Star lineman likely done for the season
Surgery to repair damaged ankle all but ends offensive lineman's year
With star offensive lineman SirVincent Rogers likely gone for the season, the Ottawa Redblacks are going to figure out Plan B over the next couple of days.
Rogers, the CFL’s top lineman a year ago, injured his ankle in a 2912 win over the Toronto Argos on Friday and had surgery on Monday.
“He’s going to be out long term,” said Redblacks coach Rick Campbell on Monday. “We wouldn’t expect him back this season. There’s a remote chance that could happen, but we need to plan as if he’s not coming back. We expect him to make a full recovery going forward. I don’t know the exact details of it, but it’s ankle and lower leg and it takes time to heal correctly. It’s nothing that should prevent him from playing football going forward, but it would be a bit of a stretch to say he comes back this season.” So now, it’s next man up. When the Redblacks return to the practice field at TD Place on Tuesday, that “next man” will become more apparent.
“We think we have enough depth here to withstand it,” said Campbell. “We’re kicking around some ideas. We have some guys who are flexible in what they can play, so we have options. Jason LauzonSéguin can play either left or right tackle, Jake Silas can play either guard or tackle, Tommie Draheim played for B.C. last year and he has experience playing tackle in this league as well.”
If J’Micheal Deane is ready to return, he could be in the picture. Nolan MacMillan, who returned last week after recovering from a wrist injury, is another option.
“(MacMillan) was kind of pressed into action, it’ll be good for him to get more reps,” said Campbell. “He’s just going to keep getting better.”
There is good news. Some of the wounded players are close to returning. There’s a chance that defensive lineman Nigel Romick, defensive back Mikaël Charland, running back Brendan Gillanders and linebacker/defensive back John Boyett could play Saturday in Vancouver against the B.C. Lions.
The 8-4 Lions will be a big test for the 6-5-1 Redblacks, who lost 29-23 to the B.C. side Aug. 25 at TD Place.
“It came down to the last series of the game,” said Campbell.
“We felt we could have won that game. I know our guys are looking forward to playing them again and seeing where we are.
“It’s always tough going on the road out there, but I think our guys are going to be looking forward to this one.”