Lucky Whitehead’s time as a B.C. Lion may have come to an end.
The fan-favourite receiver played his last three CFL seasons on the West Coast, but the Leos’ co-general managers aren’t envisioning him in the team’s future.
“That’s not part of the plan, put it that way,” Rick Campbell said. “I don’t ever eliminate things forever, but I don’t want to misconstrue anything: the way we’re built structurally and our salary cap, all those things — we do not anticipate having Lucky back.”
“Wish him the best and thank him for everything. We’ll see if he catches on somewhere else.”
The 31-year-old suited up for 16 games last season, producing 58 receptions for 728 yards with three touchdowns while earning $163,800 CAD. The five-foot-10, 177-pound speedster was a CFL all-star in 2021 and posted a 1,000-yard campaign in 2022.
“It comes down to you have to start bringing in new players,” Neil McEvoy said. “A guy like Lucky, the professional he is, if you bring him in, he’s gonna be told that we needed to start bringing in the new group of players to keep on being younger. We’re a young football team and right now Lucky just doesn’t fit the mould with what we’re doing.”
After winning a Grey Cup with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2019, Whitehead signed with the Lions in 2021 following the coronavirus cancelled season. He has 248 catches for 3,192 yards with 12 touchdowns in 60 CFL games along with 21 kickoff returns for 596 yards and one major.
Whitehead ran a 4.39 forty-yard time at Florida Atlantic University’s pro day and enticed the Dallas Cowboys to sign him as an undrafted free agent. He dressed for 30 games while recording nine receptions for 64 yards, 33 kickoff returns for 846 yards and brought back 44 punts for 305 yards while earning over $1 million USD in the NFL.
The Manassas, Virginia native would like to continue his professional football career. Keep an eye on him potentially signing before training camp in May or being brought in if an injury occurs.
