Tuesday Morning QB (CFL Week 3)
As always the CFL season began with stories about the most important position in the sport, the quarterback.
The stories have always been there and some never changed as there are teams who have been dealing with the same questions for years.
What made this season different though was the movement that dominated the offseason with big names heading to different cities.
Mike Reilly was the biggest name of them all as the former MOP was getting ready to make a major decision as a free agent.
He decided to leave Edmonton, the city where he was most successful, and head to the city where he started his CFL career, Vancouver.
The BC Lions won the biggest prize but it led to a set of dominoes as the Eskimos were now without a star QB.
Edmonton reached out to another star free agent in Trevor Harris who signed with the Eskimos and left Ottawa without their star.
Bo Levi Mitchell was set to be the next to leave as he received interest from the NFL and from around the CFL but decided to stay put in Calgary.
Mitchell would join Matt Nichols as the only quarterbacks with limited questions on the teams they played for a year ago.
Zach Collaros would return to his team as well but with two concussions in 2018, the Roughriders signed Cody Fajardo as a backup plan.
In Montreal, the story was eerily similar to years before as offseason issues lead them to look for a new starter in training camp.
Antonio Pipkin won the job and took over while in Ottawa Domonique Davis beat out Jonathan Jennings to take the starting role for the REDBLACKS.
In Toronto the biggest question was about Ricky Ray and whether or not he would return for another year.
When he announced his retirement the Argos looked to James Franklin who was widely considered the best backup in the league two years ago before joining Toronto last year.
All of these stories became the biggest questions around the league as the quarterback remains the key position for any team in the league.
Things went south pretty quickly for a number of teams though as the biggest worry in Saskatchewan came true in week 1 with Collaros going down with a concussion.
Across the country, Pipkin suffered a similar fate hurting his knee and giving his spot up to the backup.
Elsewhere other quarterbacks struggled while some looked like their familiar selves but the real story is now in two cities.
Fajardo and Vernon Adams Jr. are now in the spotlight as they have been given the worst type of opportunity.
It is one neither wanted to get the way they got it but it is here and now both have to make goof on that opportunity.
Neither were supposed to be in this position as they began the year on the bench but not even a week in they were forced into action.
For Fajardo, this was never supposed to happen as Collaros was always the starter from the start.
Yet, the possibility was there as Collaros had a history of injuries and Fajardo was brought in for the chance of Collaros being injured.
Now he takes hold of that spot and with a future in doubt for Collaros, this is his shot to prove that he belongs on top.
It is going to be a struggle through the next three weeks for Fajardo to keep Collaros on the bench but if Collaros is suffering further issues this might be Fajardo’s team.
The more interesting storyline is in Montreal where they have been looking for a quarterback for years.
Pipkin won the job in training camp but Adams was a close second and with the injury to Pipkin, it gives Adams that chance.
The competition was always one injury away from being completely open and that injury now is a reality.
Adams has a chance over the next few weeks to take control of the job and if he can solidify that spot then the Als may have found a QB for the future.
It is not automatic as they struggled against Hamilton but would Pipkin have done much better in the same situation?
That is the question they will need to figure out as the Als and the Riders head into the next few weeks with serious decisions to make at quarterback.
Fourth Down
Back in the Fold
Marquay McDaniel was one of the best receivers in the game for years as a member of the Calgary Stampeders. His career came to an end last season though as he decided it would be his last in the CFL. Now he is taking on his next role as he joins the Montreal Alouettes as an offensive assistant. He will be the latest in a long line of players who are trying their hands at coaching after long careers in the CFL.
Reinforcements Incoming
The Saskatchewan Roughriders aren’t having the best start to their season but they have a lot of potential. The Ridders added to that potential this week when they took 6’3” 290-pound offensive lineman, Jake Bennett in the supplemental draft. Bennett spent the last few months in the AAF before the collapse of the league. He will join the Riders providing another big body up front.
The Sport Addiction 