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BROOK JONES \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
Despite the Winnipeg Blue Bombers\u2019 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.<\/p>\n
Instead of rolling with Mitchell in Friday night\u2019s rematch with the Toronto Argonauts at home, the Bombers have opted to start rookie Canadian Joey Corcoran at slotback.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat you pay a player to get them here doesn\u2019t guarantee them anything,\u201d O\u2019Shea said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that is a misnomer you hear often in the media where, \u2018He was paid this much so he must be a starter.\u2019 I don\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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 \u2018X\u2019 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am sure he is not happy about not playing, but he is terrific as a pro, all the guys are,\u201d O\u2019Shea said. \u201cYou don\u2019t 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\u2019t get to play. It doesn\u2019t mean they aren\u2019t good players, but this is how we see the roster right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Mitchell has mostly played wideout in his career, he does have experience with the waggle and playing out of the slot.<\/p>\n
Mitchell has been demoted to the practice roster and wasn\u2019t made available to chat to media on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe see Mitchell best suited for the position Keric Wheatfall is playing,\u201d said O\u2019Shea. \u201cAnd 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?\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t BROOK JONES \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n Instead of rolling out Dillon Mitchell in Friday night\u2019s rematch with the Toronto Argonauts, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers have opted to start rookie Canadian Joey Corcoran (81) at slotback.<\/p>\n The 24-year-old caught four balls for 25 yards in last week\u2019s 31-17 loss in Toronto. He\u2019ll be backed up by former Manitoba Bisons standout Gavin Cobb.<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t \u201cCorcoran is (in because of) his desire and willingness to block, get his hands dirty and play special teams,\u201d O\u2019Shea said. \u201cIt is the (style of) football we like.\u201d<\/p>\n It isn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n Regardless of what the reason is, Corcoran is motivated to make the most of the opportunity.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019re all very talented receivers,\u201d said Corcoran. \u201cI\u2019m just happy they trusted me.\u201d<\/p>\n taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Taylor Allen 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Taylor produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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