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LENNOXVILLE

The days are beginning to bunch together now — and there’s still no sign of Chris Ackie at the Alouettes’ training camp. And with it, much of the anticipation that greeted him being selected fourth overall in the Canadian college draft is slowly beginning to dissipate.

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Ackie, the Wilfrid Laurier defensive-back, missed the three-day rookie camp last week. The veterans were on the field for the first time Sunday morning at Bishop’s University, but Ackie remains conspicuous by his absence.

Not only are general manager Jim Popp and Ackie’s agent, Johnathon Hardaway, locked in a contract dispute, Popp told the Montreal Gazette the offer on the table to the player decreases with each day it remains unsigned.

If the two sides clearly are engaged in a game of Russian roulette, it’s Popp’s gun that contains the bullets.

“If he wants to sit, then he’ll sit,” Popp said. “We drafted him and we think a lot of him. We think he can come in and compete for a roster spot. He can help with special teams right away. But we have to manage our salary cap. We’re not a team that has to have a player go on the field and play right now.”