Jackson likely to face Riders
Backup could fill in for Argos’ top pivot Ray, slowed by knee sprain
It appears the Argonauts will remain Jarious Jackson’s team. At least for now. The veteran backup quarterback, thrust into the starting role — and a winner — last week in place of No. 1 Ricky Ray, handled the bulk of the first-team snaps Thursday as the Argos began on-field practice for Monday’s visit by Saskatchewan (4:30 p.m., TSN).
And, although Ray was back in pads and on the field throwing the football, the way he gingerly moved on the sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee made it appear he’s likely going to be on the sideline again, even if no one would come right out and say it.
“The more time I’m in there, the more comfortable I’m feeling,” said Jackson, adding he’s approaching this week the same as last when he was 17 of 29 for 155 yards and a touchdown passing and ran for 51 yards and another major in a 29-10 win in Winnipeg.
“As a backup, you’re not a competitor if you don’t want to be the starter. On the flip side, I can understand the situation. Ricky is the guy and I take nothing away from him, he’s a great quarterback, a great person. I’m just trying to fill in for the time I’m in here.”
Head coach Scott Milanovich said no final decision has been made on his starting quarterback to face Sas- katchewan (7-6) but he also reiterated that, when healthy, there’s “no question, no doubt about it” that Ray remains his No. 1 guy.
Ray did not address the media, part of a team policy on players with day-to-day injuries.
Still, Milanovich insists he’s confident Jackson will be prepared for the start if he gets it.
“That’s why you call him a veteran quarterback that you trust,” Milanovich said of eight-year CFLer. “That’s what those guys do. They’ve been around. “Jarious has been in that situation before where someone got hurt and he’s gotten a chance to play and so he understands he’s got to be ready. That won’t change for him.” If Jackson does get the start, it appears he’ll be handing the ball off to rookie Gerald Riggs Jr., who is expected to take the spot of starting running back Chad Kackert, listed as “doubtful” by Milanovich with sore ribs after the win over Winnipeg in which he rushed for 86 yards on 20 carries and caught two passes for 20 yards. “I’m very comfortable with him and I don’t feel like we’ll miss a beat,” Milanovich said of the son of Gerald Riggs Sr., a former NFL running back who was a three-time Pro Bowl selection over a 10-year career with the Atlanta Falcons and Washington Redskins. Riggs had five rushes for 39 yards and another 43 yards on four catches when he replaced Kackert in a 28-23 loss in Vancouver on Sept. 15.