Maurice Lloyd walking off the field after practice in this file photo.
Photograph by: Ed Kaiser-, Edmonton Journal
REGINA — Mo Lloyd wants to do more than resurrect his professional football career.
The veteran Canadian Football League middle linebacker would also like to clean up a reputation tarnished during his second of two seasons with the Edmonton Eskimos.
Lloyd, who signed with the Eskimos as a high-profile and well-compensated free agent in 2009 after three seasons with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, was released on March 15 by the Eskimos. He sat out the 2011 season and re-signed Tuesday with the Riders.
Lloyd’s final season with Edmonton was turbulent. The Eskimos struggled under head coach Richie Hall en route to finishing with a 7-11 record and missing the playoffs. During the season, Lloyd was labelled “a cancer within the club” by Edmonton Sun columnist Terry Jones. The statement came while the slumping Eskimos were 1-6.
“I don’t know if those rumours are behind me,” Lloyd said Tuesday from his off-season home in Windham, Connecticut after the Riders announced he had re-signed for one year and an option. “I know in Riderville they believe in me. I can’t argue or fight with someone’s opinion and they have a right to their opinion. Their opinions and rumours hurt me, but what doesn’t kill only you makes you stronger.”
Lloyd was among a number highly paid Eskimos who were released after the 2010 season by general manager Eric Tillman, who wanted to take the franchise in a different direction while clearing up salary-cap space. Lloyd felt he would be signed by another team, considering he was only 28. That never happened.
“My agent (Marty Magid) told me that the rumours of being a cancer to the team were killing me,” said Lloyd, who had had 55 defensive tackles and four sacks in 2009 and 82 defensive tackles in 2010. “It hurt because they didn’t get a chance to know me as a person in the locker-room. They looked at my actions on the field. As a linebacker you’re supposed to be nasty, because there aren’t any friends between those two white lines. If you have a different-coloured helmet on and I’m your friend, then I’m playing the wrong game.”
The Riders looked beyond the rumours concerning Lloyd’s character when considering re-signing him. Jeremy O’Day, the Riders’ assistant general manager, got to know Lloyd when they were teammates from 2006 through 2008. Hall, now the defensive co-ordinator with the Riders, was also familiar with Lloyd from his two seasons as Edmonton’s head coach and before that with the Riders.
“We do our homework here,” said Riders general manager Brendan Taman. “(Lloyd) might rub people the wrong way, but he’s not a bad football player. He made a lot of money when he left here and he has been humbled a little bit. Cap-wise, he’s friendly to us. If he plays so many games, he’ll be treated fairly at his end too.”
The Eskimos enticed Lloyd into signing in 2009 with a $100,000 bonus above his salary, which was believed to be approximately $60,000 per season. It’s believed that Lloyd re-signed with the Riders for a salary cap friendly $50,000. That works for the Riders because Taman said that the middle linebacker’s job is Chris Graham’s to lose. They are looking at Lloyd to create competition for Graham, who is headed into his second season, and to add another veteran presence in the locker-room.
“Sometimes we need a change -up,” Taman said. “I go back to Kitwana Jones (who wasn’t signed as a free agent after the 2010 season). He was a different kind of guy, but when he came running out of the tunnel he was fired up and ready to go. We didn’t have that type of guy (in 2011) and we were missing that. Mo brings that.”
Lloyd didn’t know which direction his career was headed after being released. He was a volunteer coach in a youth league and he worked in an all-boys group home for youngsters with disabilities. Lloyd also spent some of his time off a stay-at-home dad. Lloyd and his wife, Kay, have two children — Jayde (11) and Jared (seven). Lloyd said it was Magid who kept him going when it appeared his career was over.
“He called when I had heard the rumours about my character and he told me to keep a level head,” said Lloyd, who was a 2008 CFL all-star. “Without him, I would have probably said something stupid and I would have regretted it down the road. He told me to keep working out to the best of my ability and he would do the same in finding me a contract. He did that.”
The Riders announced Lloyd’s signing the same day they released middle linebacker Barrin Simpson. Lloyd and Simpson met after the 2007 Grey Cup game, in which the Riders beat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 23-19. Simpson, who was Winnipeg’s starting middle linebacker in the Grey Cup game, was released on Tuesday after spending two seasons with the Roughriders.
“He’s a great guy and I know he’s had some flak over the last year because of the situations he has been in,” Simpson said. “Sometimes situations can happen and you can be portrayed not necessarily as the person you are. As you mature and learn from life, you will handle things differently. He has matured over this year into a better man and person.”
The Riders also got a little younger with Lloyd potentially replacing the 34-year-old Simpson on the roster. Lloyd has also had a year off from football, which has contributed to his overall health.
“You can’t say that my heart is old, because as long as football is around I still feel young,” said Lloyd, who turns 29 on March 15. “Age is just a number and the way you play the game is how you should be treated. It shouldn’t be based on your age.”
