Ferguson: Bethel-Thompson not giving up No. 1 job without a fight

Marshall Ferguson

CFL.ca

@TSN_Marsh

I was in Saskatchewan when Zach Collaros was traded back to Toronto where he spent his early CFL life.

The reaction ranged from sadness to excitement.

The first emotion brought on by the fact that Collaros spent large chunks of time on injured lists while Riders fans were left wondering what could have been thanks to his knack for making the right play at the right time, even after a season ending injury in Hamilton during the 2015 season which opened the door for Hamilton to – eventually – transition to the Ticat huddle leader.

The second emotion – excitement – was rooted in the idea that Saskatchewan might have found their quarterback of the future in emerging Cody Fajardo. A sentiment Fajardo has done nothing but confirm over the past couple months.

In the Collaros trade, the Riders got younger, made a clear statement about the direction they were heading and appear to have shifted the entire tenor of the organization.

So what are were the Argos doing trading for him?

Well, the obvious short answer is trying to find a winner in a year which wins are few and far between for the Double Blue.

While the actual answer might be more complex and involve a variety of factors ranging from Collaros’ future aspirations in life after football or personal life, the reality is right now Zach is a quarterback who feels like he can contribute and clearly the Argos brought him back to the big smoke because they felt the same.

However, there’s one problem: the eclectic veteran journeyman with the name so long we all get lazy and find our own alternative – Macbeth, MBT, Hyphen – had something to say about that in a massive upset victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers a couple weeks ago.

McLeod Bethel-Thompson isn’t going to go down without a fight and with Collaros standing in a t-shirt on the sidelines two Thursday’s ago, Bethel-Thompson put on arguably his greatest display of leadership and accuracy in 2019.

It was the ultimate statement game for a quarterback who has been up and down the depth chart and stat boards in his time with the Argos. A system change from Marc Trestman to Jacques Chapdelaine hasn’t appeared to light a fire under Bethel-Thompson’s mediocre 2018 campaign which no doubt left the door open for a Collaros return.

Now the Argos face the difficult decision of who to ride with as their established offensive leader the remainder of 2019.

The journeyman who showed you the type of fightback you’ve been waiting to see from the Argos all year?

The recently acquired veteran passer with a never dying huddle swagger and resume that makes you want to forget about his recent injury issues?

The talented big body week one starter who only lost the job due to injury and was acquired as the future of the franchise at its most important position?

There can only be one. The Argos made the move for Collaros in order to play him, but what difference can he make in a roster that has struggled to find their way through the first third of the 2019 season?

For my money the difference with Collaros is consistency. You know what you’re going to get week in and week out. I’m not sure you can say the same with a similar level of confidence when discussing Bethel-Thompson or James Franklin.

Zach has the ability to command respect immediately and the fire he displayed while unhappily leaving the field in Week 1 after just three snaps might be exactly the kick in the backside Argos teammates need.

Amongst all these questions and theoretical, one simple truth is prevalent. If Collaros were to start during Mark’s Labour Day Weekend in Hamilton for Toronto all bets are off.

In 2017 after starting the season 0-8 Collaros was sidelined in Hamilton for Masoli who came in against a talented Argos team and earned Hamilton’s first victory of the season. Collaros has always embraced the matchup no matter what side of it he has played and an Argos decision to crown Zach starter leading into that game would create a buzz in Hamilton which could only be accentuated by a healthy Jeremiah Masoli standing on the other side of the field.

At this point it’s not a question of if, but when Collaros will get a start for Toronto, we all get to sit back and see what comes of the CFL’s most interesting in-season trade of 2019 *so far*.

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