B.C. Lions re-sign kick returner/running back Chris Rainey through 2018 season

VANCOUVER – The B.C. Lions have re-signed star kick returner and running back Chris Rainey to a contract extension through the 2018 season, the club announced Monday.

The 28-year-old from Lakeland, Fla., led the CFL with 2,945 combined yards in 2016, including the third-highest totals in both punt return yards (942) and kickoff return yards (1,359).

As a running back, Rainey added 309 yards on the ground with two touchdowns, and 252 yards through the air to go along with three TDs.

“Chris is an exciting and dynamic player who not only gives us instant field position on special teams, but also has the ability to score from just about anywhere on the field,” Lions head coach and general manager Wally Buono said in a statement. “I know our fans will have a lot to cheer about in the future with Chris in the lineup.”

The University of Florida product returned two punts for touchdowns this season, both against the Calgary Stampeders.

A fifth-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2012 draft, Rainey had some legal troubles in both college and the NFL before joining the Montreal Alouettes in 2014.

He signed with B.C. partway thought the 2015 campaign, finishing the year with a kickoff and a punt return TD, as well as one rushing score, in nine games of action.