The Saskatchewan Roughriders' bye week turned into good-bye for receiver/defensive back Duron Carter.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders’ bye week turned into good-bye for receiver/defensive back Duron Carter.

The Riders announced Carter’s release via email on Saturday evening. Chris Jones, the Riders’ head coach and general manager, told the media on Sunday morning that the Riders decided to go in a “different direction.”

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“We’re not going to go into any kind of specifics,” Jones said. “We’re not here to put a guy on trial or anything like that. We released a very good player, who I think will land his on his feet. We decided to go in a different direction for our football team.”

Jones didn’t provide any details on went into the decision to release the 27-year-old Carter or which direction the team is going. The Riders’ head coach and general manager said it was part of the team’s overall evaluation that takes place during any bye week.

“I went back and forth with it in my mind yesterday and at about half time of (Saturday’s game between the Ottawa Redblacks and Montreal Alouettes) I decided to go ahead, call him and alert him that was the direction we were going,” Jones said.

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That direction remains to be seen. Jones confirmed that Caleb Holley will take over Carter’s spot at slotback when the Riders resume practising on Wednesday.

Saskatchewan is on its second of three bye weeks and Riders’ next game is Aug. 19 when they play host to the Calgary Stampeders.

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Carter posted his reaction to his release on his Twitter account:

“Welp… just got the call… I’m out Sask! Love y’all!!! Most fun I had in a long time!!”

Carter later questioned his future in the game, tweeting, “I might be done with football man… find a job that travels around the world, something where I can be myself.”

That future may involve the Montreal Alouettes, where Carter started his CFL career in 2014. Montreal general manager Kavis Reed told Herb Zurkowsky of the Montreal Gazette on Saturday that he would be in contact with Carter.

Carter was contacted via Instagram by the Leader-Post and he provided this cryptic response:

“All good man! Thank you,”

Carter, meanwhile, told TSN’s Farhan Lalji on Saturday that he wasn’t given any reason for his release. Carter said that he “was thanked for his work on both sides of the ball and was told the team was going in another direction.”

Carter added that there wasn’t any conflict with the coaches and he isn’t concerned about why and was more focused on his next move.

He later tweeted that he first heard of his release from his teammates on Saturday.

“So here you go only saying it once: my teammates started calling me Sat. asking me questions like “what happened” etc. I eventually text coach Jones “What’s the deal? Why my teammates asking if I’m on the team?” Get a call from him saying “thanks for your service on both sides,”

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Carter’s release follows on the heels of Jones running ex-NFL receiver Terrell Owens through a workout last Sunday in South Pittsburg, Tenn. The workout took place the day after Owens was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

“That had nothing to do with it,” Jones said while declining to talk any further on Owens. “That’s a discussion for another time and let’s give this it’s due.”

Owens, 44, has been out of football since 2012 when he had 35 receptions for 420 yards and 10 TDs over eight games with the Allen Wranglers of the Indoor Football League. Owens signed with the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks during training camp that year but was released.

Carter joined the Riders in 2017 and was named a CFL all-star receiver after leading the team in receiving yards (1,043) and sharing the team lead in receiving touchdowns (eight) with Naaman Roosevelt.

He also played boundary cornerback as a fill-in for Kacy Rodgers II when the Riders encountered injuries in their secondary. Carter returned an interception 43 yards for a touchdown in his first start as a defensive back in a 30-7 win over the Calgary Stampeders on Oct. 20.

He began the 2018 season as a wide receiver, but was switched to defensive back when rookie Nick Marshall was assigned to the six-game injured list with an injured wrist.

Carter started five games in Marshall’s absence, returning an interception 28 yards for a touchdown in a 40-17 loss to the host Ottawa Redblacks on June 21.

Marshall was activated from the injured list in advance of the Riders’ 26-19 loss to the Edmonton Eskimos.

The move contributed to Carter returning to receiver, albeit as a slotback for the first time in his six-year CFL career, He had three receptions for 89 yards, including a 41-yard touchdown reception, in the Riders’ loss.

Overall in the 2018 season, Carter had eight receptions for 111 yards and a touchdown.

— With Canadian Press files