Eskimos sign RB Lumsden

Feb 17, 2009 - 11:34 PM EDMONTON, Alberta (Ticker) -- The Edmonton Eskimos on Tuesday signed running back Jesse Lumsden to a one-year contract.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

Lumsden is an Edmonton native and his father, Neil, played for the Eskimos from 1980-85.

"I'm very excited to join a team with a winning tradition, and an organization that is family oriented," Lumsden said. "As a young boy, I spent a lot of time Eskimo dressing room and it's great to return to play for the Eskimos".

The Eskimos are ready to welcome Lumsden into the fold.

"To get a person of his caliber makes our offense even more potent," Edmonton coach Richie Hall said. "He has the ability to do a lot of different things."

"This is an extremely important day for us," Eskimos general manager Danny Maciocia said. "If there was a missing link, it was having a running back who could get the tough yards and allow us to close out football games. We think we're going to be so much more explosive and so much more dynamic now."

The 26-year-old Lumsden rushed for 584 yards on 87 carries with five touchdowns last season with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He suffered a season-ending shoulder injury which ended his campaign.