{"id":361637,"date":"2025-12-22T12:10:29","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T12:10:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/361637\/"},"modified":"2025-12-22T12:10:29","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T12:10:29","slug":"justin-mcinnis-great-chemistry-starts-in-the-offseason","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/361637\/","title":{"rendered":"Justin McInnis | Great Chemistry Starts In The Offseason"},"content":{"rendered":"

Justin McInnis isn\u2019t going anywhere. He\u2019s staying in BC, where he found footing in his CFL career.<\/p>\n

A few days after signing a two-year extension to stay with the Lions, McInnis and teammates like Nathan Rourke and Jevon Cottoy began the quest for their 2025 campaign.<\/p>\n

While the rest of Canada wasn\u2019t fazed by the few centimetres of snow the lower mainland had received, the Lions turned the snow day into a fun throwing session.<\/p>\n

It all starts with Rourke, head coach Buck Pierce, and some players outside the Lions\u2019 training facility.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I showed up in the morning, they were all shovelling. And I was like, \u2018Okay, I guess we are outside today,\u2019\u201d McInnis said.<\/p>\n

Developing good chemistry starts in the offseason. Rourke will be looking at big-body receivers like McInnis and Jevon Cottoy, it\u2019s never too early to get into the rhythm.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was cool. That was my first time catching this offseason. I\u2019m always ready to catch. It was a fun little snow day,\u201d McInnis said.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s done it with Vernon Adams Jr. before in the offseason, getting those throwing sessions in to understand each other\u2019s tendencies. He is working on the timing of his route trees to ensure he and his quarterback are on the same page.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

McInnis sees the passion Rourke plays and trains with, which makes him extra motivated to get back to work.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know it\u2019s going to take time for chemistry to build up. The biggest thing is to be on the same page. I\u2019m excited to work with Nate and he\u2019s excited. You could tell he has a lot of passion for the game. I was talking to Buck too about the offence, I have high hopes for us as a unit,\u201d McInnis added.<\/p>\n

In 2024, McInnis led the CFL with 1,469 receiving yards and added seven touchdowns to his resume last season.<\/p>\n

Lions\u2019 general manager Ryan Rigmaiden said the wide receiver has evolved into an elite game-breaker in the CFL. McInnis also believes under Buck Pierce\u2019s new team and offence, he could reach his full potential.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy goal this year is to have a better year than last year. I think it\u2019s possible,\u201d McInnis added.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not a super vocal guy. I let my work ethic and plays on the field be my leadership. I want to hold the team accountable. Our biggest thing last year was when we went through adversity, you never saw the team coming back from it. We\u2019re going to have to find sparks throughout the season to get through challenges that we will face.\u201d<\/p>\n

Off the field. McInnis loves to sit back and play NHL 25. But he only gets so many days in the offseason to experience life. Like being a girl dad and travelling outside of North America for the first time in his life.<\/p>\n

McInnis, his brother and fellow receiver Alex Hollins will be taking a trip to Panama this month.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy brother is doing all the planning. I don\u2019t know much about it. I just know I\u2019m going. It\u2019s my first time going to Panama,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Before his trip to Central America, McInnis has been an active member of the school community in the lower mainland. Leading in the Lions Pride and Be More Than A Bystander presentations.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

In Lions Pride, McInnis and Lions players are targeting a younger audience, guiding them to make healthier choices and goal-setting in life.<\/p>\n

In Be More Than A Bystander, the program is prepared for high school students to educate young adults about gender-based violence. As a girl dad, McInnis shares personal stories and provides tips to help students process uneasy conversations surrounding this topic.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though I would like to reach everyone with these presentations. I\u2019m hoping that the presentations will stick in the back of people\u2019s minds. I hope the kids will start taking their decisions more seriously,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Justin McInnis isn\u2019t going anywhere. He\u2019s staying in BC, where he found footing in his CFL career. A…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":361638,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-361637","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\/361637","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=361637"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361637\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/361638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=361637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=361637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=361637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}