Dillon Mitchell must be the next man up, right?
Wrong.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are down two receivers — Dalton Schoen (knee) and, most recently, Kody Case (leg) — and they still won’t dress their prized free agent signing.
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Despite the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ high-priced investment in the off-season and current injuries to starters, the club is yet to move receiver Dillon Mitchell (13) from the practice roster.
Instead of rolling with Mitchell in Friday night’s rematch with the Toronto Argonauts at home, the Bombers have opted to start rookie Canadian Joey Corcoran at slotback.
Mitchell, 28, signed a one-year deal in the winter worth $148,000, including a $63,300 signing bonus, and has yet to play a snap for the Blue and Gold.
“What you pay a player to get them here doesn’t guarantee them anything,” O’Shea said on Thursday.
“I think that is a misnomer you hear often in the media where, ‘He was paid this much so he must be a starter.’ I don’t know why (that is) I have never even thought of that. We pay guys, and from there we look at what is best on game day.”
Mitchell, a seventh-round draft pick by the Minnesota Vikings in the 2019 NFL draft, caught 58 passes for 727 yards and four touchdowns last season with the Edmonton Elks. He was brought in to help fill the void at the ‘X’ spot (wide receiver) left by Kenny Lawler who signed in Hamilton, but he struggled in training camp and lost the job to second-year Bomber Keric Wheatfall.
“I am sure he is not happy about not playing, but he is terrific as a pro, all the guys are,” O’Shea said. “You don’t want players that are just happy to not play. You want them to be hungry and work for it and all that stuff. We have a locker room full of those guys who don’t get to play. It doesn’t mean they aren’t good players, but this is how we see the roster right now.”
While Mitchell has mostly played wideout in his career, he does have experience with the waggle and playing out of the slot.
Mitchell has been demoted to the practice roster and wasn’t made available to chat to media on Thursday.
“We see Mitchell best suited for the position Keric Wheatfall is playing,” said O’Shea. “And so, do you move Wheatfall to a position that he is not suited for either or do you put guys in a position where they are not, possibly, going to thrive as well?”
Corcoran, a Montreal native, is a fifth-round pick out of New Hampshire where he had 459 receiving yards and four touchdowns as a senior.
BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS
Instead of rolling out Dillon Mitchell in Friday night’s rematch with the Toronto Argonauts, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers have opted to start rookie Canadian Joey Corcoran (81) at slotback.
The 24-year-old caught four balls for 25 yards in last week’s 31-17 loss in Toronto. He’ll be backed up by former Manitoba Bisons standout Gavin Cobb.
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“Corcoran is (in because of) his desire and willingness to block, get his hands dirty and play special teams,” O’Shea said. “It is the (style of) football we like.”
It isn’t a ratio thing. The Bombers already have eight Canadian starters in place and passed over Mitchell last week in favour of Case, a second-year player who had one catch for five yards in three games as a rookie.
Regardless of what the reason is, Corcoran is motivated to make the most of the opportunity.
“I think we’re all very talented receivers,” said Corcoran. “I’m just happy they trusted me.”
taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca
Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor.
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