It appears as though the hopeful early return of Stefan Logan to the BC Lions was just wishful thinking.
As the Vancouver Suns’s Mike Beamish reports, the Lions have been told the Steelers like what they see:
Expectations that the 5-6 running back’s stay with the Pittsburgh Steelers might be short were dealt a blow after Lions player personnel director Roy Shivers contacted the NFL team this week. Shivers has a long-standing relationship with Kirby Wilson, the Steelers’ running backs coach and a player he used to teach. Logan signed with Pittsburgh as a free agent in early February.
“Kirby told me to forget about him,” Shivers said at Lions training camp Friday. “They like him and they’ve moved him to slotback. The idea is that they can get him the ball in space and everything. He’s opening some eyes. The veterans have gravitated toward him because he’s shown stuff in mini-camps. And they plan to use him as a kick-returner, too. Kirby told me, ‘You’re probably not going to get him back.’ “
The Lions haven’t been exactly thrilled with the performances of the backs they have at camp. Damian Sims, Emmanuel Marc and Martell Mallet are are all competing for the job against Ian Smart, who the Lions will have to find a replacement for as a returner should they anoint him the featured back.
Young Andrew Harris has showed a ton of promise, and will get a chance to play Tuesday in the final pre-season game, but it’s likely the Lions would like to bring him a along a little slower. Choosing him at this point would cause ratio issues on the roster.
It hasn’t helped the cause that the candidates have been banged up somewhat. Marc for example has been nursing a sprained knee, and needs playing time to show his talents with only one game left to do so.