MITCHELL MYSTERY
QB’s future uncertain
It is entirely possible that Sunday’s West Division final will be the last game Bo Levi Mitchell plays at McMahon Stadium in a Calgary Stampeders uniform.
It’s not something the quarterback or anyone around the Stamps has talked about much this year, and they haven’t suddenly started focusing on it in the buildup to their biggest game of the season so far, either.
But with the possibility of Sunday’s matchup with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers being his last home game in Stamps colours looming — and in the wake of a must-listen podcast interview with Calgary’s own Horsemen Radio — Mitchell was asked Friday about whether he had considered that Sunday could be the last time he runs onto the McMahon Stadium field as the team’s QB.
“Not really. I’ve enjoyed every second of it,” Mitchell said.
“I don’t plan on it being done, so I plan on continuing to try and help my team to win a championship and do everything I can and hope everyone knows I do everything I can to leave everything on the field.”
There will be months of rumours and speculation about Mitchell’s future after the Stampeders season is over, but for now his focus remains strictly on preparing for the Bombers.
The CFL’s expiring collec- tive bargaining agreement with the CFLPA means Mitchell will likely have time to test the NFL waters, and there’ll be nobody around McMahon Stadium who’ll resent him if that’s what he chooses to do.
For now, though, the Stampeders feel lucky to have him.
Mitchell is coming off a regular season that earned him the West Division’s nomination for CFL Most Outstanding Player.
In 2018, he threw for 5,124 yards and a league-leading 35 touchdown passes despite a rotating group of Stampeders receivers decimated by injury.
Even for a player who has consistently been one of the CFL’s very best for the past half-decade, it was an impressive season and allowed the Stampeders to hang on just long enough to clinch first-place in the West.
“I think he played really well last game. I think he’s had a great year,” said Stamps head coach Dave Dickenson.
“When he’s kind of zoned-in and in the zone, when we beat (the Bombers) here, I thought that was his best game of the season.
“I thought he threw the ball extremely well. Guys weren’t even that open and he found them.
“When he’s playing to the level he did, he’s very tough to stop and as an offence, we can pretty much call whatever we want.”
That’s particularly true in the playoffs, where Mitchell tends to rise to the occasion and has gone 4-1 in his CFL career excluding Grey Cup games, of course.
His numbers in last year’s West Division final aren’t mindblowing, but he did enough to get the 32-28 win over Edmonton despite fighting through a shoulder injury that was significantly more serious than he was letting on at the time.
Compared to this time last year, Mitchell is healthier now by a wide margin.
“Last year, I was practising once a week, if that, and just trying to figure out a way to throw the ball,” Mitchell said. “This year, I feel better.”
All things considered, there’s every reason to believe Mitchell could be in for a big game Sunday.
This is a quarterback who seems to thrive under late-season CFL conditions, and while the weather forecast is calling for the temperature to be well above zero degrees at kickoff, the Stamps practised in tough winter conditions on Friday and are prepared for anything.
If Mother Nature does decide to turn around and dump a heavy dose of winter on Calgary on Sunday afternoon, Mitchell’s not planning on letting it spoil the day.
“I’m thrilled with what we had today,” Mitchell said.
“I know I can throw in the snow. I don’t know if (Bombers QB Matt Nichols) can. I’m not saying he can’t, but any other quarterback I’m playing (against), I’d much rather the weather be bad.
“I feel our team has played well in the bad weather conditions before. That’s Canadian football and that’s one thing I love about being up here.”
I don’t plan on it being done, so I plan on continuing to try and help my team to win a championship and (leaving) everything on the field.