Buono looking at Arceneaux
The notion that a CFL team can't have too many Canadians carries an equal amount of weight with the B.C. Lions along with the thought you also can't have too many receivers.
That would be one way to rationalize why general manager Wally Buono called the agent for former wideout Emmanuel Arceneaux to discuss a possible return next season after he was cut off the practice roster of the NFL's Washington Redskins earlier this week.
But it also is another window into the collective thinking of the Lions, who may have receiving veterans with established credentials on the roster like Geroy Simon and Arland Bruce but are also realizing they can't be effective forever.
Buono spelled it out rather succinctly Wednesday,
"The reality is after the season we're going to have to sit down and have some tough things to discuss. So (Arceneaux) doesn't come on the horizon. We still have to have the tough discussion, and that's across our team."
Arceneaux spent two seasons with the Lions and had 1,114 receiving yards in 2010 before leaving for the NFL.
For the most part, he has been watching games on the sidelines.
He played three games at the end of last year and caught one pass for the Minnesota Vikings before being released and heading to Washington.
Buono was told by agent Bardhia Ghahremani his client will continue to look in the NFL. As a CFL free agent, Arceneaux would be able to field offers from teams north of the border, too.
"He has no interest in coming to the CFL," Buono said.
Simon, 37, who returns to the line-up for the Lions game against the Calgary Stampeders with lineman Khalif Mitchell after a three-game absence due to a second hamstring injury, needs 343 yards from the final two games to maintain a string of nine straight years with 1,000 yards.
Bruce, 34, hasn't played since Sept. 29 and also has had trouble cracking a lineup in which Courtney Taylor has emerged in his absence. Simon gets his roster spot back at the expense of Nick Moore, and receiver Kierrie Johnson was cut late Wednesday.
Though fellow rookie D.J. Woods worked at his spot with the first unit during the practice week, Ernest Jackson will play in Calgary.