Lions announce defensive lineman Richardson to miss “significant” time due to injury

VANCOUVER – The B.C. Lions will have to open the 2022 season without American defensive lineman Steven Richardson.

Richardson signed with B.C. as a free agent in February after helping the Winnipeg Blue Bombers capture consecutive Grey Cup titles (2019, 2021). But Rick Campbell, the Lions’ head coach and co-GM, announced Wednesday that Richardson will miss a “significant amount of time” after sustaining an injury while training.

“Steven Richardson suffered a significant injury during a workout session last week while preparing for the season and will be out for a significant amount of time,” Campbell said in a statement. “He is already on the road to recovery and we hope to get him back for the stretch run of the season.”

The five-foot-11, 304-pound Richardson had 38 tackles, six sacks and a forced fumble in 25 regular-season contests with Winnipeg,

He added two sacks in the Bombers’ 33-25 overtime win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the 2021 Grey Cup game.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 20, 2022.