All eyes on quarterbacks in Toronto, Saskatchewan and B.C. as full camps open

There are plenty of intriguing storylines around the league with the opening of veteran training camps Sunday, but as the CFL is a quarterback-driven league, the three teams with major questions about their starting quarterbacks' health may be the most interesting of all. That would be the Toronto Argonauts, where Ricky Ray is recovering from offseason surgery for a torn labrum and barely throwing so far, the Saskatchewan Roughriders, where Darian Durant is returning from a season-ending elbow injury, and the B.C. Lions, where Travis Lulay has faced numerous shoulder setbacks over the last two years. Each of those situations deserves further examination, and they'll all be worth watching over the duration of training camp and the preseason.

First, let's examine the Argonauts' quarterback situation, which may be the most serious. Ray hasn't thrown much at all so far, and appeared weeks away from a full return as recently as Wednesday. He did do some light throwing (mostly with a tennis ball and a baseball) as rookie camp went on, but experienced soreness doing so clearly still isn't close to full form. Keep in mind that Ray put up more passing attempts (620) last year than he had since 2005. That's a lot of wear and tear on his arm, and it gets even tougher to recover when you get up there in age. At 35, Ray may still have a few good years left, but a lot depends on his health.

It's going to be interesting to see how the Argos' quarterback situation behind Ray plays out, too. The starter for the time being seems likely to be Trevor Harris, who's in his third year with the team and filled in in last year's season finale while Ray was hurt. Harris only has 94 CFL pass attempts over the course of his career, though, so he's far from a highly-experienced vet. He's the most experienced option, though. Beyond him, the Argos have Mitchell Gale and Logan Kilgore, plus recently-signed Alabama product Blake Sims (who might give them a new dimension with his mobility), but while all three have potential, they have a lot to learn about the CFL game still. Still, Harris is far from entrenched, and as long as Ray's still recovering, it could be a very intriguing battle for positioning on Toronto's quarterback depth chart.

In Saskatchewan, things look a little more optimistic. There's been plenty of concern about Durant's elbow over the offseason, but he did take part in the team's April mini-camp, and he's generally been looking good. He will be adjusting to a new offensive coordinator in Jacques Chapdelaine, though, and there are also questions about how healthy Durant (who will be 33 in August) can stay over the course of the year. The Riders did acquire an experienced backup in Kevin Glenn this offseason, but Glenn (who will be 36 in June) has been showing the effects of age himself lately, and backups Tino Sunseri, Brett Smith and Noah Picton have a lot to prove. Durant may be looking good so far, but there will be plenty of eyes on him throughout camp to see just how well his recovery goes.

In B.C., many all but wrote Lulay off this offseason given the various injuries that cost him most of last year and the Lions' decision to bring in a new head coach (Jeff Tedford), a new offensive coordinator (George Cortez) and a whole raft of new quarterbacks. Lulay's still there, though, and he's been anointed as the starter for now at least, with Tedford telling Lowell Ullrich "I think he’s really progressed.” The Lions do have a few options behind the 31-year-old Lulay, including NFL vet John Beck and a whole lot of new faces, but for now, the old hand looks like the best option. The question's just if his shoulder's really healed to the point where he can be effective, and if he can keep it there.