EDMONTON — It’s the best time of the year, as the weather finally starts to warm up and CFL football begins.
The 2019 pre-season schedule gets underway in Edmonton as the BC Lions take on the Eskimos at Commonwealth Stadium.
All eyes will be on the Eskimos and their new-look offence, led by quarterback Trevor Harris. Receivers DaVaris Daniels, Ricky Collins Jr. and Greg Ellingson, all off-season acquisitions, are all set to make their Eskimos debut on Sunday afternoon.
Their playing time will likely be short, however, as head coach Jason Maas told members of the media this week.
“We will play our starters sparingly here in the pre-season because it’s such a short gap,” Maas said after practice on Thursday. “We’ve got one week before we play our first pre-season game. We’re playing two pre-season games within 11 days of camp. To put our starters in so much, we’re not about that here. They’ll get the reps they need. They get a lot of reps during practice so that they’re going to be ready for the season.”
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DaVaris Daniels is set to make his Eskimos debut on Sunday (Esks.com)
Edmonton also has veteran running back C.J. Gable listed as the team’s starter on the depth chart but it’s unclear how long he’ll stay in the game. It will likely be the team’s other backs, Jordan Robinson and 2018 draft pick Alex Taylor carrying the rock for the majority of the contest.
On the defensive side of the ball, free agent pick up Don Unamba will get the start at SAM linebacker while his former Ticats teammate Larry Dean is not listed on the depth chart.
As for BC, Lions fans will have to wait a little longer to catch a glimpse of their new QB, Mike Reilly. The Lions biggest off-season addition is not on the team’s depth chart and will likely not make the trip to Edmonton.
Instead, Cole Sears, Ricky Lloyd and Austin Apodaca will all split reps under centre.
“This offence is not an easy offence to grasp,” said head coach DeVone Claybrooks. “Those guys (the quarterbacks) understand the nuances, when they can take a shot, when they can take chance, and those type of things. They’re slowly evolving into where we want to try to get too but there’s still a ways to go. It’s still early. We’re only six days into camp.”
Projected starters at receiver and running back will also not suit up on Sunday for the Leos. Instead, Claybrooks will use the game to evaluate the rest of his roster. He’ll be looking at a few 2019 draft picks in Jamel Lyles and Jonathan Harke, as they will start in the backfield and at centre, respectively.
Adam Konar will play at middle linebacker against the team that released him just a week ago as he gets his first live action with his new team.
With the Esks set to play most of their starters under the lights on Sunday, Claybrooks isn’t worried about his squad going head-to-head with the veterans in green and gold.
“You’re going against guys that are established vets in the league, whether it’s a quarter or whether it’s a half or whatever the game is,” Claybrooks said. “I don’t really care who they have out there. We’re the BC Lions, no matter what group we’re bringing. We’ve gotta come out, show up and play.”
Kickoff is at 4 p.m. ET and can be followed along on the CFL Game Tracker.
