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Jim Barker says Ricky Ray may yet play

andrew bucholtz

Following Ricky Ray's serious-looking injury in Friday's loss to Calgary, the thinking in many corners was that the Toronto Argonauts might be without their starting quarterback for some time. After all, Ray's injury looked problematic, and you certainly don't want to take chances with a quarterback who's not only 33, but has also suffered some notable injuries over the years. That explains why the Argos were remarkably reticent about Ray's injury through the early portion of this week, with Toronto Sun writer Steve Buffery going so far as to describe their silence as a media "black hole." (Well, technically he attributed that description to a colleague, but the point was made.) However, that changed Wednesday, with general manager Jim Barker appearing on TSN 1050 Radio and being unusually upfront not only about exactly what Ray's dealing with, but also about when he may come back:

“Nothing popped out, there was no dislocated shoulder, nothing with his collarbone, it is strictly (a muscle issue) in the back of his rotator cuff,” the Argonauts GM said candidly.

Barker also reiterated what [head coach Scott] Milanovich said after the game which was that there was an attempt made to see if Ray could return to the game on Friday night.

“He went down and threw in the tunnel and Scott thought it was best to not do anything.”

Though he would not rule out a return for Ray in week 10 against Montreal, Barker was unable to provide a timetable for Ray’s return simply commenting, “…if I knew when he’d be back I’d tell you.”

The Argonauts' quirky schedule may prove to be an advantage here. Thanks to Rogers Centre issues, they were unable to get the traditional Labour Day Classic matchup with Hamilton, giving professional Canadian football just one Labour Day game for the first time since 1949, before the CFL was officially founded. Instead, the Argonauts will be hosting the Montreal Alouettes on Tuesday. That extra day could be disastrous from an attendance standpoint, as it may well prove difficult to persuade fans to come to a football game on Tuesday night, but it could be crucial from a sense of getting their quarterback back. That's an extra day for Ray to rest and recover, and that may prove to be enough.

There are both pros and cons to trying to bring Ray back this week, though. If he's healthy, he's certainly the team's best option under centre. Ray's posting an insane 78.3 per cent completion rate so far this year, which would be a single-season league record, and has thrown for 1,824 yards and 15 touchdowns without an interception. He also could provide a vital spark to the Argos; while they're still atop the East with a 5-3 record, 4-4 Hamilton and even 3-5 Montreal are starting to get it together and put pressure on them. However, bringing Ray back at anything less than 100 per cent is problematic: backup Zach Collaros has shown good potential, there's a lot of football to be played still this year and Ray's never been the most mobile quarterback, so he's not exactly great at avoiding contact. Barker and Milanovich may have a tough decision to make between the team's immediate future and its long-term goals. We'll see just how well they balance those when Milanovich releases more information on Ray's status Thursday.