Music: {allcanada} Paredes wins Stamps' kicking job

Monday, July 4, 2011

{allcanada} Paredes wins Stamps' kicking job

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The Calgary Stampeders have found some answers to their injury woes, and they are not who you would expect.

Former Concordia University kicker Rene Paredes has won the kicking job, for this week anyway, sources told sportsnet.ca. He replaces Rob Maver, who is out with a torn quad muscle.

Paredes played four years at Concordia and was 54-of-79 on field goals in his career. His longest kick was from 48 yards.

The Pierrefonds, Que., native was vying for a job with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in training camp this season but he was released as part of their final cuts.

Meanwhile, veteran Canadian defensive lineman Shawn Mayne, who won back-to-back Grey Cup rings with his hometown Montreal Alouettes the past two seasons, has signed with the Stampeders.

Mayne is already in Calgary and will practise with the club beginning Monday.

There was speculation that the Stampeders would reach out to Miguel Robede, the first overall pick of the franchise in the 2005 draft, who had spent his entire career in Calgary before being dealt to Toronto on the eve of training camp. The Argonauts cut the non-import defensive tackle on June 22, and from a roster standpoint could have slid into Mace's spot on the depth chart (Mayne is a defensive end).

But clearly the Stampeders all but closed the door on the 30-year-old Robede, who has had a number of concussions in his past.

Mace, a native of Port Moody, B.C., tore his Achilles tendon in the Stamps' 23-21 injury-riddled loss to the Toronto Argonauts. That will sideline the 25-year-old for the season and with Mayne's connection to Calgary personnel man John Murphy (they worked together in Winnipeg in 2009), a deal was quickly struck over the weekend. The 31-year-old Montrealer, released by the Blue Bombers at the end of training camp, was in southern Alberta by Sunday.

Mace and Maver were among the many wounded after the season opener. Receiver Ken-Yon Rambo suffered a hamstring injury (though he told Calgary reporters Sunday he would play this week) and linebacker Malik Jackson sustained a concussion. As a result, there could be some changes to the team's ratio, even though the Stampeders will remain Canadian at kicker for now.

Should head coach John Hufnagel simply not replace Mace with fellow non-import tackle Adrian Davis, acquired from the Argos in the four-player Robede deal, Calgary could shuffle the deck with some homegrown talent that they've drafted of late.

One scenario would see Calgary going American at defensive tackle, pulling Torrey Davis off the practice roster, allowing Canadian Karl McCartney (fifth round, 2010) to start at linebacker in Jackson's slot, or 2009 first-round pick Eric Fraser becoming the starter at safety.

The Stampeders begin their preparations for the B.C. Lions (0-1) Monday. At practice it should be clear how Calgary's defence will look in what is already shaping up to be a critical Friday night affair at Empire Field between the winless clubs.