Winnipeg Blue Bombers sign OL Michael Couture to contract extension

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers signed Canadian offensive lineman Michael Couture to a one-year extension Tuesday.

The six-foot-four, 295-pound native of Burnaby, B.C., was scheduled to become a free agent next month.

Couture, taken No. 10 overall by Winnipeg in the 2016 CFL draft, has appeared in 54 regular-season game and four playoff contest with the Bombers. He made his first two career starts last season. 

“Michael came in and was immediately inserted into the game day roster,” GM Kyle Walters said in a statement. “To do that right out of college is not an easy feat, and he has continued to progress in so many facets of his game over his first three seasons with us.

“Certainly drafting and developing offensive linemen is very important for us, and we’re excited to bring Michael back for 2019.”

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Meanwhile, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats signed four American players, including receiver Rashad Lawrence, who appeared in 10 games last season with the CFL club.

The other players signed included receiver Cam Echols-Luper, quarterback DeVante Kincade and running back Ray Lawry.

Lawrence, 26, had 17 catches for 131 yards and returned six kickoffs for 101 yards. The six-foot-two, 190-pound receiver also spent time in the NFL with Miami, New Orleans, Jacksonville, Chicago and Washington.

Echols-Luper, 23, and Kincade both spent time on Hamilton’s practice roster last season. Lawry, 22, was with the Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs last season.

The Toronto Argonauts also made moves on Tuesday, re-signing Canadian offensive lineman Chris Kolankowski and defensive back Rob Woodson through 2020 and adding American DB Devin Butler. 

Kolankowski, entering his third year with Toronto after graduating from York University, played 16 games with the Argos last year.

Woodson, a Calgary graduate, had eight defensive tackles and nine special-teams tackles in 14 games last year.

Butler, a Syracuse product, played in four games with the Ottawa Redblacks in 2018.

Elsewhere, the B.C. Lions signed American kicker Lane Clark, receiver Shaq Hill and Canadian receiver Will Watson.

Clark was a two-time all-conference player at Tennesee State, while Hill is taking his second crack at the CFL after going to camp with the Edmonton Eskimos last year.

Watson, a Surrey, B.C., native, spent last season on the Lions’ practice roster.

On the coaching front, the Montreal Alouettes appointed Bob Slowik as their defensive co-ordinator. The move reunites Slowik with head coach Mike Sherman as the two worked together with the NFL’s Green Bay Packers (2001-04).

Slowik, 64, served as an assistant coach in the NFL from 1992 to 2013. He spent time last season as a guest coach with Montreal.

“Bob Slowik epitomizes what a good football coach is all about: passion, attention to details and he cares about his players,” Sherman said in a statement. “He has a lot of experience and he already knows our playbook as he’s been studying it during the off-season.

“We say that good people make good coaches, and Bob is both of those.”

The Canadian Press