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The Toronto Argonauts could have a new starting quarterback this week when they take on the Montreal Alouettes — but it’s not Chad Kelly.
According to a report from TSN’s Dave Naylor, Nick Arbuckle has suffered a calf strain that is expected to keep him out for two-to-four weeks. Kelly is at practice on Tuesday but not fully participating, which means Jarret Doege is expected to be the starter this week.
Doege saw the field in a relief effort during Toronto’s win over the Edmonton Elks this past week, completing three-of-six pass attempts for 35 yards. He engineered the game-winning drive with only one minute left to get the team into field goal range.
The 27-year-old native of Lubbock, Texas dressed for 20 regular-season games over two seasons with the Elks, throwing for 593 yards, four touchdowns, and four interceptions and rushing eight times for 23 yards. Toronto head coach Ryan Dinwiddie has previously expressed confidence in Doege, who joined the team as a free agent in May following his release from the Elks.
Doege is the younger brother of Seth Doege, who played quarterback for the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2014 and is now the offensive coordinator at the University of Arizona.
Arbuckle has started all 13 games for the Argonauts so far this season, throwing for 4,089 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. He suffered the calf injury in the late stages of Toronto’s game against the Elks.
Kelly teased a possible return to the lineup on social media two weeks ago but was left off the roster for last week’s win over Edmonton. The 31-year-old has since posted a mea culpa to his Instagram page, stating he was not yet 100 percent and crediting “incredible support from the front office, MLSE, and medical staff” for his continued recovery.
The native of Buffalo, N.Y. hasn’t played for the Argonauts since he suffered a broken leg in last year’s East Final.
The Toronto Argonauts (5-8) will host the Montreal Alouettes (6-7) at BMO Field on Friday, September 19 with kickoff slated for 7:00 p.m. EDT. The Alouettes are coming off a shocking 48-31 upset win over Saskatchewan, while the Argonauts completed the comeback to beat Edmonton 31-30.
The weather forecast in Toronto calls for a high of 22 degrees with a mix of sun and cloud. The game will be broadcast on TSN and RDS in Canada and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune-in on TSN 690 in Montreal and TSN 1050 in Toronto.