Barrin Simpson Seeking Trade - This Can’t Be Good
Looks like Mike Kelly is deadset on breaking the record for trading/releasing/chasing away the best players on the team. Who is next? Fred Reid? Alexis Serna? Siddeeq Shabazz?
Tony “Tee” Martin
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WINNIPEG — Barrin Simpson is almost certainly finished with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
The veteran linebacker has asked the Blue Bombers for a trade and the club has been shopping him around the league in an attempt to recoup something for the 31-year-old disgruntled defender.
Simpson, who has not taken part in practice with the Bombers this week, was on the field this morning in his Bombers’ practice gear but didn’t take part in any drills.
Then Blue Bombers Director of Football Operations Ross Hodgkinson approached Simpson on the practice field with a piece of paper, and asked Simpson to sign it. The player and the executive then left the field.
Simpson has been slowed by a turf toe all season and head coach Mike Kelly and defensive co-ordinator Mark Nelson have approached him about a limited role in the next little while and the veteran wants no part of that. Simpson has not answered his cell phone since late last night and the team has said they’ll make him available following practice this morning.
Simpson, however, has spoken to the Globe and Mail’s David Naylor on the issue and his comments leave little room for a resolution between the club and the player:
“I was told this week they wanted to try a different combination group, they said ‘we feel this would be a better fit for us right now,’” said Simpson. “Of course I was upset about that so I said ‘give me an explanation. Have I been playing bad?’ They said ‘you’ve been playing great but we just want to try a different combination in the linebacking corps.
“I’m not with that. That tells me we’re rebuilding and it’s no longer about winning games this season. So I said ‘coach if that’s what you want to do, then I respectfully disagree. You can’t ask me to be a backup and have me agree with that. You say I’m playing good football and anyone who watches film knows that.’
“My thing is I want to win now and to me this was him saying ‘we want to see what the future holds.’ I said ‘coach, I respectfully disagree and I will ask you to trade me.’ There was no yelling, we talk like men.
“I’ve been playing great football so to ask me to take less reps or sit down so you can see another combination is not acceptable to me. It comes off as ‘we want to see what’s going to work in the future.’”
The Bombers, who to this point have refused to comment on the issue, have a young and talented linebacker in 26-year-old Joe Lobendahn as well as 28-year-old Siddeeq Shabazz rounding into form after early-season ankle injuries.
via: Winnipeg Free Press
