The Montreal Alouettes have officially placed running back William Stanback on the six-game injured list after the former CFL all-star was carted off the field during Thursday’s season opener.
Stanback, who had been limited in practice with an ankle injury leading up to the game, received a blow to the lower leg early in the second quarter and did not return. He was briefly taken to the hospital by team doctors before returning to the sideline on crutches.
The Alouettes have not provided any additional information about the nature of Stanback’s injury. However, head coach Khari Jones said post-game that he did not believe the ankle was broken. TSN insider Farhan Lalji reports that Stanback is scheduled for surgery on Monday and the team hopes to have him back before the end of the season.
Stanback recorded 193 carries for 1,176 yards and three touchdowns over 12 games last season, leading the league in rushing for the first time in his career. He also caught 16 passes for 114 yards and was named a CFL all-star.
The three-year veteran has been an explosive player since he joined the Alouettes in 2018, rushing for 2,763 yards and eight touchdowns over 42 career games.
Canadian backup Jeshrun Antwi performed admirably in Stanback’s absence but the team has brought in competition for the top job, signing American running back Shane Simpson on Sunday.
The five-foot-11, 200-pound Simpson played his senior season at the University of Virginia in 2020 after spending his first four collegiate years at Towson University.
At Towson, Simpson recorded 1,925 career rushing yards and 13 touchdowns in 35 games. He registered 5,088 career all-purpose yards with the Tigers, including 2,080 on kickoff returns, adding two more touchdowns. In his senior season at Virginia, Simpson had 600 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns for the Cavaliers.
Simpson spent 2022 training camp with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers but failed to crack the final roster. He notched six carries for 26 yards in the team’s second preseason game.
