Esks’ Harris out; Kilgore to start vs. Ticats

EDMONTON — Logan Kilgore will be the Edmonton Eskimos’ starting quarterback on Friday night, the team revealed on Thursday, as Trevor Harris has been placed on the one-game injured list.

Harris suffered what appeared to be an upper body injury during the Eskimos’ 33-17 loss to the Stampeders. He exited the game after going 3-for-5 for nine yards and a touchdown, though he did remain in uniform on the sideline.

The 33-year-old, who signed as a free agent in the off-season after seven seasons in Toronto and Ottawa, has been one of the CFL’s most effective quarterbacks this season, completing nearly 72 per cent of his passes for a league-high 3,706 passing yards.

His quarterback rating of 104.4 trails only Matt Nichols and Nick Arbuckle among qualified starters, while his 15-4 touchdown to interception ratio is second to none.

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Kilgore completed 21 of 28 passes (75%) in relief vs. the Stampeders, totaling 242 yards while averaging 8.6 yards per attempt. He did, however, throw an interception that was returned for a touchdown.

The 29-year-old made his first career start with the Argos for an injured Ricky Ray in 2016, winning his debut with 322 passing yards vs. the REDBLACKS. That season, however, he threw two touchdown passes and 10 interceptions, including a five-interception game vs. Winnipeg.

Kilgore signed with the Eskimos in the spring and won the primary backup job in training camp.

After a 6-3 start, the Esks have lost three straight games to fall back to .500.