WINNIPEG – Michael Bishop’s return to the CFL was made official Monday when he was added to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ practice roster.
The move was widely expected, as it had already been confirmed that the quarterback would be attending the team’s practice. Bishop has passed for 8,737 yards and 51 touchdowns over eight seasons with Toronto and Saskatchewan. He has also rushed for 1,303 yards and 12 touchdowns.
“We’re very pleased to add a quarterback with Michael’s experience and skill set,” said Bombers head coach Mike Kelly in a statement.
The six-foot-two, 223-pound native of Galveston, Texas, spent the spring playing for the Corpus Christi Hammerheads of the Indoor Football League.
Bishop had his best season as a pro in 2007, leading the Argonauts to an 11-1 record as a starter and throwing for 2,920 yards and 22 touchdowns.
The Bombers hope Bishop’s addition will stabilize a suspect quarterback situation that was exposed in Winnipeg’s 19-5 home loss to Toronto on Friday.
The Blue Bombers used three quarterbacks in that game and all were ineffective. Starting quarterback Stefan LeFors was 7-of-11 for 30 yards and one interception. Replacement Bryan Randall was worse, completing 1-of-5 passes for six yards and one interception. Randall was replaced by Richie Williams, who was 3-of-10 for 30 yards.
LeFors went into Friday’s game completing a league-low 44 per cent of his passes.
The poor performance from Winnipeg’s pivots means Bishop could get a crack at his former team this Saturday, as the Bombers look for revenge against the Argos at Rogers Centre in Toronto.
