VERO BEACH, Fla. – The more things change, the more they may stay the same for Marcus Henry.

The former Edmonton Eskimos receiver has returned to the fold as an unsigned free agent after receiving an invitation to attend mini-camp from new head coach Jason Maas.

“We brought him in with the mindset that he would know our systems well and he would be able to compete for a position,” said Maas. “And that's what he'll end up doing.”

Henry played his first three CFL seasons in Edmonton, earning 1,301 yards and three touchdowns on 95 catches, before joining the expansion Ottawa RedBlacks as a free agent in 2014.

And with Maas moving from Ottawa, where he spent last year as offensive co-ordinator – to Edmonton, Henry would appear to be following suit if it wasn't for one important factor.

He wouldn't have to move at all.

“There are a lot of familiar faces,” Henry said of his ex-Eskimos teammates. “I still live in Edmonton, so I get to see them every day.

“That's where my wife is from.”

Henry married Stephanie, a teacher from Edmonton, a year ago December and doesn't need to be told what an opportunity he has to rejoin his now-hometown team.

“It definitely is,” Henry said. “I know coach Maas quite well and reached out to him. He got back to me and said we were having a mini-camp. That's how I got down here.”

But Henry's sights aren't exactly set on picking up right where he left off on a receiving corps he helped bring along, only to have to watch them crest the championship peak without him.

“It's a business,” Henry said. “I'm starting fresh, just coming out here and working hard.”

gerry.moddejonge@sunmedia.ca

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