Photo: Michael Scraper/3DownNation. All rights reserved.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have released Canadian long snapper Mike Benson.
The 38-year-old signed a contract extension with the team this offseason and long snapping won the job out of training camp but suffered an injury the first game of the regular season. He missed five straight matchups due to the ailment and then became a healthy scratch for back-to-back games. Ian Leroux, a rookie out of Université Laval, appears to have permanently won the job at long snapper.
The Acadia University product dressed for all 18 regular-season games in 2024, his fourth season with the Blue Bombers, recording four special teams tackles.
The native of Winnipeg, Man. has played 158 career regular-season CFL games with Edmonton, B.C., Ottawa, and Winnipeg, making 23 special teams tackles. He won a Grey Cup with the Blue Bombers in 2021.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers (4-4) will host the Ottawa Redblacks (3-6) at Princess Auto Stadium on Thursday, August 14 with kickoff slated for 8:30 p.m. EDT. The Redblacks are coming off a 46-42 win over the Toronto Argonauts, while the Blue Bombers suffered a walkoff loss to the Calgary Stampeders.
The weather forecast in Winnipeg calls for a high of 24 degrees with a mix of sun and cloud and a 40 percent chance of showers late in the evening. The game will be broadcast on TSN and RDS in Canada, CBS Sports Network in the United States, and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune-in on TSN 1200 in Ottawa and 680 CJOB in Winnipeg.