The BC Lions announced on Thursday the release of three players, including National defensive lineman David Menard, along with American defensive backs Parnell Motley and Lawrence Woods III.
Menard, who was picked in the fourth round (32nd overall) of the 2014 CFL Draft, had a lengthy tenure with the Lions, apart from a single season with the Montreal Alouettes in 2021.
Over the span of his career since 2016, the six-foot-one, 259-pound lineman participated in 109 games, tallying 80 defensive tackles and 30 sacks.
During his time with the Montreal Alouettes in 2021, Menard recorded 18 defensive stops and eight sacks, finishing as the runner-up to Bo Lokombo for the CFL Most Outstanding Canadian award.
Woods III joined the Lions in December of the previous year following two seasons with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, where he returned 56 kicks for 1,267 yards and scored a touchdown.
Motley inked a deal with BC in January and had a stint on the practice roster with the Lions in late 2023 after starting the previous season in camp with the Toronto Argonauts. Following his participation in the 2022 training camp with the Cleveland Browns, Motley made his way north to the Calgary Stampeders and appeared in one regular-season game, registering two defensive tackles.
Additionally, the Lions revealed that American defensive lineman Steven Richardson has been placed on the retired list.
Richardson signed with the Lions in November after two seasons with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2019, 2021), where he accumulated 38 defensive tackles, six sacks, and a forced fumble while contributing to the Bombers’ consecutive Grey Cup championships. During his time at the University of Minnesota from 2014 to 2017, Richardson amassed 103 tackles, 28.5 tackles for loss, 12.5 sacks, and five forced fumbles. In his senior season with the Gophers, he recorded 23 tackles and one forced fumble, earning him an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention.
Initially joining BC in early 2022 free agency, Richardson was sidelined due to a pair of Achilles injuries suffered that year, preventing him from taking the field.
