Published Oct 07, 2025 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 3 minute read<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n You can save this article by registering for free here<\/a>. Or sign-in<\/a> if you have an account.<\/p>\n Already stung by the loss of receiver Kenny Lawler last winter, fans of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers won\u2019t like to hear this.<\/p>\n Advertisement 2<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Exclusive columns by Ryan Stelter, Paul Friesen, Ted Wyman, Scott Billeck, Lorrie Goldstein, Warren Kinsella and others. Plus newsletters: Gimme Stelter for your beat on the city, The Exit Row for all your Jets news and On the Rocks for curling.Unlimited online access to Winnipeg Sun and 15 news sites with one account.Winnipeg Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.<\/p>\n SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Exclusive columns by Ryan Stelter, Paul Friesen, Ted Wyman, Scott Billeck, Lorrie Goldstein, Warren Kinsella and others. Plus newsletters: Gimme Stelter for your beat on the city, The Exit Row for all your Jets news and On the Rocks for curling.Unlimited online access to Winnipeg Sun and 15 news sites with one account.Winnipeg Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.<\/p>\n REGISTER \/ SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.<\/p>\n THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an Account<\/p>\n or<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Bombers receiver Dillon Mitchell says Lawler not only wanted to stay in Winnipeg, but saw himself as a Bomber for life.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Instead, he ended up in Hamilton, signing with the Tiger-Cats after what he saw as a snub from Winnipeg going into free agency.<\/p>\n \u201cKenny\u2019s a great guy,\u201d Mitchell said on Tuesday. \u201cHe just wanted to be here. Everybody\u2019s emotion can spill out in different ways. He just wanted to continue to be a Bomber for life, and things just didn\u2019t work out.\u201d<\/p>\n Mitchell and Lawler were teammates in Edmonton for the 2022 season.<\/p>\n Lawler returned to Winnipeg for the next two years, limited to 22 games but still catching 91 passes for more than 1,500 yards.<\/p>\n A few weeks ago he told a Winnipeg reporter the Bombers didn\u2019t show him enough respect, making him a late contract offer and completing Mitchell\u2019s deal before they turned to him.<\/p>\n The Winnipeg Sun’s Daily Headline News<\/p>\n Thanks for signing up!<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Advertisement 3<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cWe know each other,\u201d Mitchell continued. \u201cI\u2019m a very truthful guy. Kenny Lawler is definitely the best receiver in the league. He just wanted to be here. I\u2019m not sure how he didn\u2019t come back, but that\u2019s more the business side.\u201d<\/p>\n Healthy in Hamilton this season, Lawler has been tearing through CFL defences to the tune of 74 catches for 1,287 yards, ranked second in the league. His 13 touchdowns lead the CFL.<\/p>\n He\u2019ll likely max out his bonuses and earn a reported $300,000 or so.<\/p>\n It\u2019s believed the Bombers offered him nearly that, but waited a little too long to do it.<\/p>\n DEFENCE\u2019S FINEST HOUR<\/p>\n If Lawler had a chip on his shoulder in his first appearance in Winnipeg 10 days ago, he was unable to cash it in, as the Bombers throttled the Tiger-Cats, 40-3.<\/p>\n Advertisement 4<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n He managed just two catches for 34 yards, while star quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell passed for just 212 yards.<\/p>\n Winnipeg defensive coordinator Jordan Younger acknowledges it was his unit\u2019s finest hour.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a hell of an accomplishment to hold any team in this league to three points,\u201d Younger said. \u201cSo super proud of the guys. I believe they have the most complete receiving corps, with also the best receiver with Kenny Lawler. (Tim) White is one of the next best guys. And everybody else is incredible role players and would likely be standouts on other teams. With the Hall of Fame quarterback. With a very dynamic running back.<\/p>\n \u201cSo yes, I\u2019m really happy with the result.\u201d<\/p>\n That the performance came against the man who gave Younger his first CFL coaching job, Hamilton head coach Scott Milanovich, made the post-game handshake and the \u201cgood job\u201d that came with it extra special for Younger.<\/p>\n Advertisement 5<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the more creative play designers in the league,\u201d is what Younger called Milanovich. \u201cBo is really setting into the system, understanding how Scott sees the game. And my job as a coordinator is try to give our guys something that creates a disconnect between Bo and Scott. We did a good job with that.\u201d<\/p>\n As always, though, Younger says there were enough mistakes to keep everybody\u2019s head from getting too swelled going into Edmonton next weekend.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery football game \u2026 you lose some battles. It\u2019s just where you lose the battles that matters. We were fortunate enough to make it cloudy enough that they couldn\u2019t find the mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n HOUSTON HAS A PROBLEM<\/p>\n As of Tuesday, Bombers cornerback Demerio Houston, one of the defensive standouts from that last game, had yet to make an appearance in practice this week.<\/p>\n Houston hadn\u2019t returned from the bye week, although the reasons remain unclear.<\/p>\n \u201cHe had some challenges over the bye week, getting back,\u201d Younger said. \u201cSo when he gets in we\u2019ll talk and we\u2019ll figure out what the next move is.\u201d<\/p>\n Head coach Mike O\u2019Shea wouldn\u2019t elaborate, but said Houston was expected in town on Wednesday.<\/p>\n paul.friesen@kleinmedia.ca<\/p>\n X: @friesensunmedia<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Share this article in your social network<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Breadcrumb Trail Links SportsFootballCFLWinnipeg Blue Bombers Get the latest from Paul Friesen straight to your inbox Sign Up…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":196462,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-196461","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cfl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-canadian-football-league","11":"tag-canadianfootballleague","12":"tag-cfl","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196461","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=196461"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196461\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/196462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=196461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=196461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=196461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Hamilton](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1008lawlersmall-e1759886120255.jpg\")
Hamilton Tiger-Cats wide receiver Kenny Lawler scores a touchdown against the Toronto Argonauts during CFL football action in Toronto on Oct. 4, 2025. Photo by Jon Blacker \/The Canadian PressArticle content<\/p>\n![\"Winnipeg](\"https:\/\/dcs-static.gprod.postmedia.digital\/19.7.1\/websites\/images\/identity\/logo-identity-wsun-new.svg\"){kind=logo}
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