Stamps re-sign receiver Philpot: Another key piece in mission to improve

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With family on the West Coast and his twin brother out east, the temptation might have been for Jalen Philpot to take his pass-catching talents away from the Calgary Stampeders.

But the city he’s called home for seven years has won out in his decision on where to continue his promising Canadian Football League career.

And that’s more good news for the Stampeders in their mission to improve this CFL off-season.

“A key to our growth as a team will be the continued development of our talented young players, and Jalen definitely fits that description,” said Stampeders GM/head coach Dave Dickenson.

“We’re glad to bring him back and look forward to watching him take the next step in his career progression.”

They should be super glad.

Philpot, the first-round pick — fifth overall — in the 2022 CFL Draft by the Stampeders is as talented as it gets for Canadian receivers.

The 24-year-old native of Delta, B.C., may not yet have the gaudy numbers — partly because of a leg injury that took him out of action for more than a year — but his ceiling is high.

Big-time high …

And that potential is made even higher by the fact Vernon Adams Jr. — one of the league’s top quarterbacks the last few seasons — is now at the controls for the Stampeders.

It’s a connection that should hype up the fans at McMahon Stadium.

“I’m excited to be back in Calgary,” said Philpot, of signing a two-year contract with the Red and White. “I’m looking forward to trying to change the narrative and help bring the team back to its winning culture.”

Pundits out there had Philpot pegged for taking his abilities elsewhere — perhaps to the BC Lions or the Montreal Alouettes — as a pending free agent come February.

After all, his father, former CFL star Cory ‘Quick Six’ — who had a big impact on Philpot’s football career — is still on the West Coast, so the attraction might have been to return home and play for the Lions, with whom his dad starred.

And his brother, Tyson, is flourishing in Montreal as a gridiron hero after making the 2023 Grey Cup-winning catch for the Alouettes. You know how twins often like to stick together, especially in the sports world. Just recall how productive the Philpot Bros. were together as sure-handed receivers with the University of Calgary Dinos before making the move to the CFL.

Jalen Philpot played 22 games in three U SPORTS seasons, recording 113 receptions for 1,889 yards and 10 touchdowns for the Dinos. He was a Canada West all-star in 2019 and 2021, in addition to twice being named a first-team all-Canadian. And he was part of the Dinos’ Vanier Cup-championship team in 2019.

So the transition in becoming a three-down star in the professional ranks seemed inevitable.

It’s just that his rise was slowed by a major hamstring tear that cost him all of last season. He needed surgery and then plenty of rehab and then mental strength, with thoughts of retirement creeping into his brain.

But his return to the field in 2024 that saw him play all 18 games and grab 66 balls for 659 yards and three touchdowns, as well as 15 carries for 115 yards, proved he’s no worse for wear.

And you can see he’s got more — much more — to give heading towards his fourth CFL campaign.

Philpot is dynamic.

“I think there’s always things you can work on,” said Philpot, midway through the 2024 season. “The body’s feeling good, so I can’t complain about that.

“So I think it’s just one of those things where I’m going to continue just to get better.”

With this extension, the Stamps are certainly banking on that from the 6-foot, 189-lb. sure-handed speedster.

To date, he has played 32 regular-season games for the Stamps and has 89 catches for 976 yards and six touchdowns, as well as 217 rushing yards and 573 kickoff-return yards. But most of those numbers came during this last campaign — one of the few bright spots for a scuffling offence that featured all-star receiver Reggie Begelton during most games.

The Stamps went into the off-season with four receivers as free agents-to-be in Philpot and fellow Canadian Tyson Middlemost and Americans Marken Michel and Tre Odoms-Dukes.

Given his age, potential and passport, Philpot should have rightly been the most important of the four to re-up.

Sure, Michel was clutch season-long for the Stampeders, totalling 774 yards for a team-high six receiving touchdowns on 68 receptions and making him likely still high on Dickenson’s re-sign list. But he’s on the other side of 30 and an American.

It’s keeping the young Canadian Philpot that was of utmost priority at the position.

Now that it’s done and dusted, the Stamps boast Philpot and another clutch draftee in Clark Barnes as leaders in their Canadian attack at receiver.

And that looks good on the team’s off-season mission to improve.

O-lineman Demery re-ups

The Stampeders also came to terms Friday with American offensive lineman D’Antne Demery, getting him to re-sign on a two-year contract that runs through the 2026 season. Like Philpot, Demery was slated to become a free agent in February.

tsaelhof@postmedia.com

http://www.x.com/ToddSaelhofPM