Regina Leader-Post
mmccormick@leaderpost.com
The veteran Canadian Football League middle linebacker would also like to clean up a reputation tarnished during his second of two seasons with the Edmonton Eskimos.
Lloyd, who signed with the Eskimos as a high-profile and well-compensated free agent in 2009 after three seasons with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, was released on March 15 by the Eskimos. He sat out the 2011 season and re-signed Tuesday with the Riders.
Lloyd’s final season with Edmonton was turbulent. The Eskimos struggled under head coach Richie Hall en route to finishing with a 7-11 record and missing the playoffs. During the season, Lloyd was labelled “a cancer within the club” by Edmonton Sun columnist Terry Jones. The statement came while the slumping Eskimos were 1-6.
“I don’t know if those rumours are behind me,” Lloyd said Tuesday from his off-season home in Windham, Connecticut after the Riders announced he had re-signed for one year and an option. “I know in Riderville they believe in me. I can’t argue or fight with someone’s opinion and they have a right to their opinion. Their opinions and rumours hurt me, but what doesn’t kill only you makes you stronger.”
Lloyd was among a number highly paid Eskimos who were released after the 2010 season by general manager Eric Tillman, who wanted to take the franchise in a different direction while clearing up salary-cap space. Lloyd felt he would be signed by another team, considering he was only 28. That never happened.
“My agent (Marty Magid) told me that the rumours of being a cancer to the team were killing me,” said Lloyd, who had had 55 defensive tackles and four sacks in 2009 and 82 defensive tackles in 2010. “It hurt because they didn’t get a chance to know me as a person in the locker-room. They looked at my actions on the field. As a linebacker you’re supposed to be nasty, because there aren’t any friends between those two white lines. If you have a different-coloured helmet on and I’m your friend, then I’m playing the wrong game.”
The Riders looked beyond the rumours concerning Lloyd’s character when considering re-signing him. Jeremy O’Day, the Riders’ assistant general manager, got to know Lloyd when they were teammates from 2006 through 2008. Hall, now the defensive co-ordinator with the Riders, was also familiar with Lloyd from his two seasons as Edmonton’s head coach and before that with the Riders.
“We do our homework here,” said Riders general manager Brendan Taman. “(Lloyd) might rub people the wrong way, but he’s not a bad football player. He made a lot of money when he left here and he has been humbled a little bit. Cap-wise, he’s friendly to us. If he plays so many games, he’ll be treated fairly at his end too.”
The Eskimos enticed Lloyd into signing in 2009 with a $100,000 bonus above his salary, which was believed to be approximately $60,000 per season. It’s believed that Lloyd re-signed with the Riders for a salary cap friendly $50,000. That works for the Riders because Taman said that the middle linebacker’s job is Chris Graham’s to lose. They are looking at Lloyd to create competition for Graham, who is headed into his second season, and to add another veteran presence in the locker-room.
“Sometimes we need a change -up,” Taman said. “I go back to Kitwana Jones (who wasn’t signed as a free agent after the 2010 season). He was a different kind of guy, but when he came running out of the tunnel he was fired up and ready to go. We didn’t have that type of guy (in 2011) and we were missing that. Mo brings that.”
Lloyd didn’t know which direction his career was headed after being released. He was a volunteer coach in a youth league and he worked in an all-boys group home for youngsters with disabilities. Lloyd also spent some of his time off a stay-at-home dad. Lloyd and his wife, Kay, have two children — Jayde (11) and Jared (seven). Lloyd said it was Magid who kept him going when it appeared his career was over.
“He called when I had heard the rumours about my character and he told me to keep a level head,” said Lloyd, who was a 2008 CFL all-star. “Without him, I would have probably said something stupid and I would have regretted it down the road. He told me to keep working out to the best of my ability and he would do the same in finding me a contract. He did that.”
The Riders announced Lloyd’s signing the same day they released middle linebacker Barrin Simpson. Lloyd and Simpson met after the 2007 Grey Cup game, in which the Riders beat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 23-19. Simpson, who was Winnipeg’s starting middle linebacker in the Grey Cup game, was released on Tuesday after spending two seasons with the Roughriders.
“He’s a great guy and I know he’s had some flak over the last year because of the situations he has been in,” Simpson said. “Sometimes situations can happen and you can be portrayed not necessarily as the person you are. As you mature and learn from life, you will handle things differently. He has matured over this year into a better man and person.”
The Riders also got a little younger with Lloyd potentially replacing the 34-year-old Simpson on the roster. Lloyd has also had a year off from football, which has contributed to his overall health.
“You can’t say that my heart is old, because as long as football is around I still feel young,” said Lloyd, who turns 29 on March 15. “Age is just a number and the way you play the game is how you should be treated. It shouldn’t be based on your age.”
Regina Leader-Post
mmccormick@leaderpost.com
No comments:
Post a Comment