Photo Credit: Steven Chang, BC Lions
The football resume for Lucky Whitehead borders on unabridged. His professional voyage includes a stop with the Dallas Cowboys, where he vividly recalls owner Jerry Jones landing his helicopter on the field mid-practice, a Grey Cup ring with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2019, and a few impressive catches that could take up permanent residency on a couple of CFL Plays of the Year shows.
58 regular season appearances, 248 receptions, and over 3,000 receiving yards under his belt. Yet when you scan over the resume, he will need to wait until one week from Saturday to suit up in his first career playoff tilt. A late-season ankle injury derailed his participation in last year’s Grey Cup chase after the Lions failed to qualify in 2021.
He was on the sidelines for Winnipeg’s 2019 championship run as the Bombers elected to go with a beefier lineup suited to the Prairie weather. No bitterness as he contributed heavily that season but as you might expect, the playmaker is jacked for his first taste of November football. Better late than never.
“It’s big. I’m here to do whatever this team needs me to do,” said Whitehead of the upcoming challenge.
“I’m super excited to be healthy at this time of year. I can’t wait to go out there in front of our fans at home. I can’t wait to play more football.”
With a veteran-laden squad coming off back-to-back 12-win regular seasons, it’s safe to say the expectations have become ‘Grey Cup or bust.’ Whitehead’s teammates got a taste of playoff success last November with a win over these same Stampeders before a narrow defeat at Winnipeg in the Western Final, a game in which Whitehead attended and warmed up with his gear on just to get a small taste of the playoff environment.
“We’re very ready. This extended time we have with this mini-bye week gives us time to reset and get everybody healthy. We can’t wait until next week to start prepping for real,” added Whitehead on the team expectations.
Photo credit: Steven Chang, BC Lions
This truncated practice week allows Whitehead and his teammates to focus on situation football, namely some instances that have contributed to bad results. There will be extra emphasis placed on short yardage, second and long, plus red zone ‘clutch’ situations that could end up defining just how far this team will go. The mood has been upbeat and jovial as the squad is embracing the opportunity to still be playing.
“It’s super key to develop more awareness around these situations, work on it, and realize it’s super huge when it can determine if you win or lose,” stated the former Blue Bomber.
“It’s a big thing to be out here going through all of it.”
In a star-studded receiving corps. that seemingly produces a new top contributor every week, Whitehead has enjoyed a couple of his own big moments. His 728 yards and three touchdowns both fell short of his 2022 career year, but he proved he is still capable of answering the call when a big play is what the doctor orders. With November football on the horizon, team success over individual accolades will be paramount.
“It’s been fun. We’ve had our ups and downs,” explained number seven on his third season in black and orange.
“These are definitely exciting times for this team to be able to be in a position to once again host a playoff game. But now we have to start over. Throw records and everybody’s stats out the window.”
And he also echoed the post-game comments of Vernon Adams Jr. who said he hoped to see the Stampeders come back to the West Coast after taking it to the Lions in last week’s final regular season tilt. At the end of the day, the Lions prevailed with two victories in the season series following last November’s convincing 30-16 win to send the Stampeders packing. Different year, different situation. Everybody knows that.
“Absolutely. It’s a shot at redemption and a chance to go out there and show our fans what we’re really about,” said Whitehead.
“We’re super excited for this Grey Cup run and put together a run of some good football.”
He’s been knocking on November’s door for a few years now. Come next Saturday, Whitehead will likely be kicking it down.