Making memories
Defensive back T.J. Lee says nothing beats the memory of his debut as a B.C. Lion three years ago. The Lions host Hamilton on Friday.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ run of good health came to a crashing halt Tuesday with the announcement that star defensive end Jamaal Westerman is out for the season with an upper body injury.
The Bombers announced the news on their website, just an hour after head coach Mike O’Shea was unable to provide any information to the media about Westerman’s injury.
Westerman was injured during the Bombers’ 48-28 win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Sept. 9.
“I have no clue how it happened,” Westerman said. “I probably took a hit. It could have happened when I fell or pushed off somebody or somebody might have rolled up on me.”
The news was broken shortly after O’Shea’s daily media availability, during which he gave no indication that there was anything seriously wrong with Westerman.
“There’s a couple of things left to talk about this afternoon, so I’m sure we’ll have a much clearer picture later today,” he said, when asked why Westerman wasn’t practising.
He was then asked if there was anything complicated about the situation.
“Any time you’re dealing with a player and something is holding him out of practice, you’ve got to find out all the facts and do what’s best for the player and have those conversations and get information,” he said. “That doesn’t seem complicated to me. That seems like the regular process.”
Finally, he was asked if it was an upper- or lower-body injury.
“Nothing yet,” he said. “We’re going to figure things out a little better later today.”
O’Shea is always secretive about injuries so none of his words seemed out of the ordinary.
But almost immediately after his availability, the team did figure things out with regard to Westerman, who was seen on the sidelines wearing a baseball cap on Monday and Tuesday.
He did a bit of running at one point Tuesday.
Only one other Bombers player is injured at the moment — linebacker Ian Wild, who is recovering from a broken wrist. The Bombers have had far fewer injures than most other teams while amassing an 8-3 record.
On Tuesday, defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat was working in Westerman’s spot, while Tristan Okpalaugo was working on the other side. The move could also open up opportunities for non-import defensive end Trent Corney, the team’s top draft pick a year ago.
The team does have solid depth on the defensive line — non-import defensive tackle Jake Thomas could start and give the Bombers ratio flexibility — but Westerman was leading the team, and was tied for second in the league in sacks with seven.
“I’ve been ready for a while,” Corney said. “I got a lot of experience last year and I’ve been getting a lot of experience this year. I’ve been playing a lot of special teams, trying to earn my keep on special teams, getting some reps every game.
“I would love to have a bigger role on the team and I would definitely embrace it.”
In his three seasons as a member of the Bombers, Westerman has never missed action.
“It’s always disappointing when something like this happens,” Westerman said. “Throughout my career I’ve always been available to my team. That’s one of the things coaches have always taught me. The best ability is availability.
“I don’t want to say this is devastating, because there are worse things that can happen in your career. It’s a setback. It sucks. But things happen and you’ve got to move forward.”
O’Shea said he was comfortable with his options going forward in terms of the ratio and the depth on the defensive line.
“Everybody that steps on that field is waiting for his opportunity,” O’Shea said.
“We believe and are confident in these guys that they’ll make good on their opportunities. We’ll see, if it comes to that.”
O’Shea has been impressed with Corney, who has five defensive tackles, five special teams tackles, one quarterback sack and five quarterback pressures this season.
“As far as Trent Corney goes, I think he’s really blossomed this year,” O’Shea said.
“He’s playing well for us on special teams and he gets in a fair number of snaps on defence. He’s got a hell of a motor, he’s strong and he knows what he’s doing. He’s one of those guys I’ve really enjoyed being around, watching him progress from last year to this year. He’s fun to watch.”
The Bombers will host the Ottawa Redblacks on Friday night at Investors Group Field.