Checking Down: News and notes from Week 8

TORONTO — Week 7 provided fans across the league with plenty to cheer for, Andrew Harris made history with Toronto, Trevor Harris had one of his best games to date with Montreal, Caleb Evans continues to impress in the absence of Ottawa’s Jeremiah Masoli, and so much more rounded out the week that was.

Approaching Week 8 of league action, there is plenty of action-filled storylines to watch out for. With divisional battles taking place across the league CFL.ca has compiled some of the biggest stories from across the CFL in this week’s Checking Down.

Jump to team:

BC LIONS

– Ahead of their Week 8 matchup with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, BC Lions’ defensive back T.J. Lee will be playing his 100th career game, Lee reflects on his time in the CFL with team media. (BCLions.com). 

– As the Lions get set to travel to Regina, reciever Lucky Whitehead tells team media he loves the hostile environment of Saskatchewan’s Mosiac Stadium (BCLions.com).

– In this week’s QB Index, BC offensive coordinator Jordan Maksymic tells CFL.ca’s Chris O’Leary that he wasn’t surprised by how the young Lions star quarterback in Nathan Rourke started the 2022 season (CFL.ca).  

EDMONTON ELKS

With 600-career receptions Edmonton’s Emmanuel Arceneaux becomes the 27-th player in league history to reach the milestone (Trevor Hagan/CFL.ca).

– The Edmonton Elks have had a busy start to their week, first acquiring receiver Llevi Noel in a trade with the Ottawa REBLACKS on Monday, before acquiring veteran punter Jon Ryan in a trade with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Tuesday (CFL.ca)

– In this week’s target chart analysis article, CFL.ca’s Marshall Ferguson takes a deep dive on Elks’ quarterback Taylor Cornelius and give his thoughts on the Week 7 performance from the Edmonton pivot (CFL.ca).

– Elks’ receiver, Emmanuel Arceneaux reached a career milestone with 600 career receptions in their Week 7 matchup with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The Edmonton pass catcher gives his thoughts on the achievement (GoElks.com).   

CALGARY STAMPEDERS

Calgary receiver Reggie Begelton is averaging 13.4 yard per catch and has two receiving touchdowns to start the year (The Canadian Press).

– As the Calgary Stampeders get set to host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in a rematch of Week 6’s meeting, see why CFL.ca’s Jamie Nye is siding with the Stamps in this week’s edition of Weekly Predictor (CFL.ca).

– Ahead of Saturday’s matchup Calgary star running back, Ka’Deem Carey was a non-participant in Tuesday’s practice on the team’s first injury report submission (CFL.ca). 

– Coming out of their Week 7 bye, Stampeders’ receiver Reggie Begelton tells team media that the mindset coming out of the bye is similar to that of a new season (Stampeders.com).   

SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS

– As the Saskatchewan Roughriders prepare for their meeting with the BC Lions, quarterback Cody Fajardo has been listed as a full-participant on the team’s injury report after missing their Week 7 matchup against Toronto (CFL.ca).

– In a team media session, Saskatchewan’s Fajardo told team media it was fun to be back on the field for practice after missing Week 7 with an illness (Riderville.com).

– The Riders added depth to their running back room on Wednesday afternoon, the team announced they are bringing back running back Shaq Cooper. Cooper spent time with the Riders in during camp leading up to the 2022 season (CFL.ca).

– Riders’ head coach knows the opponent his team will face in Week is a good team, telling team media his team will need to play well in order to beat the Lions (Riderville.com). 

WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS

– As the Winnipeg Blue Bombers prepare for the Calgary Stampeders, Bombers’ receiver Rasheed Bailey tells team media his team knows Calgary has been waiting for this game, but remains confident in the resiliency that Winnipeg has shown (BlueBombers.com). 

– Winnipeg rookie receiver Dalton Schoen has burst onto the CFL scene through just seven weeks of play. In a team media session Bombers’ head coach Mike O’Shae describes why he isn’t surprised by the rookie’s performance (BlueBombers.com).

–  As Schoen continues what has been a steller rookie campaign, he again finds himself among this week’s group of must-start CFL Fantasy wide receivers in the latest edition of CFL.ca’s Start vs. Sit (CFL.ca).   

HAMILTON TIGER-CATS

Hamilton receiver Bralon Addison leads the team in receptions with 35 through the first seven weeks of play (The Canadian Press).

– In a team media session, Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ head coach Orlondo Steinauer spoke of how the Ticats plan to approach the Montreal Alouettes and not being afraid to use multiple running back sets (Ticats.ca).

– Hamilton receiver Lemar Durant will make his season debut on Thursday night against Montreal, after an injury delayed the start of his season. The receiver says despite the injury he was able to stay in shape and is feeling good heading into Thursday’s game (Ticats.ca).

– The Ticats made a deal with the Edmonton Elks on Tuesday, sending veteran punter Jon Ryan to Edmonton in exchange for a conditional eighth round pick in the 2023 CFL Draft (CFL.ca).   

TORONTO ARGONAUTS

– Toronto Argonauts running back Andrew Harris made history in the team’s Week 7 win as he became the first Canadian and sixth player in league history to surpass 10,000 career rushing yards. CFL.ca’s Pat Steinberg gives his thoughts on the historic performance in this week’s MMQB (CFL.ca).

– The Boatmen had two players named to the CFL Top Performers from Week 7, Harris was named for his performance, as was receiver Kurleigh Gittens Jr. Who had 152 yards and a touchdown in the win over Saskatchewan (CFL.ca).

– For a second weekend in a row, the Argonauts will play a Sunday afternoon game. CFL.ca’s Matthew Cauz outlines why there should be ample excitement with another Sunday game on the horizon (CFL.ca).

– The Argonauts added a new quarterback on Wednesday, the team announced the addition of American quarterback Khalil Tate (CFL.ca).

OTTAWA REDBLACKS

Caleb Evans has totalled four rushing touchdowns and two passing touchdowns in his first two games as Ottawa’s starting quarterback (The Canadian Press).

– In a trade with the Edmonton Elks on Monday, The Ottawa REDBLACKS sent receiver Llevi Noel and an eighth round pick in the 2023 CFL Draft to Edmonton (CFL.ca).

– Caleb Evans followed up his impressive debut as the team’s starter with an equally electric performance in Week 7. In this week’s CFL Fantasy Start vs. Sit, Evans is one of CFL.ca’s great takes for Week 8 (CFL.ca).

– As Ottawa get’s set to travel westbound on highway 401 to Toronto, CFL.ca’s Matthew Cauz describes why he’s looking forward to another wild Sunday in the CFL (CFL.ca) 

MONTREAL ALOUETTES

– After an incredible Week 7 performance from Montreal quarterback Trevor Harris, he has been named as one of last week’s CFL Top Performers, completing 80.6 per cent of his passes while throwing for 341 yards and two touchdowns (CFL.ca).

– Montreal receiver Hergy Mayala had 102 yards and a touchdown in their win over Ottawa in Week 7, the receiver looks to stay hot approaching their Week 8 matchup with Hamilton (MontrealAlouettes.com).

– In a team media session, Harris said he is feeling good after his Week 7 performance, but knows that he’ll need to be prepared for the aggressive Hamilton defensive (MontrealAlouettes.com)