Cats sign three receivers - is one a Thiggy replacement?

As on the homepage, the Cats have signed three to the receiving ranks… Looks like Michael Galatas and Deon Murphy may be the return specialists the Cats were looking for after we lost Thiggy. Collins is another big man like Bakari.

I though our receivers were already looking really good but the Cats are still on the hunt to fill the returner spot. I would be surprised if more than one of these three guys stuck. Deon did look good with the Stamps and has the experience edge.

[i]"The Hamilton Tiger-Cats announced today that the team has signed import receivers Joe Collins, Michael Galatas and Deon Murphy.

Collins, a 6-3, 195-pound native of Seaside, California, caught 109 passes for 1,501 yards and 10 touchdowns at Weber State. He was named to the first-team Big Sky All-Conference Team in 2010.

Galatas, a 5-8, 175-pound native of Mandeville, Louisiana, recorded 111 receptions for 1,757 yards and a school-record 20 receiving touchdowns in three seasons at Millsaps College. He also excelled as a returner, earning three Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Special Teams Player of the Year awards while setting Millsaps records with 1,670 kickoff return yards and four kickoff return touchdowns. Galatas attended training camp with the NFL’s New Orleans Saints in 2011.

Murphy, a 5-10, 170-pound native of Houston, Texas, caught 25 passes for 271 yards and four touchdowns with the Calgary Stampeders in 2010. The Kansas State product also led the Stamps with 911 kickoff return yards, 533 punt return yards and 145 missed field goal return yards."[/i]

We have a return specialist - Sam Giguere. He was a return specialist for the Colts and was on the practice roster of the Giants as a return specialist.

Giguere may be a kick-off return man but I doubt very much you will see him returning punts. We need a punt return specialist.

Because he’s Canadian, Giguere may be too valuable as a receiver if he plays well enough to earn a large role on offense. We need to find another Marcus Thigpen.

Nailed it. The team views Giguère as a future starting receiver, so I don’t think they’ll want to expose him too much on special teams.

With the signings yesterday, I expect one of Murphy, Galatas, Chris Duvalt or Chevon Walker to be the team’s kick and punt returner on opening day.

It would be awfully tough to live up to what Thigpen accopmlished the past couple of seasons. That said, I thought Deon Murphy was a pretty good returner in Calgary.