Collaros active in practice; removed from six-game

HAMILTON — Hamilton Tiger-Cats fans may not have to wait long to see their star quarterback.

Zach Collaros was participating in practice today after being removed from the six-game injured list.

Although head coach Kent Austin wouldn’t set an exact timeline for his starting QB’s return, he did confirm that he will not play this week when the Ticats travel to Montreal to take on the Alouettes.

Collaros has been sidelined since last fall, when he suffered a season-ending knee injury in the second quarter of a Sept. 19 game against the Edmonton Eskimos. Surgery was required to repair a torn ACL in his right knee.

The leading candidate to win Most Outstanding Player last season before his injury, Collaros’ return would provide an immediate boost to a Ticat offence currently ranking eighth in the league in total yards (334 per game) and coming off back-to-back losses.

His replacement, Jeremiah Masoli, ranks third in the league with 933 passing yards and owns a quarterback rating of 95.3. But his four interceptions also lead the CFL, while six turnovers by the Ticats took a huge toll in a 28-24 home loss to the Bombers in Week 3.

Collaros, a former Cincinnati Bearcat, broke into the league with the Argos in 2012 and got his first crack as a starter when Ricky Ray was injured in 2013. After throwing 16 touchdowns and six interceptions that year, he became a free agent and joined the Ticats in 2014 to become the starting quarterback.

Now 27, Collaros led the Ticats to a berth in the 102nd Grey Cup in his first year in Hamilton, before last year putting up an MOP-type campaign on the way to 3,376 passing yards, 25 touchdowns and just eight interceptions over 12 games.