ESKIMOS MINI-CAMP
Filling void left by Ladler’s exit
They didn’t kill Kenny, but the Edmonton Eskimos will still have to replace him.
With cover linebacker Kenny Ladler signing with the NFL’s Washington Redskins earlier in the off-season, the Eskimos opened a three-day mini-camp at the University of Nevada — Las Vegas without their top defensive playmaker from 2017.
No Ladler, no problem, said defensive captain J.C. Sherritt.
“We have a lot of great players that they bring in every year and it’s full competition,” the veteran middle linebacker said.
The front-runner to fill Ladler’s spot is second-year CFLer Chris Edwards.
“Chris showed us last year that he can make plays, he can tackle, he’s big enough to play in the box and fast enough to cover, and that’s what you have to have at that spot and that’s why it’s so hard to find (replacements),” Sherritt said. “And I can already tell you he looked great Day 1, so I’m really excited to play with him.”
A 6-2, 217-pound Idaho product, Edwards is no stranger to the Eskimos’ secondary.
“I feel like I can play anywhere because last year I played every position, so anywhere they stick me I should be able to perform,” said Edwards, who scored Edmonton’s lone interception return for a touchdown last year. “I played SAM, I played boundary corner, strong corner, weak half, strong half.”
Aside from covering all that real estate in the secondary, Edwards was also Edmonton’s primary kickoff returner and secondary punt returner.
“That just speaks for his athleticism and that’s what you need at that position,” Sherritt said.
Edwards was the next man up for a number of different men in Edmonton’s defence during a 2017 season that saw more than its typical share of injuries.
“I’m really looking to take on a starting role this year and make a lot of plays,” he said.
It’s odd hearing Sherritt speak of someone else as Edmonton’s top defensive playmaker when that title has perennially belonged to him.
But a freak Achilles injury in the opening game of 2017 sidelined him for the season and opened the door for Ladler to compile the team lead with 86 tackles, three interceptions and two fumble recoveries.
“I feel so good. And that was the thing, I had a lot of older people tell me, who have gone through it, that the rest of my body finally healed,” said the 5-9, 218-pound wrecking ball out of Truckee, Calif. “I mean, that was seven years of absolutely bangin’ as a middle-backer, so to get to rest the rest of my body. I’ve never felt so fresh in my life.”
The injury is well behind him. Sherritt almost even made it back in time for last year’s playoff run.
“As awful as that injury was, I’d much rather have had it Week 1 than Week 17,” he said. “What happened, happened. And I know where I’m at now and I’m happy to be through it.”
While the two didn’t have much of a chance to play next to each other in Edwards’ rookie season, you wouldn’t have known it Sunday.
“You’ve got J.C. in there talking to you, he knows the whole defence, so that makes my job a lot easier just from a communication standpoint,” Edwards said. “All I’ve got to do is just use my ability and play.”
As for a friendly competition over who will make more plays ...
“We’ll see,” Edwards said with a shrug. “We talk about that all the time as a whole defence, is get that ball. That’s the No. 1 thing, defence swarms to the ball, so I feel like there’s going to be a lot of playmakers on the defence.
“Everybody should be a playmaker. That’s what we’re going to need to get that Grey Cup.”