Riderville.com
TORONTO — As pre-season kick off, many familiar faces are hitting the field with their teams.
Some stars, however, will have to wait, including the likes of Bo Levi Mitchell, Zach Collaros, Darian Durant — and now, it appears, Vince Young, who suffered a hamstring injury on Tuesday.
Who’s sitting and who’s starting? With the depth charts filtering in, CFL.ca has the latest on recent signings, injuries and position battles in this week’s Checking Down:
Jump to team:
| BC | Calgary | Edmonton | Saskatchewan | Winnipeg | Hamilton | Toronto | Ottawa | Montreal |
BC LIONS
Jonathon Jennings threw eight passes in his pre-season debut on Tuesday (The Canadian Press)
– While the Lions’ O-line struggled, Wally Buono said he was disappointed with the three backup quarterbacks in the team’s pre-season loss to Calgary Tuesday (TSN.ca).
– According to Lowell Ullrich, the Lions are so confident in Swayze Waters that they offered backup kicker Ty Long to the Ticats in a trade last week (Lowell Ullrich, 3 Down Nation).
EDMONTON ESKIMOS
Esks pivot Mike Reilly leads what’s expected to be one of the CFL’s top offences heading into 2017 (CFL.ca)
– With the Grey Cup awarded to Edmonton, Len Rhodes says ticket prices will range from $99 to $299 for season ticket holders (Terry Jones, Edmonton Journal).
– Mike Reilly has changed his number for Sunday’s pre-season game to honour former Eskimos legend Larry Highbaugh, who also wore #13 (CFL.ca).
– Travon Van has returned to the practice field for the Eskimos while Marcell Young, Forrest Hightower and Shamawd Chambers remain out (Morley Scott, CHED).
CALGARY STAMPEDERS
Stamps linebacker Jameer Thurman made a strong impression Tuesday night in Calgary (Stampeders.com)
– Jameer Thurman has transferred his techniques from wrestling to football and on Tuesday it showed as his two sacks made him a top performer (George Johnson, Stampeders.com).
– Has Andrew Buckley taken a firm grip of the No. 2 job? CFL.ca tracks all of the quarterbacks this pre-season (CFL.ca).
– While Roy Finch’s job doesn’t appear to be in danger, the Stamps appear to have a number of options after some strong showings in the return game Tuesday night (Daniel Austin, Calgary Herald).
– There are areas to improve, but Stamps head coach Dave Dickenson says Tuesday night’s result was encouraging for his team (Daniel Austin, Calgary Herald).
SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS
Vince Young’s status for Saturday is in question after a hamstring injury on Tuesday (Riderville.com)
– According to Rod Pedersen, Chris Jones has confirmed that Vince Young will not play in Saturday’s pre-season game (Rod Pedersen, CKRM).
– The Riders have shipped national offensive lineman Matt Vonk to the Alouettes in exchange for defensive back Denzel Radford (MontrealAlouettes.com).
– Could Young’s injury spell an end to his professional football comeback? Dave Campbell speculates that could be the case (Dave Campbell, CHED).
– While he’s turned heads at camp this week, Jenson Stoshak was famous for other reasons before joining the Saskatchewan Roughriders (Murray McCormick, Regina Leader-Post).
WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS
Maurice Leggett remains questionable for the first regular season game in 2017 (Johany Jutras/CFLc.a)
– When he’s not officiating in the CFL, Brian Chrupalo is making split-second decisions on the streets of north Winnipeg. This fall, he’ll be taking his game to Lambeau Field (Chris O’Leary, CFL.ca).
– The Bombers continue to be without Maurice Leggett, who Mike O’Shea says will likely sit both pre-season games. Taylor Loffler, meanwhile, has returned to practice (Ed Tait, BlueBombers.com).
HAMILTON TIGER-CATS
Zach Collaros will have to wait to make his 2017 pre-season debut (Ticats.ca)
– Some key Ticats will not play in the team’s pre-season opener Thursday, including Zach Collaros, C.J. Gable, Terrence Toliver, Ryan Bomben, Simoni Lawrence, John Chick and Ted Laurent (Drew Edwards, The Hamilton Spectator).
– Everett Golson could be next in line as the Ticats’ developmental quarterback — but first he has to earn the opportunity. Golson should get an extended look Thursday (Drew Edwards, 3 Down Nation).
– The Ticats’ unique approach to training camp, with ‘recovery days’ built in, appears to be working — at least if you ask the veterans (Morning Scrum, TSN 1150).
TORONTO ARGONAUTS
Marc Trestman will coach his first game with the Argos on Thursday night at BMO Field (Johany Jutras/Argonauts.ca)
– According to Michael ‘Pinball’ Clemons, the Argos’ biggest off-season addition was Marc Trestman on the sidelines (Naylor and Landsberg, TSN 1050).
– Argos camp pivot McLeod Bethel-Thompson, originally acquired from the Bombers’ negotiation list, has impressed in training camp thus far (Justin Dunk, 3 Down Nation).
OTTAWA REDBLACKS
It’s unknown how many snaps Trevor Harris will take in his team’s pre-season opener (Chris Hoffley/OttawaREDBLACKS.com)
– The REDBLACKS have revealed that Trevor Harris will get at least some snaps in the team’s pre-season game on Thursday, followed by Drew Tate and Ryan Lindley (OttawaREDBLACKS.com).
– Kenny Shaw and Nolan MacMillan are among players not dressing for the REDBLACKS on Thursday (Tim Baines, Ottawa Sun).
– For Darryl Paul, the $100 fee to attend a tryout camp in San Jose turned out to be well worth it. Now he’s in camp trying to earn a roster spot (Tim Baines, Ottawa Citizen).
MONTREAL ALOUETTES
Vernon Adams will get to run the Als’ first-team offence in Thursday night’s game (Dominick Gravel/Montreal Alouettes)
– With Darian Durant sitting, Vernon Adams will draw the start at quarterback for the Als in Thursday’s pre-season game (Herb Zurkowsky, Montreal Gazette).
– Justin Dunk is reporting that former second round pick Mikael Charland, recently released by the REDBLACKS, has signed with the Alouettes (Justin Dunk, 3 Down Nation).
– Former NFL receiver T.J. Graham has brought track star speed to the Alouettes this camp (Herb Zurkowsky, Montreal Gazette).
– For past CFL first round pick Devon Bailey, he knows his grace period in the league is over — that he’ll have to produce quickly with the Als (Herb Zurkowsky, Montreal Gazette).
