The rich about to get richer
CFL’s best team is about to welcome Jorden and Daniels back from injury
There’s no such thing as a good time for a football player to get injured, but it had to be especially agonizing for Kamar Jorden to get hurt in late July.
At the time, the Calgary Stampeders receiver was seizing the moment in a way he’d never quite managed previously in his CFL career. Jorden was leading the CFL in receiving touchdowns and was sitting in the top-5 in receiving yards.
After four years of hard work in Calgary, the national media was beginning to notice the tall, speedy 28-year-old for his ability to absolutely terrorize opposing defensive backs. The attention might not be the main reason guys like Jorden play football, but it’s nice to get rewarded for putting in work with a little love every once in a while. Then, he blew out his knee. “You know, at first it was just like ‘after all this time I’m on TSN and doing interviews and hearing my name on loudspeakers’ and it was disappointing at first,” Jorden said Monday from McMahon Stadium, where he was back practising with his teammates.
“But after some time you really have to think about the team aspect and I knew I’d be able to get back at some point, so I was focused on getting stronger so we can make this push for the playoffs. After a (little while), that was really my concern, just helping the team out.”
While a final decision hasn’t been made on whether Jorden will be available for Friday’s game in Hamilton against the Tiger-Cats, his return would certainly help the Stampeders out.
If it happened to coincide with the return of DaVaris Daniels – which appears very likely – the 121-1 Stampeders would be getting a major boost through two versatile receivers who have strong chemistry with quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell and are capable of making game-changing catches.
“I think probably tomorrow the coaches will make a decision on those guys,” Mitchell said Monday. “They look good. I can tell there’s hesitation every now and then, but when they’re on the field, they good. They’re big guys you can put the ball up to and have some fun with.”
Daniels hasn’t played since the Labour Day Rematch in early-September, although he was close to returning in the Stamps’ last game before their bye-week against the Montreal Alouettes.
On Monday, Daniels even admitted that had the Als matchup been a playoff game, he would have been ready to go.
For Jorden, though, the recovery has been a longer and at-times more frustrating process.
“It’s been 10 weeks,” said Stamps head coach Dave Dickenson. “We were hoping in that six-to-eight week (range), but it wasn’t the timetable that was able to get him healed. If I need to give him another week, I will. I like to practice these guys and see what they can do. I don’t necessarily like to bring guys off cold and not working.
“If he’s good to go, and he’s looking that way, it’s a good problem to have.”
On Monday, Jorden sure looked good to go on the practice field and he also insisted that after taking his time with rehab and making sure he was ready to actually contribute, he feels like the time has arrived.
“It was definitely a lot longer than I expected, but I was trying to just be smart with the injury and not come back too soon,” Jorden said. “I was rehabbing and making sure when I do get back I’m in a position to help the team and play at the level I was playing at before.”