duties to Jacques Chapdelaine when Stafford and Carter were cut adrift following a loss in Calgary. The move came a week after the CFL trade deadline, with the Als reportedly in salary cap hell and after a practice argument with quarterback Rakeem Cato, in which the pivot said he felt ‘disrespected’ by both Stafford and Carter.
Chapdelaine was apparently also upset that Stafford had left the field late in a 22-8 loss to the Stamps when the Alouettes were attempting a two-point conversion after their only TD. Stafford later told The Montreal Gazette he would take full responsibility for not being on the field, but “If we were to cut every player that missed a play, there wouldn’t be a football team.”
Not surprisingly, these questions came up this winter when Bombers GM Kyle Walters – who also spoke to Stafford last year during free agency – began to inquire about the 26-year-old receiver.
“Kyle asked me about it all, too,” said Stafford. “He knows how I operate. The team was losing, there was a new coaching staff and a new head coach who wanted to go in a different direction. I thank the organization for the opportunity to lace up a pair of cleats and show my talents for a year.
“I played a game, have a day off and get a phone call at six in the morning saying Jacques wanted to meet with me. I was like, ‘OK, this has never happened to me before. I’ve been cut before so I had an uneasy feeling about it. It was something out of my control. It wasn’t because I wasn’t making plays, it wasn’t because I was missing meetings or being fined. There’s nothing documented about Kenny Stafford on anything of this.
“Everyone who knows me knows my character and who I am.”
Stafford’s addition gives the Bombers offence another veteran presence in the receiving corps and covers them to some extent with Clarence Denmark, Tori Gurley, Quincy McDuffie and Rory Kohlert all scheduled to become free agents in less than a month. He joins Darvin Adams, who re-signed earlier this week, along with Weston Dressler, Ryan Smith, Julian Feoli-Gudino, Gerrard Sheppard, Addison Richards and Kieren Duncan as receivers under contract for this season.
At 6-3, 205, he is a big target but his numbers did drop last year in Montreal after pulling in 47 passes for 732 yards and nine TDs in 2015 with the Grey Cup champion Edmonton Eskimos. He missed games with a fractured toe and suited up for just nine contests last year, finishing with 16 receptions for 218 yards and two TDs.
Stafford said he was seeking a place to call his football home after being cut, traded and released over the last few years. He was with the Als on three different occasions, was sent by Calgary to Edmonton in a trade for Fred Stamps and has had NFL stints with Atlanta and Miami while also playing with the Arena League’s Pittsburgh Power. The deal with the Bombers covers two years and gives him a sense of stability after six years of bouncing around pro football’s map.
“I’ve been through so much, I’m just happy to get a long-term deal done and to be able to put some roots down,” he said. “I was looking for an organization that wanted me long-term, not one that wanted to just try me out for a year. I want to build a legacy and bouncing from team to team means you’re not able to build that legacy… you’re like a football mercenary.
“I’m excited to put down roots and have a place to call home, to where your friends can buy jerseys and aren’t having to buy new ones every year, to where your parents know which games to come to and what hotel to stay at… stuff like that is important to me,” added Stafford.
“I’m 26 and, to be completely honest, feel like I’m just getting started with football. I know my best football is still ahead of me and I’m grateful for the opportunity to prove that.”
