Jimmy Jeong/CFL.ca
TORONTO — William Powell returns to the REDBLACKS’ lineup but who will replace DaVaris Daniels in Calgary? Plus, what’s the latest on injured Ticat Terrence Toliver?
Finally, will off-season addition and kicker Swayze Waters make his Lions debut in Week 2 in a familiar surrounding?
Plenty of questions in this week’s Checking Down as Week 2 kicks off Thursday:
Jump to team:
| BC | Calgary | Edmonton | Saskatchewan | Winnipeg | Hamilton | Toronto | Ottawa | Montreal |
BC LIONS
Jonathon Jennings may be protected by Antonio Johnson on the right side on Friday (Jimmy Jeong/CFL.ca)
– Both right tackle Kelvin Palmer and place kicker/punter Swayze Waters have returned to Lions practice, although there’s no word yet on their availability for Friday’s game (Matt Baker, BCLions.com).
– According to Farhan Lalji, the BC Lions have released Canadian running back Shaq Murray-Lawrence (Farhan Lalji, TSN).
– With a Week 2 trip to Toronto, rookie linebacker Jordan Herdman gets to go against his twin brother Justin (Brian Helberg, BCLions.com).
– Lions head coach Wally Buono says Antonio Johnson will likely start at right tackle on Friday night, but the second-year international needs to cut down his penalties (3 Down Radio, TSN 1040).
EDMONTON ESKIMOS
JC Sherritt’s season is over after suffering a ruptured Achilles on Saturday (Jimmy Jeong/CFL.ca)
– While J.C. Sherritt is out for the season, the veteran middle linebacker will still stay with the team and play an important leadership role (Morley Scott, CHED).
– After being released in the off-season, Alex Hoffman-Ellis is back in Edmonton and brings some much-needed familiarity to the fold (Gerry Moddejonge, Edmonton Journal).
– Travon Van is back at Eskimos practice after missing the season-opener to attend his uncle’s funeral (Gerry Moddejonge, Edmonton Journal).
CALGARY STAMPEDERS
Bo Levi Mitchell looks to get the Stamps back in the win column on Thursday night (CFL.ca)
– In his entire career, through thousands of snaps, Rob Maver never got a bad one from long snapper Randy Chevrier. On Tuesday, Chevrier retired a Calgary Stampeder after 16 CFL seasons (Daniel Austin, Calgary Sun).
– With Roy Finch suspended, Trey Williams is getting his chance to return kicks much sooner than expected for the Stampeders (Daniel Austin, Calgary Sun).
– Also making his Stampeders debut this week will be Marken Michel, who takes DaVaris Daniels’ spot at boundary wideout.
SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS
Chris Jones and the Riders dropped their season-opener in Montreal (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
– Despite coming off a loss, the buzz around the Riders is obvious heading into their first ever game at the new Mosaic Stadium on Saturday (Murray McCormick, Regina Leader-Post).
– While Rob Bagg’s status for Saturday remains in the air, Nic Demski will return kicks for the Riders in Week 2 vs. Winnipeg (Taylor Shire, Global Regina).
– After coming to camp 14 pounds over weight, Henoc Muamba says he’s since lost 11 pounds and is in playing shape (Murray McCormick, Regina Leader-Post).
WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS
Matt Nichols is hoping a Week 1 bye gives the Bombers an edge this weekend (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
– The Bombers believe that the extra week to prepare gives them a leg up on the Riders heading into their Week 2 season-opener (Ted Wyman, Winnipeg Sun).
– After taking Kenny Stafford’s job at slotback, rookie receiver L’Damian Washington continues to draw positive reviews out of Winnipeg (Darrin Bauming, TSN1290).
– The Bombers have picked up receiver Drew Wolitarsky in the supplemental draft Tuesday, giving up one of their third round picks in 2018 (Ed Tait, BlueBombers.com).
HAMILTON TIGER-CATS
The Ticats have yet to provide an update on injured receiver Terrence Toliver (CFL.ca)
– Is there cause for concern for the Ticats? Steve Milton weighs the good and bad following an opening-week loss to the Argos (Steve Milton, The Hamilton Spectator).
– Despite mixed reports, there’s been no official word on the status of injured receiver Terrence Toliver. Toliver appeared to hurt his knee in the season-opener against Toronto.
TORONTO ARGONAUTS
Argos veteran pivot Ricky Ray enjoyed a career day in Week 1 against the Ticats (David Chidley/CFL.ca)
– The Argos know that to stop the BC Lions’ explosive offence, it starts with shutting down their league-leading rushing attack (Terry Koshan, Toronto Sun).
– With three receivers over 100 yards in Week 1, Ricky Ray hasn’t taken long to establish chemistry with his new pass-catchers (Morgan Campbell, The Toronto Star).
OTTAWA REDBLACKS
The REDBLACKS have listed William Powell as their starter for Thursday night (Chris Hofley/Ottawa REDBLACKS)
– While William Powell says he’ll be good to go, receiver Kenny Shaw has been ruled out of Thursday’s contest for the REDBLACKS (Tim Baines, Ottawa Citizen).
– A.J. Jefferson is not in the lineup for Ottawa’s Week 2 contest against the Stampeders.
– He’s not officially Canadian, yet, but Henry Burris will be representing his country with the Grey Cup at the Canada 150 celebrations in the U.K. (Ted Wyman, Montreal Gazette).
MONTREAL ALOUETTES
Als coach Jacques Chapdelaine looks to build on a winning start in Montreal (Dominick Gravel/Montreal Alouettes)
– Veteran defensive back Ryan Phillips is expected to make his Alouettes debut this week in Edmonton (Herb Zurkowsky, Montreal Gazette).
– The injury bug has hit the Als’ defensive backfield, with Greg Henderson out indefinitely (hand) and Travis Hawkins (arm) and Ramon Taylor (ear) also reportedly on the shelf (Herb Zurkowsky, Montreal Gazette).
– Dominique Tovell wasn’t even in camp yet when the Als released Bear Woods, but the rookie linebacker has done a nice job of replacing the departed veteran (Herb Zurkowsky, Montreal Gazette).
