I knew it was too good to be true as I for one had hopes of watching Delta resident Tyson Pencer take to the field at BC Place, but won’t happen on this night.
Tyson’s time in Winnipeg and his era has come to an halt or an abrupt end, rather quickly.
The Bombers trimmed the roster by five getting set for the final pre-season game against the Stamp’s and most one cut that has some questioning is the release of solid dependable player Tyson Pencer.
Known as “the big O-lineman” he played solid, but the coaching staff saw things different.
He was selected third overall in the 2012 CFL Draft when Joe Mack was still the general manager.
Pencer dressed for seven games and started two during his two-plus seasons with the Blue Bombers, missing all of 2012 due to injury.
Head Coach Mike O’Shea told the media “Well, we weren’t going to bring him on the trip to Calgary, so in effect, we were going to release him.”
“To have him wait around for another bunch of days just doesn’t seem right and realistically he (Tyson Pencer) was not going to make our football team.”
O’Shea was asked if Pencer — who saw action in Monday’s pre-season loss to the Toronto Argonauts — had been given enough time to prove his worth, given he missed so much time on the injured list?
“Yeah, I believe so,” said O’Shea, noting that Pencer had a great attitude. “He was not going to win that job, so it was the right move for the team.”
The Blue Bombers also released non-import defensive back Kris Robertson (who was chosen 11th overall in 2013), import offensive tackle Quentin Saulsberry and import defensive linemen Stafford Gatling and Louis Nzegwu.