Report: Green ruled out; Banks questionable for ‘Cats

HAMILTON — It appears that John White will be the starting running back for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, as TSN reports regular starter Alex Green has been ruled out for Saturday’s contest in BC.

The report also said leading receiver Brandon Banks is up in the air for Saturday’s game, but a determination won’t be made until after Thursday’s practice ahead of the team’s trip to Vancouver.

Last week, Green suffered a shoulder injury in Saturday’s loss to the Calgary Stampeders. The 30-year-old headed to the locker room before halftime, but did return to play the rest of the game.

On Tuesday, when asked by members of the media if Green would be ready to go, Head Coach June Jones said that the team will likely see veteran running back White start this weekend’s contest if Green didn’t show progress this week.

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If Alex Green can’t play this weekend, John White will get the start for the Ticats (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)

“If this was the Grey Cup he’d (Green) play,” said Jones at the time. “We’ll see how he is in the next day or so but right now it looks like John (White) would play.”

White has been on the Tiger-Cats practice roster for weeks, after seeing action during Weeks 4, 6 and 7. Over those three games, the 27-year-old collected 22 carries for 89 yards and a touchdown.

When Green was ready to return in Week 8 – he missed the first seven weeks with a broken hand – White was put on the back-burner for the time being.

Since joining the practice roster, White has been working hard to get in shape for when his number was called. According to his coach, the running back has dropped just over 30 pounds.

“Very confident,” Jones said when asked if he was confident in White’s abilities to run the ball. “He reported at 237 and he’s 205 right now. He’s in shape and he’s ready to go. He’s a big time player I think. I really like him.”

While Green found the end zone quite a lot in six games so far this season – the 6-foot, 228-pounder has scored eight touchdowns, with last week’s contest against Calgary the first game this year he didn’t find the end zone – White brings with him the ability to do the same.

White’s best season was in 2015 where he amassed 886 yards and eight touchdowns on the way to winning the Grey Cup. He battled injuries, however, suiting up in just 41 games over four seasons.