BRIDGING THE GAP
New Lion adds pivotal Can-con
Brandon Bridge and Giulio Caravatta share one thing in common. They both know what it means to be judged by a different standard in the CFL. They both know how hard it is to play when the coach is looking for excuses to get them out of the game. And they both know the feeling that one mistake will land them on the bench.
Mostly, however, the quarterbacks both know their careers would have been easier if they carried a different passport. When Caravatta introduced himself to Bridge at a Lions practice, he wasn’t sure how he’d be received. Bridge was all of three years old when Caravatta made his second of two career CFL starts. But the older man was barely into his story when the younger man wrapped him in his arms and held him tightly. “He didn’t let go for a long time” Caravatta says. “That was a really, really cool moment.”
Bridge, for the uninitiated, was signed by the Leos two weeks ago in the aftermath of Mike Reilly’s season-ending wrist injury.
Its significance isn’t lost on Caravatta. Four years ago, Bridge became the first Canadian to start a CFL game at quarterback since Caravatta last started for the Lions during the 1996 season.
In the ensuing four years, Bridge has flirted with a longterm starter’s job on a couple of occasions, most notably in Saskatchewan, where he enjoyed a big second half in 2017 under the tutelage of current Lions offensive co-ordinator Jarious Jackson. But Bridge has had five different stops since he started for the Montreal Alouettes in 2015, largely because of a deep-rooted prejudice felt by every Canadian who has ever played the quarterback position.
On Wednesday, Bridge was asked if his career would have unfolded differently if he was from Mobile, Ala., or Lubbock, Texas. “One hundred per cent,” he said. “I do feel if I was American I’d have more opportunities. Being Canadian it’s one shot and if you don’t make it they’ll pass on you.”
There was, however, one moment in his career when Bridge enjoyed the confidence of his coach and that explains why the Lions signed him. In 2016, the Mississauga, Ont., product landed in Saskatchewan where Jackson was the quarterbacks coach and the two men formed a connection.
In 2017, Riders starter Kevin Glenn went down with an injury and Bridge took over, completing 92 passes in 138 attempts for 1,236 yards and 10 majors, against four picks. He also played the second half in the Eastern final and had the Riders leading late before QB Ricky Ray directed a game-winning TD drive in the final seconds of a 25-21 Argos win.
Bridge remembers the confidence Jackson showed in him. “At halftime Jarious said, ‘You’re going to play the rest of the game. I don’t want you to worry about being pulled. It doesn’t matter if you throw five interceptions’ ” Bridge says. “And we started playing better. That gave me confidence.”
The next year, Jackson returned to the Lions as their co-ordinator, the Riders signed Zach Collaros in free agency and Bridge was back on the bench. He started and lost the Western semifinal against Winnipeg when Collaros suffered a concussion, making him the first Canadian in 34 years to start a playoff game. It was also his last game with the Riders.
Last off-season Bridge signed a free-agent deal with Toronto, was released before the season, caught on with Montreal for a month, then released again. Two and a half months later he was reunited with Jackson in B.C. “I see the same spark in him,” says Jackson. It hasn’t left.”