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Mike Reilly left in the off-season to sign a multi-million-dollar contract with the B.C. Lions.

And on Friday, he left again, this time with his tail between his legs following a 39-23 loss to the same Edmonton Eskimos he played the past six seasons with.

“It felt a lot better about four hours ago,” said Reilly, who completed 10 of his first 12 passes before finishing with just 149 yards while going 14 for 27. “It was good to be back in the city and to play a game in this stadium. It was obviously a little bit weird. But as soon as the ball was kicked off, it was just football again.”

The storyline coming in, of course, for the Eskimos was the return of their former franchise quarterback, who led them to the 2015 Grey Cup.

Make that, ALL the storylines. But after the Lions jumped to a 17-3, the final chapter turned tragic for him.

“They definitely outplayed us, for sure,” said Reilly, sporting a bit of a shiner under an eye. “We came out and played good football in the first quarter and we gave them a good punch. But they countered back and we just never got off the mat after that. We’ve got to figure out how to fight through when things get a little tough and aren’t going our way. That’s been the problem the last couple weeks.”