Dale MacMillan
Terry Jones
Edmonton Sun
Cory Watson won’t have a lot of memories to share with his grandchildren about his days as a Saskatchewan Roughrider.
There were exactly 116 of them.
On January 15, after a five-year run with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Watson was traded, along with a third-round draft choice, to the Riders in exchange for Canadian receiver Chris Bastien and a second round draft pick.
The day before the May 12 draft, Watson came to Edmonton in exchange long-snapper Jorgen Hus and a third round selection.
“He’ll be a trivia question,” suggested Eskimos Vice President of Football Operations and General Manager Ed Hervey following the trade. “He’s been on three rosters in one year.”
And Watson kind of, sort of, felt like a Roughrider if ever so briefly.
“When the trade went down between the Bombers and the Riders, I went to Regina and met with the coaching staff and whatnot. Then I went to the mini-camp in Tampa Bay. So I felt like I was a little bit a Saskatchewan Roughrider for at least a little while.”
“I think Winnipeg figured I wasn’t going to come back and, considering it was my last year on my contract, they were shopping around to see where’s the best deal. And Saskatchewan, at the time, was the best deal.
“I think the reason Saskatchewan traded me was their plan was to have three Canadian receivers and I think throughout their process decided they’d be starting Jerome Messam at tailback. Because Edmonton had Jordan Hus’ rights and they needed a long-snapper I think the trade made sense for them.”
Watson is a six-foot-three 211-pound slotback out of the Montreal bedroom community of Dollard Des Ormeaux. He played his college football at Concordia.
“My uncle, Dave Spence, played there,” he said.
At Concordia, Watson led the team in receptions in his final three seasons, catching 52 passes as a senior for 821 yards and six touchdowns to lead the Quebec Conference and finish second in the CIS.
Watson had a solid launch to his CFL career starting all 18 regular season games in his second season, leading the team in receptions with 69 and third in yardage with 793 including a 111-yard game against Saskatchewan. He also started in the East Final and the 99th Grey Cup game as well as being the Bombers nominee for Most Outstanding Canadian.
In his first 50 career games, Watson had 180 catches for 2,229 yards, an average of 12.4 yards per catch and a long of 92 yards with seven touchdown receptions.
“Cory Watson is a veteran in this league and adds depth to the position, especially with Shamawd Chambers being out,” said Hervey.
“Shamawd’s injury was a big factor in this. We’re not certain when Shamawd will be ready. I wanted to make sure we had some veteran help at that position. I feel a little more comfortable with a guy who has played and insulates us ratio-wise.
“Cory is big, he’s physical and he’s had the opportunity to be as featured guy with Winnipeg. With us there will be a role to play. We like what he does after he touches the ball. He has the ability to break tackles. He’ll fit in well here.
“He was very open to the idea of coming here and felt he could contribute. I told him the Edmonton experience is unlike any other. He’s good to go health wise and he’s ready to show himself. This is a new start for him. We know what’s there and we need to pull that out again.”
Watson views his playing career as earning an education toward becoming a coach.
“When I’m done playing football coaching is something I’d definitely like to do. I took a lot from my uncle. He not only played the game but became a coach at Concordia. When I played he was my position coach there. I’ve seen a lot of great coaches and I think I’ve picked up some things from most of them.
“At this level as a player you really have to think what you are doing and preparation is key. Preparation comes from coaching so you’re more aware of the extent of coaching at this level I think.”
