THE CANADIAN PRESS

CALGARY -- Jesse Lumsden is back in the CFL.

The Canadian tailback joined the Calgary Stampedes' practice roster Tuesday. Lumsden hasn't played since injuring his shoulder in Edmonton's season-opening game last year.

"Jesse has shown that he can be a very productive player in the CFL, so we're happy to have him,” Calgary head coach-GM John Hufnagel said in a statement. “He's joining the team on the practice roster to provide valuable depth and we'll see what happens from there."

Lumsden, 28, played one game for Edmonton last season, running for five yards on two carries and three receptions for 20 yards before suffering the season-ending shoulder injury.

It was while Lumsden was rehabbing the shoulder that he took up bobsled. He served as a brakeman for Edmonton's Pierre Lueders at the Vancouver Olympics, finishing finished fifth in both disciplines.

Edmonton released Lumsden prior to training camp. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers had made an offer to Lumsden, but he turned that down to to go Calgary, which is also where the national bobsled team trains.

"I’m looking forward to getting back on the field," said Lumsden. "I was fortunate enough to have some other opportunities but I feel that the Stampeders are a good fit for me.

"It allows me to pursue my other career with the Canadian bobsleigh team and I think Calgary is definitely a place I can see myself living after my football career.”

Lumsden joins a Calgary team that's already deep at the running back position. Incumbent Joffrey Reynolds recently became the club's all-time rushing leader while Canadian Jon Cornish has shown to be a more than capable backup.

Lumsden is considered one of the league's best running backs when healthy, but that's been an issue for him. Before heading to Edmonton, Lumsden played 19 games over his final two seasons in Hamilton because of consecutive season-ending shoulder surgeries.

He also battled knee and ankle injuries in Hamilton.

The six-foot-three, 228-pound Lumsden was selected in the first round, sixth overall, by Hamilton in the 2005 CFL Canadian college draft. He appeared in 30 games over four seasons with the Ticats, rushing for 1,797 yards and nine TDs on 185 carries while registering 49 catches for 630 yards and two touchdowns before joining Edmonton in 2009.

Lumsden captured the Hec Crighton Trophy as Canadian university football's top player in 2004 and left McMaster as the all-time leading rusher in Ontario conference history.

Calgary also released import receiver Jermaine Jackson. He joined the Stampeders in 2009, appearing in eight games.