Courtesy Montreal Gazette:

Bashir Levingston will go down as one of the greatest retur specialists in Canadian Football League history. His arrival in Montreal is being lauded by quarterback Marcus Brady, who played with him at Toronto, and general manager Jim Popp - responsible for the signing.

“He’s definitely a weapon,” Alouettes head coach Popp said. “He has the potential to break it at any time. You can’t pass it up when you have a spot on the roster. Who better than a guy who has the credentials of Bashir?”

But the move isn’t being endorsed by everyone.

“It kind of feels like they’ve lost faith in you,” Brian Bratton said. “But this is a business, and they do what’s the best thing in their view to win a Grey Cup.”

Bratton and Ashlan Davis have been the Als’ primary return specialists this season, but that will probably change Sunday, when Montreal travels to Winnipeg for the East Division semifinal. That role is expected to be filled by Levingston, who signed with his new team last weekend.

Levingston, 31, was released by the Argos in August and had attracted no interest from other CFL teams during the last two months despite some impressive credentials. He was the league’s special-teams player of the year in 2003. In six seasons, he has 15 career special-teams touchdowns, including a CFL-record 129-yarder off a missed field goal this season. But his production has decreased. He scored twice in 2005 and once last season, when return rules were more prohibitive.

Bratton said Levingston’s signing caught him off-guard. “Honestly, yeah. I feel like we’ve got talent here, between Ashlan and me. But it’s (management’s) decision and we have nothing to do with it. We just go out and play.”

Bratton has returned 52 punts for 511 yards, including a 79-yard touchdown against Toronto in July. He had eight returns in that game for 170 yards. Bratton hasn’t returned punts since Oct. 20. He has returned 19 kickoffs for 438 yards.

Bratton, like Davis, plays receiver for Montreal. But in last Friday’s regular-season finale, at Winnipeg, Bratton was utilized exclusively on kickoff returns and played no receiver. That probably means he’ll be a healthy scratch this weekend,

although Davis might also draw the short straw. But one or the other expects to sit.

Bratton has four fumbles this season, losing three, and has been less productive at receiver than Davis.

Bratton believes the possibility exists he’s being punished for his turnovers. “Maybe, but you don’t go out with the intention

of fumbling. You get hit, or if someone gets a helmet on the ball, it comes out. I’ve had over 40 returns and only two fumbles.”

Davis has returned 28 punts for 179 yards, adding 30 kickoff returns for 632 yards.

“There were times I definitely wasn’t the best at it. But there were times I’d get a 30-yard

return and we’d be penalized. We’ve had several of those. My average tells you I’m s–t, but it’s hard to say,” he said.

“If (Levingston) does return, that’s not the worst thing that can happen. He has how many returns? You do what’s best for the team. I just play ball. If you think about anything else, you’ll just hang your head.”

A season-ending injury to American offensive-tackle Skip Seagraves has created an opening for an import on the 42-man roster. It also provides the Als with the opportunity to employ someone who only returns kicks - a luxury most teams don’t

possess.

But it hardly sends a vote of confidence to Bratton and Davis, or other players who have toiled long and hard this season.

“I would hope this signing would help, and not hurt, our team,” Popp said.