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<\/p>\nThe life of a football player can be nomadic at times and involving picking up and shepherding on from one place to a next looking for that perfect place to call home, even for just a little while.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s use defensive back Dexter Lawson, Jr. as an example here: signed by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers as a free agent after spending the last two years with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, he was among the club\u2019s final cuts after training camp back on June 1st. Less than two months later he got a call back from the Blue Bombers and he could very well be patrolling the cornerback spot opposite Terrell Bonds this Saturday in Calgary against the Stampeders.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m always ready when my number is called. The way I prepare, it\u2019s as if I\u2019m up every week and staying ready and making sure I perfect my craft and doing everything I can do to help this team,\u201d Lawson, Jr. told reporters after Blue Bombers practice earlier this week. \u201cI just try to make everyone else\u2019s job a lot easier. I know what I can do and that\u2019s my biggest asset \u2014 understanding the people\u2019s jobs around me so that way I can help where I need to and scratch where it itches.<\/p>\n
\u201cWherever the guys need me to be at or however I can take some stress off their plate I try to help them in that area.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The Blue Bombers started the first six games of the season with Marquise Bridges at the one corner, and then shifted Jamal Parker, Jr. there for last week\u2019s win over the Toronto Argonauts. Alas, Parker, Jr. was injured as he was authoring a solid game and was replaced in game by rookie Trey Vaval, who also handles all the kick returns.<\/p>\n
Bridges was released this week, and the club could now lean on Lawson, Jr.\u2019s experience after he played 13 games over the last two seasons with the Ticats. Blue Bombers head coach Mike O\u2019Shea said the club was \u2018fortunate\u2019 to be able to still grab Lawson, Jr. on the open market and defensive coordinator Jordan Younger spoke of the difficult decision to release him after camp.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was one of the tough cuts in training camp,\u201d said Younger. \u201cAt the time, we were set with the people we had, but he made, obviously, a lasting impression. He was able to play at multiple positions, so he fits that mould of the type of player we like: easy to get along, does the work, self-motivated, has the skill athletically and, now, there was just a need.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lawson, Jr. had hardly been inactive while he waited for any team to call. He hooked up with the Massachusetts Pirates of the Indoor Football League \u2014 not far from his home base in Connecticut \u2014 and is itching to get back on the bigger, wider field with which he is more comfortable.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was different,\u201d said Lawson, Jr. of the indoor game. \u201cIt was a culture shock, to say the least, but it was definitely cool, another experience, another step in the journey. It\u2019s something I\u2019m definitely appreciative of because it\u2019s a part of my story. That\u2019s the way the cards fell and I\u2019m just so grateful I am where I am.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew (the Blue Bombers organization) was different from training camp. It\u2019s hard to explain. From Day 1 when I got here it\u2019s the team camaraderie \u2014 everybody being together and moving as a family on and off the field. It\u2019s something that I\u2019d like to be a part of and probably the reason why we are so successful the last few years. I just want to be a part of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
VA BACK ON TRACK: The Blue Bombers expect to see QB Vernon Adams, Jr. back behind centre for the Stampeders this week \u2014 the depth charts will be released on Friday \u2014 and the veteran pivot has hurt them in the two Calgary wins by completing 29-of-42 passes for 489 yards with five touchdowns against just one interception.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe have to play what we see and expected the unexpected and play our rules,\u201d said veteran defensive end James Vaughters on Wednesday (the club did not practice today). \u201cIt\u2019s more to do with their route concepts than what VA does when a play breaks down.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s played really well so far, so we have to prepare for his best.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The life of a football player can be nomadic at times and involving picking up and shepherding on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":52808,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-52807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52807","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=52807"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52807\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}