Veteran QB Reilly practising with Lions after ankle injury
It seems Mike Reilly does know Mike Reilly best.
The B.C. veteran quarterback was a full participant at practice Monday. Reilly suffered an apparent ankle injury late in the Lions’ 35-34 road loss to Hamilton on Saturday night.
Reilly finished the contest and said afterwards he’d be ready to practise Monday. Head coach DeVone Claybrooks was more cautious, saying Reilly, 34, would be evaluated daily given B.C. (1-7) visits the West Division-leading Winnipeg Blue Bombers (6-2) on Thursday night.
Reilly signed a four-year, $2.9million deal with B.C. as a free agent this off-season. He completed 21-of-28 passes for 306 yards with two TDs and two interceptions versus Hamilton but was also sacked four times.
B.C. has allowed a league-leading 29 sacks this year. ARGOS STARTER: Early indications are McLeod BethelThompson will start Friday night when the Toronto Argonauts host the Edmonton Eskimos.
Bethel-Thompson took firstteam reps at practice Monday. Veteran Zach Collaros, who Toronto acquired from Saskatchewan on July 31 for a conditional 2020 fourth-round pick, didn’t practise.
Collaros, 30, began the year as Saskatchewan’s starter but left its season-opening loss in Hamilton early after being hit in the head by Tiger-Cats’ linebacker Simoni Lawrence. Collaros went on the six-game injured list after the contest. JUST FOR KICKS: Eighteen and counting.
That’s how many kicks have been returned for touchdowns this season. The latest came Saturday night when Frankie Williams took a kickoff back 108 yards for the score in the Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ 35-34 home victory over the B.C. Lions.
That boosted the CFL’s singleseason record for most kickoff return TDs to nine. The mark for most kick-return touchdowns — which also includes punts and missed field goals — in an 81game season is 22, registered in 2004. LAWRENCE RETURNS: It was a solid return for Simoni Lawrence.
The veteran linebacker was back on the field with Hamilton on Saturday after serving a twogame suspension. Lawrence registered a team-high eight tackles and a sack in the TigerCats’ 35-34 home win over the B.C. Lions.
The CFL suspended Lawrence for hitting former Saskatchewan quarterback Zach Collaros in the head early in Hamilton’s seasonopening 23-17 home win June 13. Lawrence appealed the suspension, which was ultimately upheld by an arbitrator.
Lawrence missed Hamilton’s 23-15 home win over Winnipeg on July 26 as well as its 24-19 road loss to Saskatchewan on Aug. 1.