After losing a running back to injury in last week’s victory over the Edmonton Eskimos, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers have brought back running back John Santiago.
With Brady Oliveira expected to be out long term after suffering a suspected broken ankle, the club signed Santiago to their practice roster.
Santiago, 22, attended training camp with the Bombers last month, but was among their final cuts.
“We liked him here at camp, just couldn’t keep everybody,” head coach Mike O’Shea said.
“With drafting Brady, and having Johnny Augustine here too, it made the competition pretty tough going against the roster, not just other players really in that battle. Once Brady went down, we’re just bringing a guy back that we really like and thought had a good camp.”
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The first-year pro from the University of North Dakota appeared in both the Bombers’ pre-season games. He had seven carries for 32 yards on the ground and had another three catches for 19 yards, while having a touchdown called back by a penalty flag.
The signing gives the Bombers three healthy running backs again with Andrew Harris and Augustine both expected to be on the active roster for Friday’s game against the Ottawa RedBlacks.
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