Weston Dressler has no interest in talking about legacy or his place in the pantheon of great Canadian Football League receivers.

Oh, we tried to broach the subject on Friday following Day 6 of Winnipeg Blue Bombers training camp, but the 31-year-old veteran didn’t want to go there. Instead, he offered a different perspective, one deep in humility.

“It’s such a privilege to play this game,” said Dressler. “For me, I’ve been lucky enough, I’m going into my 10^th season now… especially during training camp, you see how many guys we have on the field now just fighting for that one more spot on the team.”

“You just appreciate it every day. The numbers that come with it, that’s just on top of it all.”

That answer isn’t all that surprising to anyone who has interacted with the man through eight years as a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and last season, his first with the Bombers.

Quietly confident but the last to thump his own chest and boast, Dressler has grown up in the Canadian Football League – save for a short stint with the Chicago Bears in 2014 – since first venturing north from North Dakota in 2008.

Some nine seasons and 137 games later, he is coming off a season in which he was kicked to the curb by the Riders before landing in Winnipeg and then leading the club with 80 receptions for 1,003 yards in just 14 games. Those totals helped move him further up the Canadian Football League’s all-time lists, where he now ranks 28^th in career receiving yardage at 8,800 yards.

Those are numbers worth chatting about. Just don’t expect Dressler to join in on the conversation. Part of that comes from that humility, the other comes from being around the game long enough to appreciate how difficult it is to first get into this league and then stay there.

“As a younger guy, to be honest with ya, I didn’t realize how many guys there were going to be at camp that weren’t going to make the team,” said Dressler. “You just see it as you play every year.

“But then you see how many guys come in and out of the locker room throughout the season, not just through training camp. You definitely grow that appreciation for being able to stick around for a while longer than a couple of months here and there.”

Dressler’s numbers last season were impressive not just because they came in just 14 games, but because it came with a new team that had a new offensive coordinator and which made a dramatic quarterback change a third of the way through the campaign.

He admitted it also took some time to go from the Riders to the arch-rival Bombers and to settle in and find a level of comfort after eight years in Regina.

And now that he does feel at home, he wants the same thing he achieved in 2013 with the Riders – a championship. That’s what motivates him. Not numbers. Not building on his legacy.

“The last few years, for me, has been about the guys I play with,” said Dressler “We do it for each other. Just having the chance to win a Grey Cup in ’13 with a lot of guys I played with my entire career up to that point, it was pretty special to share that with them. We were happier for each other than for ourselves in that moment.

“I want guys on this team to have that experience. I want to have that experience with the guys that are out here working every day. That’s definitely part of my motivation: to help everyone around here get to that point.”

BOMBER CAMP – DAY 6

McDuffie released: The Dallas Cowboys cut Quincy McDuffie on Friday, prompting his agent to tweet:

The Dallas Cowboys are releasing WR Quincy McDuffie who was CFL’s top kick returner last season. Door isn’t closed for him re-signing there.

— Brett Tessler (@TesslerSports) June 2, 2017

McDuffie led the CFL in kickoff returns a year ago with 1,165 yards, taking two to the end zone. He also finished seventh in punt return yards (236 yards) en route to finishing sixth in the CFL in combined yards (1,686).

Walking wounded: DB Kevin Fogg, LB Maurice Leggett, WR Matt Coates, WR Addison Richards, WR T.J. Thorpe, WR Kieren Duncan, SB Gerrard Sheppard, CB Chris Greenwood, S Taylor Loffler, DB Abu Conteh, DT Ian Marouf.

Meanwhile, SB Kenny Stafford was back at his post on Friday. Asked afterward to rate this camp, he said:

“Camp is a 10. I’m playing football. I mean, training camp is training camp, but I’m in a good environment, good organization, good offence, around good people playing some good football. So, I’m happy. Very, very happy.”

Hot enough for ya?: The Bombers have seemingly gone from one extreme to the other in terms of temperatures during camp. The opening few days were cold and drizzly, the last two have been scorchers.

“It’s hot. Half of the guys love it. Half of the guys are from places where they love the heat and expect this and want this in training camp,” said head coach Mike O’Shea. “Paddy Neufeld and I are trying to find shade. I’m standing in Paddy Neufeld’s shadow.”

In praise of JFG: O’Shea was asked Friday if he would consider using all imports in the receiving corps, but quickly nixed that suggestion.

“No. Julian Feoli-Gudino is a good football player. He’s made some clutch plays for us, he’s won us some games, he’s a fierce competitor, he can play well for us on special teams. He’s very good. And he certainly fills a dirtier role than some other guys like. He’s gritty, he gets into the muck pile and messes things up for people. That’s an admirable quality.”

What a Rush: O’Shea spoke during mini-camp in April about the switch of prospect John Rush from offence to defence – he attended camp last year as a linebacker and has since been converted to fullback. He touched on the subject again on Friday.

“He’s a football player,” said O’Shea. “He’s not a linebacker or a fullback or a special-teamer. This guy plays football. He gets it from both sides of the ball, he gets it on special teams. He’s tough and he’s crafty. He just understands the game. From however he looks at it, he gets the game. We’ll see how he fairs through the exhibition season, through the two games, but the reason you move a guy like that is you want to give him the best opportunity to compete and try and win a spot because if he does win a spot he’ll be an asset in three phases.”