Nick Arbuckle was MVP of last season’s Grey Cup and he leads the CFL in passing yardage this season, but he might be making his last start of the season for the Toronto Argonauts.
With former CFL Most Outstanding Player Chad Kelly removed from the six-game injured list, Arbuckle’s hold on the starting job is slipping as the underachieving Argonauts host the Edmonton Elks on Saturday.
Kelly badly broke his right fibula and tibia 10 months ago during the 2024 postseason and was a limited practice participant all week. He was listed as doubtful Thursday, and the team’s depth chart released Friday doesn’t list him as active for Saturday’s game.
However, once he is determined to be ready, Kelly won’t be watching from the very sideline very long.
“Chad is our franchise quarterback, let’s not lose sight of that,” Argonauts coach Ryan Dinwiddie told reporters.
Toronto (4-8) has won two straight games and needs to keep stringing together wins if it wants to reach the playoffs.
Arbuckle is well aware of the situation. He has passed for 3,828 yards and ranks second with 23 touchdown passes, but he doesn’t possess job security.
“It’s something that I knew was probably inevitable when the season started,” Arbuckle told reporters. “Nobody kind of knew the timeline for Chad’s injury.
“I’ve always taken the approach throughout my career that whatever role I was going to have on the team given that week or that season, I was just going to do everything within that role to help our team win.”
Arbuckle passed for a career-best 443 yards two games ago against the BC Lions. He followed up with 352 against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The Argonauts had a bye last week.
Meanwhile, the Elks (5-7) have turned their season around with four victories in their past five games.
“It was doom and gloom around here,” Edmonton quarterback Cody Fajardo said of the atmosphere in early August. “But the guys believed and we are a 4-1 football team in our last five games. That’s impressive.”
Justin Rankin broke loose for a career-best 204 yards — the most in the CFL this season — and scored two touchdowns as Edmonton notched a 31-19 home victory over the Calgary Stampeders last Saturday.
“The dude is a beast,” Elks coach Mark Kilam said of Rankin. “He has the heart of a champion. He elevates his teammates and makes your play calls better.”
Rankin is fourth in the CFL with 688 rushing yards and he leads the league with 10 gains of 20 or more yards. He gained 92 yards on the grournd and scored a touchdown on 13 carries as the Elks recorded a 28-20 home win over the Argonauts on Aug. 15.
–Field Level Media
