The Canadian Press
TORONTO — The injuries across the league to receivers continues to pile up, and perhaps the most affected by that are the Calgary Stampeders. As a result of yet another receiver going down in Reggie Begelton, the Stamps have brought in and signed former Winnipeg Blue Bomber Chris Matthews, who was named 2012’s Most Outstanding Rookie before he embarked on a career in the NFL.
Solomon Elimimian might just be a few weeks away from a return, and it couldn’t come at a more crucial time as the Lions are pushing for a playoff spot. The Lions linebacker is expected to be medically cleared of his wrist injury on Monday. BC’s head coach, Wally Buono, will likely be expecting him to be an option to play next week, as well as Travis Lulay once he builds up strength in his shoulder.
Also, the CFL has announced both its Top Performers for Week 16, as well as the Top Performers for the month of September.
All this and more in the latest from Checking Down:
Jump to team:
| BC | Calgary | Edmonton | Saskatchewan | Winnipeg | Hamilton | Toronto | Ottawa | Montreal |
BC LIONS
Lions’ Solomon Elimimian is expected to be cleared on Monday after spending the last several months recovering from surgery on his wrist. (Johany Jutras, CFL.ca)
– Lions’ veteran LB Solomon Elimimian is expected to be cleared next Monday from his wrist injury. Lions HC Wally Buono believes he’ll be an option to have available in Week 18. (Farhan Lalji, TSN)
– BC adds Shakeir Ryan to their practice roster after being released by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Monday. (Lions Staff)
– QB Travis Lulay will likely get reps at practice throughout the week but HC Wally Buono believes he’ll be needing another week in order to strengthen his shoulder before getting into a game. (Farhan Lalji, TSN)
EDMONTON ESKIMOS
– HC Jason Maas addresses the firing of special teams coordinator Cory McDiarmid as a ‘wake-up call’ to the rest of the coaching staff following their 30-3 loss to Winnipeg. (Dave Campbell, CHED)
– Dave Jackson is set to assume the duties of the Eskimos special teams coordinator following the departure of Cory McDiarmid. (CFL Staff)
– Eskimos are expecting leading receiver Duke Williams to be healthy enough to play this week against the Roughriders. Williams left last week’s game against the Blue Bombers with a shoulder injury. (Farhan Lalji, TSN)
CALGARY STAMPEDERS
With the growing list of injuries throughout their receiving corps, the Stamps have signed Chris Matthews, 2012’s Most Oustanding Rookie. (Jason Halstead, CFL.ca)
– Receiver Reggie Begelton has broken his arm according to Stampeders head coach Dave Dickenson and is done for the remainder of the season. (Danny Austin, Calgary Sun)
– The Stampeders sign 2012’s CFL Most Outstanding Rookie Chris Matthews after spending time with the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and Baltimore Ravens. (Justin Dunk, 3 Down Nation)
– A win or tie against the Montreal Alouettes this week secures a home playoff game for the Stampeders. (Danny Austin, Calgary Sun)
SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS
Zach Collaros was named CFL Top Performer of Week 16 following the Riders win over the Alouettes. (The Canadian Press)
– QB Zach Collaros gets named Top Performer of the Week after nearly passing for 400 yards in Saskatchewan’s win over the Alouettes. (CFL Staff)
– Roughriders President and GM Craig Reynolds announces on CKRM that Saskatchewan will be making a bid to host the 2020 Grey Cup. (Rod Pedersen, CKRM)
WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS
– Bombers Kevin Fogg gets named a CFL Top Performer of the Week after registering a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and a 73-yard interception return for a touchdown against the Eskimos. (Jim Toth, TSN 1290)
– Pat Neufeld and Brendan Morgan are both non-participants at practice on Tuesday. Also, no one from the Bombers’ six-game injury list is practicing despite being eligible to do so. (Darrin Bauming, TSN 1290)
– Receiver Nic Demski returns to practice for the Bombers. The Canadian missed last week against the Eskimos due to an injury suffered the week prior against the Alouettes. (Darrin Bauming, TSN 1290)
HAMILTON TIGER-CATS
Jeremiah Masoli earned himself Top Performer for the month of September. (Adam Gagnon, CFL.ca)
– The Tiger-Cats announced the release of kick returner Shakeir Ryan from the roster earlier this week. (Louis Butko, TSN 1150)
– QB Jeremiah Masoli gets named Top Performer for the month of September. (CFL Staff)
– Scoring a pick-six in the Ticats 40-10 win over the Lions, LB Don Unamba gets named a Top Performer of Week 16. (CFL Staff)
– Hamilton releases veteran receiver Chad Owens from the team’s practice roster on Monday. (Louis Butko, TSN 1150)
TORONTO ARGONAUTS
Though slim, the Boatmen still have a chance of making the playoffs in 2018 as long as they figure out a way to be nearly perfect through the final stretch. (Alex D’Addese)
– James Wilder Jr. is expected to be out of the lineup for Week 17 after leaving the Argos’ game against the Stampeders. (Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press)
– Playoff hopes for the Argos have the Boatmen needing to go at least 4-1 in the final stretch of the season, while also being dependent on Winnipeg or Edmonton going 0-5. (Mike Hogan, Argonauts.ca)
OTTAWA REDBLACKS
REDBLACKS head coach Rick Campbell is hopeful that safety Antoine Pruneau will be healthy and ready for this week’s game against Winnipeg. (Johany Jutras, CFL.ca)
– Rick Campbell is hopeful that safety Antoine Pruneau will play in the REDBLACKS game on Friday against Winnipeg. Pruneau was nursing an injury on the sideline at practice on Tuesday. (Tim Baines, Ottawa Citizen)
– Running back William Powell and kicker Lewis Ward both receive CFL Player of the Month honours. (Tim Baines, Ottawa Sun)
– Offensive lineman Pierce Burton re-joins the REDBLACKS 15 months after injuring his knee in a 2017 preseason game. (Tim Baines, Ottawa Sun)
MONTREAL ALOUETTES
A trio of Alouettes were absent from practice on Wednesday, including Montreal’s leading receiver in B.J. Cunningham. (Johany Jutras, CFL.ca)
– Tony Washington, B.J. Cunningham and Martin Bedard are all non-participants at practice on Wednesday. (Didier Ormejuste, RDS)
