The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have signed American receiver Penny Hart to the practice roster.
The five-foot-eight, 180-pound target spent five years in the NFL, dressing for 39 games with the Seattle Seahawks and catching 11 passes for 82 yards and rushing for 19 yards. The native of Roswell, Ga. also had stints with the Indianapolis Colts and Atlanta Falcons.
The 28-year-old made 203 receptions for 2,960 yards and 19 touchdowns at the collegiate level at Georgia State University, along with 16 punt returns for 200 yards and one touchdown, and 15 kick returns for 299 yards.
The Blue Bombers have also added American quarterback Darren Grainger, American defensive end Brandon Wright, and American defensive back Russell Dandy to the practice roster.
Grainger was in training camp with the team earlier this year but was released as part of final cuts. He spent the past three seasons at Georgia State University, where he was twice named honourable mention All-Sun Belt. In 38 games for the Panthers, Grainger completed 62.7 percent of his passes for 6,779 yards, 57 touchdowns, and 18 interceptions. He also rushed 456 times for 2,130 yards and 19 majors.
The six-foot-four, 225-pound passer began his collegiate career at Furman University, where he was named to the Southern Conference’s All-Freshman team in 2019. In 18 games with the Paladins, he connected on 49 percent of his throws for 1,403 yards, 15 touchdowns, and five interceptions. He also ran 135 times for 349 yards and five scores.
Wright played five collegiate seasons at Michigan State University, originally committing to the team as a running back. He carried the ball 24 times for 61 yards over his first two seasons with the Spartans before converting to the defensive line. The six-foot-two, 250-pound native of Euclid, Ohio played 28 games on defence and made 44 tackles, six tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and one pass knockdown.
Dandy was also released at the conclusion of training camp by the Blue Bombers earlier this year. The six-foot, 170-pound native of Hinesville, Ga. made 74 total tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, three interceptions, 24 pass knockdowns, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries over 25 collegiate games at Eastern Illinois University and was named first-team All-Big South Conference as a senior. He attended rookie minicamp with the New York Jets after going unselected in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers (7-6) will visit the Edmonton Elks (5-8) on Saturday, Sept. 21 with kickoff slated for 7:00 p.m. EDT.
