Zach Collaros will miss the contest and Dru Brown will be the starting quarterback when the Winnipeg Blue Bombers host the Toronto Argonauts on Friday night.
Collaros sustained a neck injury during the second quarter of Sunday’s 14-13 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He didn’t practice Wednesday and was formally ruled out Thursday when the team revealed its depth chart and roster for the game.
Brown, acquired via trade on June 23, will start in Collaros’ place for the Blue Bombers (2-2).
Brown has made 27 career CFL starts, including 15 for the Ottawa Redblacks in 2024. He fell out of favor this season after Ryan Dinwiddie took over as coach, so he requested a trade.
“I think he has a good understanding,” Blue Bombers coach Mike O’Shea said of Brown. “That happens in the game. You have a better understanding that there’s going to be an opportunity, possibly.
“But there’s other things besides the playbook that have to happen, right? The familiarity of going through a camp with a group of guys is different than just the familiarity with the offense.”
Collaros, 37, has passed for 985 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions this season. He was the CFL Outstanding Player of the Year in 2021 and 2022.
Rookie Taylor Elgersma replaced Collaros last week and completed 11 of 15 passes for 86 yards and a touchdown. The score came on a 31-yard shovel pass to Pokey Wilson.
Toronto (2-2) will aim to bounce back from a rough 58-36 road loss against the Calgary Stampeders on July 2.
The Argonauts allowed Calgary’s Vernon Adams Jr. to throw for 405 yards and six touchdowns on just 25 attempts. Meanwhile, Toronto quarterback Chad Kelly finished the game on the bench after tossing two interceptions during the one-sided game. Kelly also passed for 294 yards and three scores and rushed for one touchdown.
“Anytime you lose, it’s not a good feeling,” Kelly said. “Guys are frustrated. We put in a lot of work during the week, and obviously this wasn’t the outcome (we wanted), but we’ve got to clean things up. If it means scoring 60 points, we’ve got to do it.”
Kelly, the 2023 CFL Most Outstanding Player of the Year, leads the league in passing yardage (1,484), touchdowns (12) and interceptions (eight). He said he needs to do a better job with his eyes.
“Look, it’s not easy. It’s not easy in the CFL,” Kelly said. “You’re going to play against good players, good teams, good coaches.”
Toronto ranks last in the league in points allowed (38.3 per game), total defense (441.5 yards per game) and passing defense (384.0 ypg).
–Field Level Media
