Ryan McCullough/Ticats.ca
TORONTO — It’s Week 1, the rosters have been finalized and we’re ready to kick off a new CFL season!
As anticipation mounts for Thursday’s opening kickoff, we look at some of the latest news and notes from around the league — from the status of Emanuel Davis and Abdul Kanneh in Hamilton to a late addition to the lineup in Saskatchewan.
That and more in this week’s kickoff edition of Checking Down:
Jump to team:
| BC | Calgary | Edmonton | Saskatchewan | Winnipeg | Hamilton | Toronto | Ottawa | Montreal |
BC LIONS
The wait continues for star signing Chris Williams’ return to the football field (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
– Offensive tackle Kevin Palmer, who appeared to sustain an ankle injury in the Lions’ pre-season finale, remains sidelined for the Leos.(Farhan Lalji, TSN).
– Chris Williams continues to do drills on his own at practice and will not be active for Saturday’s game as he recovers from off-season ACL surgery (Matt Baker, BCLions.com).
EDMONTON ESKIMOS
It appears the Eskimos are getting DB Marcell Young back just in time for the season (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
– Veteran DBs Forrest Hightower and Marcell Young are back at practice for the Eskimos ahead of Saturday’s season-opener. Hightower sat out almost all of camp with an injury (Dave Campbell, CHED).
– The Eskimos are reportedly close to a deal with first round pick and former Carleton Ravens receiver Nate Behar (Dave Campbell, CHED).
– Eskimos GM Brock Sunderland says that rookie and once troubled Auburn receiver D’haquille Williams will see plenty of action for the Esks, although his role hasn’t yet been defined (Terry Jones, Edmonton Journal).
CALGARY STAMPEDERS
It’s hardly a surprise that Bo Levi Mitchell has been named a captain for the Stamps in ’17 (The Canadian Press)
– Bo Levi Mitchell and Deron Mayo will be testing new helmets this season, ones that are molded and contoured to the shape of their head (Daniel Austin, Calgary Herald).
– After winning 15 games a season ago, the Stampeders’ over-under for wins this season has been set at 12.5 by Bodog (Ian Busby, 3 Down Nation).
– The Stampeders voted for their captains this week as Bo Levi Mitchell, Joshua Bell, Rob Cote and Rene Paredes will make up the team’s core leadership throughout the 2017 season (Stampeders.com).
– Ucambre Williams has a new position for the Stampeders, making the transition from tackle to centre in time for the start of the 2017 season (Alex Medina, Stampeders.com).
SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS
Chad Owens will miss Thursday’s season-opener and more for the Riders (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
– The Riders have reportedly placed Chad Owens on the 6-game injured list as he deals with ‘lingering effects’ from the broken foot suffered last season (Justin Dunk, 3 Down Nation).
– Rob Bagg has also been ruled out for Week 1 but is expected to return in time for the Riders’ first game at new Mosaic (CFL.ca).
– There’s a new No. 4 on the Riders’ roster — first round pick and former UCLA linebacker Cameron Judge, who joined the team on Monday for his first practice (Ian Hamilton, Riderville.com).
– The Riders have released national receiver Joshua Stanford and international linebacker Myke Tavarres.
WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS
Maurice Leggett’s status for the Bombers’ season-opener in Week 2 remains unknown (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
– The Bombers have signed former BC Lions receiver Brett Blaszko to a practice roster agreement (Farhan Lalji, TSN).
– Invited late to camp, L’Damian Washington has earned a starting receiver job in the Bombers’ offence (Bob Irving, CJOB).
– SAM linebacker Moe Leggett remains sidelined at Bombers practice. Leggett missed both pre-season games but still has time before the Bombers’ Week 2 season-opener (Darrin Bauming, TSN 1290).
HAMILTON TIGER-CATS
Brandon Banks may not see much work on offence this season for the Ticats (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
– The Ticats could be without both Abdul Kanneh and Emanuel Davis for their season-opener Sunday in Toronto (Drew Edwards, The Hamilton Spectator).
– As the Ticats continue rebuilding their O-line, they could soon lean on a converted D-lineman out of the University of Toronto (Drew Edwards, 3 Down Nation).
– The Ticats’ use of Brandon Banks on offence will depend first and foremost on keeping him fresh as a returner, says Kent Austin (Steve Milton, The Hamilton Spectator).
TORONTO ARGONAUTS
Cody Fajardo beat out Drew Willy and Jeff Mathews to earn the No. 2 job (Bea Serdon/Argonauts.ca)
– Word out of Toronto is that Cody Fajardo has won the backup job out of camp to quarterback Ricky Ray (Curtis Rush, The Toronto Star).
– Still only 24, it was a strange feeling for Anthony Coombs to show up at Argos camp and realize he’s the longest-serving member of the receiver group. Coombs will continue his role as a slot/running back. (Frank Zicarelli, Toronto Sun).
– With an injury to Matt Black, it looks like the Argos will go American at safety with Josh Mitchell starting. Meanwhile, Jermaine Gabriel’s move to corner appears to be more than temporary (Frank Zicarelli, Toronto Sun).
OTTAWA REDBLACKS
After missing pre-season, Kenny Shaw appears ready to go for Week 1 (Chris Hofley, Ottawa REDBLACKS)
– Kenny Shaw and Drew Tate are both back on the practice field for the REDBLACKS and are expected to play in Friday night’s season-opener (Tim Baines, Ottawa Citizen).
– Who will handle returns for the REDBLACKS? That remains up in the air, but Josh Stangby, Kenny Shaw, Diontae Spencer and A.J. Jefferson are all considered candidates (Tim Baines, Ottawa Citizen).
MONTREAL ALOUETTES
Als receiver Sam Giguere is not expected to play Thursday night’s season-opener (The Canadian Press)
– Samuel Giguere will not play in the Alouettes’ season-opener while corner Raymon Taylor is also out of action and will be replaced by Travis Hawkins (Didier Orméjuste, RDS)
– Also out for Thursday’s game will be Ray Drew, Anthony Sarao, Ryan Phillips and quarterback Matthew Shiltz (Herb Zurkowsky, Montreal Gazette).
