November 16, 2017

Checking Down: The return of J.C. Sherritt?

Jimmy Jeong/CFL.ca

TORONTO — J.C. Sherritt returned to practice on Thursday for the first time since rupturing his Achilles in Week 1. Will he be ready to return on Saturday?

What happens in Winnipeg if Justin Medlock doesn’t return to the Blue Bombers next season? Will the plethora of free agents in BC – including star receiver Emmanuel Arceneaux – re-sign with the team next season?

And who will be the next head coach of the Montreal Alouettes?

All that and more in this week’s Checking Down:

Jump to team:

BC | Calgary | Edmonton | Saskatchewan | Winnipeg | Hamilton | Toronto | Ottawa | Montreal

BC LIONS

Emmanuel Arceneaux is set to become a free agent in February – do the Lions hang on to him? (BCLions.com)

– He was the league’s leading tackler but do you know what Solomon Elimimian is like off the field? (BCLions.com)

– The BC Lions roster is littered with veteran pending free agents – including receiver Emmanuel Arceneaux – who stays and who goes? (Justin Dunk, 3DownNation.com)

EDMONTON ESKIMOS

C.J. Gable has become an integral part of the Eskimos offence since joining the team late in the regular season (The Canadian Press)

– C.J. Gable went off for 107 yards a pair of touchdowns in the Eskimos Western Semi-Final win. He has fit perfectly in Edmonton’s offence (Chris O’Leary, CFL.ca).

– The Western Final will see two of the most dominant teams in the regular season go head-to-head, but who has the edge between the Esks and Stamps (CFL.ca)?

– The Esks are riding high following their thrashing of the Bombers and are carrying a lot of momentum heading into Calgary (Terry Jones, Edmonton Sun).

–  Linebacker J.C. Sherritt practiced for the first time since rupturing his Achilles in Week 1 on Thursday. There is no word if he will play on Sunday (Dave Campbell, 630 CHED)

CALGARY STAMPEDERS

Bo Levi Mitchell will be looking to take his team to the Grey Cup for the second-straight year this weekend (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)

The Stampeders are well rested and ready to rumble against the Eskimos after a bye to the Western Final (George Johnson, Stampeders.com).

Head coach Dave Dickenson says that the Battle of Alberta will be a “dog fight” with the way that the Eskimos have been playing (Stampeders.com).

– Alex Singleton has become the CFL’s fastest rising star. But how did he do it? (Chris O’Leary, CFL.ca).

SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS

Just a few months Marcus Thigpen was sitting at home, now he’s an agile, speedy threat on the Riders offence (Patrick Doyle/CFL.ca)

– As we’ve seen so far this season, everything that Riders head coach Chris Jones does is not an accident (Marshall Ferguson, CFL.ca).

– Marcus Thigpen was sitting at home just a few months ago before he sent a message to Kevin Glenn on Instagram about joining the Riders (CFL.ca).

– When it comes to players to watch during the post-season, receiver turned defensive back Duron Carter tops the list (CFL.ca).

– Duron Carter has picked apart the Toronto Argonauts secondary in the two meetings this season. How did he do it? (Marshall Ferguson, CFL.ca).

WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS

Matt Nichols wore a specially designed glove to help him continue to play despite having a broken finger on his throwing hand (The Canadian Press)

– CFL.ca’s Chris O’Leary put himself in one of the most rabid environments in the CFL, taking his chances with the wilder, bear costume-wearing crew in section 143 of Investors Group Field (CFL.ca).

– Quarterback Matt Nichols revealed during Monday’s locker clean out that he had been playing the last few weeks of season with a broken finger (CFL.ca).

– After two seasons with the Blue Bombers, kicker/punter Justin Medlock is unsure of his future in Winnipeg (CFL.ca).

– The man behind the creative play-calling in Winnipeg, Paul LaPolice is set to stick around with the Blue Bombers next season (CFL.ca).

HAMILTON TIGER-CATS

First-round draft pick Connor McGough enjoyed a stellar rookie season with the Tiger-Cats (Peter McCabe/CFL.ca)

Plenty of former Tiger-Cats remain in the playoffs like six Saskatchewan Roughriders including Kevin Glenn, Peter Dyakowski, Bakari Grant and Marcus Thigpen (Drew Edwards, 3DownNation.com).

– First-round draft pick Connor McGough and eighth-round pick Sean Thomas-Erlington enjoyed stellar rookie campaigns with the Tiger-Cats (Ben Andrews, Ticats.ca).

TORONTO ARGONAUTS

James Wilder Jr. has quickly become one of the most exciting players to watch in the CFL (Dave Chidley/CFL.ca)

– James Wilder Jr. has been one of the most exciting members of the Toronto Argonauts over the last month and is the sixth player to watch in the Division Finals (CFL.ca).

– While the Argos deserve plenty of credit for finishing first in the East, the efforts of head coach Marc Trestman cannot be overlooked (Frank Zicarelli, Toronto Sun). 

– He once played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders and was once a quarterback in college but now Armanti Edwards is fitting in just fine with the Toronto Argonauts (Don Landry, CFL.ca).

OTTAWA REDBLACKS

The Ottawa REDBLACKS limbo celebration was seen all across the internet (Patrick Doyle/CFL.ca)

– The Ottawa REDBLACKS made waves across the internet with Diontae Spencer’s limbo celebration during the Eastern Semi-Final (Max Rosenberg, CFL.ca).

– Receiver Greg Ellingson hopes that the REDBLACKS can attract free agents in the off-season (OttawaREDBLACKS.com).

MONTREAL ALOUETTES

Will Ben Cahoon take over as bench boss of the Alouettes next season? (CFL.ca)

– Could former Alouette Ben Cahoon be the next head coach of the Montreal Alouettes? TSN690 discusses that he could be a good fit (TSN.ca).

– Or perhaps Ottawa REDBLACKS offensive coordinator Jamie Elizondo is the next man up for the head coaching job (3DownNation.com).

– John Bowman has played 200 career games in the CFL and had a chance to reflect on his career (MontrealAlouettes.com)