Toronto confirms Ray will return when Argos host Lions

TORONTO — After a pair of tough losses, help is on the way for the Toronto Argonauts who confirmed Wednesday afternoon that star quarterback Ricky Ray will start under centre when they host the BC Lions next week at BMO Field.

Ray was injured back on July 25 in a 30-17 win over the Montreal Alouettes, which overshadowed a solid performance in which he completed over 85 per cent of his passes and tossed three majors. The injury, diagnosed as a sprained MCL, was sustained in the fourth quarter on a hit by defensive tackle Vaughn Martin.

For the Argos, the return of their starting quarterback comes at a time when the club had been humbled in two consecutive weeks by Winnipeg and Edmonton respectively. Prior to Ray’s injury, the Boatmen were sitting atop the East Division standings, along with Ottawa, and now find themselves in a four-way tie for first sitting at 4-4.

Ray has completed 73.7 per cent of his passes in 2016 for 1,235 yards, nine touchdowns and one interception, leading the Argos to a 3-2 record over five starts.

Ray has already hit a number of milestones in 2016, moving into fourth on the CFL’s all-time passing yards list (53,721) in Week 4 while vaulting himself into second on the Argos’ all-time passing touchdowns list (80) during the team’s Week 5 win at home.

Logan Kilgore replaced Ray admirably in his first game, a 23-20 win in Ottawa, but struggled in the following two contests with seven interceptions over the span of two weeks.

More to come…