Canadians Andre Durie, Don Oramasionwu and Shea Emry injured, testing their teams’ depth

At 18 games, the CFL regular season is a long grind that frequently tests teams' depth, and that depth may be most important for Canadian players. Teams are mandated to start seven Canadians (or "nationals") and have at least 21 on their 44-man active roster, and while the level of Canadian football talent is consistently on the rise (to the point that four Canadian-born players were taken in this year's NFL draft and the CFL's top player last year was Canadian RB Jon Cornish), those starting slots in particular can be challenging to fill when top players go down. Two of the league's teams are facing that issue as of Monday, thanks to the news that Toronto Argonauts' slotback Andre Durie (our Canadian star of the week) has broken his clavicle and will be out at least six weeks and that Edmonton Eskimos' defensive tackle Don Oramasionwu is out for the season with a ruptured patellar tendon in his left knee. The Argonauts have also lost Canadian middle linebacker Shea Emry to a concussion, and while that may not knock him out for quite as much time, his previous concussion history suggests his absence could be a substantial one as well. How will Toronto and Edmonton replace their lost players?

The challenge of an injury to a Canadian is that it forces teams to make a difficult call; do they simply go with the next-best Canadian at the same position to minimize roster disruption, or do they start their next-best Canadian regardless of position and reshuffle their roster to accommodate him? The former strategy is generally preferred in cases of short-term injuries, and it's why teams want to have a Canadian backup available whenever they start a Canadian at a non-traditional position (such as running back or cornerback); that means they can make changes in-game or week-to-week without overhauling the whole depth chart. However, the latter approach (given that we're discussing Canadian content, this whole discussion is presented by Sloan) can keep the overall team quality higher, especially if there's a notable dropoff from an American to a Canadian at one position and a less-substantial one elsewhere, and it can be particularly useful in cases of longer-term injuries, presenting the team a chance to create a new normal (and one hopefully better than Ryan Murphy's efforts). The advantage for these teams is they have plenty of Canadian depth, but these injuries still could prove challenging.

In Toronto, it helps that the Argos were already higher than they strictly needed to be on CanCon. Going by their most recent depth chart (from Saturday's win over Saskatchewan, where Durie got hurt near the end), they started Canadians at LG, C, RT, WR, FB, SB (Durie), MLB (Emry) and S, eight positions. (Of course, that's presuming the depth chart's accurate, which it often isn't.) So they could theoretically replace one of Durie or Emry with an American, as long as they replaced the other with a Canadian. Adding a Canadian to the mix at right guard (Canadian Wayne Smith was listed as the primary backup to American Jariel King) is also an option that would allow them to replace both Durie and Emry with Americans. That's a wider roster shuffle, though. It's also possible that the Argos don't start their fullback (going with five receivers and a RB instead), in which case they'd need to replace both of the Canadians they lost.

The Argos also could potentially go with the next man up approach. Judging by the depth chart, the next man up at slotback on Durie's side would be Natey Adjei, who happens to be Canadian. So, if they think he's competent enough to fill in, that's an easy like-for-like move. However, Adjei's a CFL rookie, and while he impressed with the NCAA's Buffalo Bulls, he's still adapting to the Canadian game (which can be particularly difficult for slotbacks thanks to the expanded motion and greater focus on crossing routes). His biography on the Argonauts' site also lists him as a wide receiver, not a slotback. Starting Adjei is certainly an option, but a larger roster shuffle may come into consideration too, especially given that the team has a more experienced Canadian (sixth-year man Mike Bradwell) as a backup at wide receiver, and another promising non-starting Canadian in rookie running back Anthony Coombs.

As for Emry, his first listed backup is Canadian Thomas Miles, but Miles is a CFL rookie who the team might not want to give the responsibility of starting at middle linebacker. Sixth-year Canadian linebacker James Yurichuk might be a better option, and he's played some MLB in the past, but he's been listed as a backup on the outside recently. Alternatively, Yurichuk could start in one of the outside slots and either bump one of Americans Shane Horton or Antwaun Molden inside or have the Argos could go with American rookie Gregory Jones at MLB. All of those options present challenges, though, so it's a good thing the Argos really only have to replace one Canadian starter; replacing Durie may prove easier than replacing Emry.

Edmonton would also appear to have options. The depth chart says Eskimos started nine Canadians last week against Hamilton, at LG, C, RG, WR, WR, FB, DT, DT and FS, so the loss of Oramasionwu wouldn't appear to compel them to make a ratio change. That's a good thing, as the only other DT they have listed on that chart (beyond fellow Canadian starter Eddie Steele) is American Almondo Sewell, and while they also have Canadian defensive end Elie Ngoyi as a backup, their other backup DE is American Willie Jefferson. Thus, the Eskimos appear deep enough to survive this for the moment. (Again, see the depth chart disclaimer, though; Edmonton play-by-play man Dave Campbell says the team doesn't start a FB and started Sewell over Oramasionwu, which is why they're planning to replace Oramasionwu with fellow Canadian Gregory Alexandre.)

If there are further injuries, though, or if some of their Canadian starters don't keep producing at a high level, the Eskimos could miss Oramasionwu from a ratio perspective. They'll certainly miss him from a playing perspective. Similarly, the Argonauts will undoubtedly miss Durie and Emry's contributions on the field. The question is how well they can survive these losses from a ratio perspective. The Canadian depth in both organizations looks okay for now, but we're only two games into the 18-game grind. If more Canadians go down, both teams could be in real trouble.