Silas ready to ‘pick up where I left off’
Offensive lineman may get a chance to start Friday after painful end to 2016
The Ottawa Redblacks will take a close look at offensive lineman Jake Silas in practice this week and he could be inserted into the starting lineup for Friday’s home game against Winnipeg.
Silas worked his way into the lineup in 2016, but injured his shoulder late in the season. He hasn’t played yet in 2017.
In a 27-24 loss to Toronto on July 24, the Argonauts, even with three key defensive players out of the game in the second half, got the better of Ottawa’s offensive line.
“We wanted to take advantage of it when they put some other people in there,” said Redblacks coach Rick Campbell. “They’re one of the better fronts, in my opinion, we’ve seen so far. Our offensive line is a proud group and it’s about our whole offence — we need to raise our game and find a way to push back. We have a very good O line, I know they’ll continue to improve.”
Silas took first-team reps during Monday’s practice with Jason Lauzon-Seguin stepping in later.
“He’s finally getting healthy, we wanted to get him some good reps with the first team,” said Campbell. “We’ll see how he does over the next couple of days and go from there.”
“I’m here to play football, I want to play,” said Silas. “I’m trying to pick up right where I left off. Coming in part way through the season, you may not have quite a feel for everything. Catching up and feeling the game out a bit is something that’s important.
“Reps are a huge part of coming back. You get used to being on the field again, get used to playing beside your teammates. Typically, once you get into the game, all those nerves and anything you’re feeling go away.”