Even a gloomy season like the one the Edmonton Eskimos have had is lined with a few stars.
The Canadian Football League announced its Gibson’s Finest CFL Player Award winners on Wednesday morning, with slotback Fred Stamps being named the Eskimos’ Most Outstanding Player. Stamps leads the league in receiving with 1,259 yards, despite playing just 15 games this year. He was placed on the nine-game injured list on Friday, with a hip injury derailing what could have been the best season of his seven-year career. Stamps had 1,402 yards in 2009.
The winners are selected by voting members of the Football Reporters of Canada and CFL head coaches. The East and West Division winners for this year’s player awards will be announced on Thursday, Nov. 7 at 10 a.m. The league-wide awards will take place on Thursday, Nov. 21 at Conexus Centre in Regina, ahead of the 101st Grey Cup.
Third-year defensive end Marcus Howard was named Outstanding Defensive Player. Howard leads the team in sacks, with 10, had 27 tackles, two pass knockdowns a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
Sophomore receiver Shamawd Chambers was named the Outstanding Canadian. The Markham, Ont. product shook off a slow start to his year and has made 40 catches for 453 yards and four touchdowns.
Second-year offensive lineman Matt O’Donnell was named the team’s Outstanding Offensive Lineman. The six-foot-11, 340-pounder from Queen’s moved from the tackle to guard positions throughout this season and showed much professional growth from his rookie season.
Eric Samuels was the Eskimos’ only dual award winner, picking up Outstanding rookie and Outstanding Special Teams honours. Samuels has played all over the secondary for the Eskimos’ defence and had 28 tackles along with two fumble recoveries an interception and two quarterback sacks. He leads the Eskimos with 18 special teams tackles and has played the final stretch of this season with an injured left hand.
Stefan Charles a Buffalo Bill
The Eskimos will continue to wait for their top draft pick from 2013, as defensive lineman Stefan Charles signed a contract with the Buffalo Bills on Wednesday, joining their 53-man roster. Charles, six-foot-five and 323 pounds, was the Eskimos’ second-round pick this year (10th overall). The former Regina Ram signed with the Tennessee Titans and spent the first eight weeks of the NFL season on the team’s practice roster.
This marks the second year in a row the Eskimos have been left waiting for their top pick after he’s landed in the NFL. In 2012, former general manager Eric Tillman drafted offensive lineman Austin Pasztor with the fourth-overall pick. Pasztor will start for the Jacksonville Jaguars when they face the Titans on Nov. 10.
