THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO — It appears that Toronto Argonauts quarterback Ricky Ray has avoided any serious injury to his throwing shoulder.
Ray led the team’s walkthrough on Sunday while Head Coach Marc Trestman said after that he’s optimistic about his starting quarterback. The 37-year-old left Thursday’s 41-24 loss to Calgary in the second half.
“We feel excited by the fact that he was out there walking through,” Trestman told Argonauts.ca. “He’ll be day to day, he’s still sore. He’s day to day and we’ll see how the rest of the week unfolds. But we’re certainly optimistic after today.”
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Ricky Ray had his consecutive streak of 300-yard games broken on Thursday night (Johany Jutras/Argonauts.ca)
The Argos take on the Montreal Alouettes on Friday night, when the two East Division leaders kick off a crucial early-season home and home.
The news surely comes as a relief for Argos fans. Ray, now in his 15th CFL season, has overcome his fair share of injuries since joining the Boatmen in 2012.
In his first season under Trestman, however, the veteran has flourished. Despite having a streak of six 300-yard games erased vs. the Stamps, Ray remains the CFL’s passing leader with 2,421 yards through seven contests (an average of 345.9 yards per game).
After leaving Thusday’s contest, Ray was spotted on the sidelines attempting to throw a ball but was in visible pain. Cody Fajardo stepped in while Ray finished his night 15-of-26 passing for 139 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
“He was sore and couldn’t really complete the throwing motion,” Trestman said following the game. “He wasn’t in a great amount of pain but enough that it would inhibit his throwing.”
If Ray can’t play, the East Division-leading Argos could turn to Fajardo vs. the Als. Fajardo has never started a game in his professional career but completed six of 11 passing attempts for 75 yards on Friday night and also flashed his ability as a rusher, taking off eight times for 55 yards and a touchdown.
“He does give us some mobility and some out of the pocket ability to extend plays with his feet and with his speed,” commented Trestman. “I think you saw that [on Thursday night]. He just ran off the game play and made some plays, extended some plays when he had the opportunity to do that.”
