Advertisement

Drew Willy's injury could leave Winnipeg vulnerable, add to CFL's QB issues

Drew Willy's injury could leave Winnipeg vulnerable, add to CFL's QB issues

The long list of injured CFL quarterbacks got another name Thursday night in the Hamilton Tiger-Cats' clash with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, as Winnipeg quarterback Drew Willy left with an apparent head injury. Late in the first quarter, Willy was wrapped up by Hamilton linebacker Taylor Reed and then hit by defensive tackle Adrian Tracy in what looked like helmet-to-helmet contact. Willy was falling at the time, so Tracy's intention may not have been to hit his head. However, the result saw Willy lie dazed on the ground for several minutes while receiving treatment, and he was eventually helped off. If Willy winds up out for a while, what could that mean for the Bombers and for the CFL?

For the Bombers, any prolonged absence from Willy could be highly problematic. Willy was huge in their 30-26 Week One win over Saskatchewan, completing 22 of 25 passes for 325 yards and three touchdowns. His stats last season, his first as a full-time starter, had highs and lows; he threw for an impressive 3,769 yards with a decent 63.8 per cent completion rate, but tossed 16 interceptions against 14 touchdowns. However, a lot of that was about an offensive line that allowed a league-worst 71 sacks. Winnipeg spent big in free agency this year to improve that line, and Willy looked much better behind the new line in Week One. With him out, though, the quarterbacking options aren't as promising.

Winnipeg's primary backup Thursday night was Louisville product Brian Brohm, and although Brohm's in his third CFL season, he's only in his second with the Bombers. He started with Hamilton in 2013, then was traded to Winnipeg for a conditional draft pick in the offseason. He hasn't seen much playing time, though; last season saw him start one game, appear in four, and complete just 39 passes on 70 attempts (55.7 per cent) for 454 yards with an interception. While Brohm has an impressive NCAA pedigree and was a second-round NFL draft pick (by Green Bay), his recent years haven't been as good; the Packers waived him in September 2009, just over a year after he was drafted, and after a brief stint with the Bills, he headed to the UFL in 2011. He came to the CFL with Hamilton in 2013, but didn't play much there before heading to Winnipeg. Brohm's early results Thursday weren't promising either, as he started with two completions on five attempts for eight yards with an interception.

The Bombers' other main option right now is Purdue product Robert Marve, who entered Thursday night as the third-stringer. Marve had some good moments in the preseason, including an 11 for 16 performance against Hamilton in the final game, but he has even less experience than Brohm. He came to Winnipeg last May, but hadn't done much since college before that; he went undrafted in 2013 and only had a few NFL minicamp tryouts. He didn't play much with the Bombers last year, either, completing 11 of 22 passes (50 per cent) in very limited action for 140 yards and a touchdown. While he may have some potential, he's far from a reliable option at this point.

If Willy's gone for any length of time, that could be another blow for the CFL. This is such a quarterback-dependent league, and that was illustrated Thursday night. The Hamilton-Winnipeg clash was close through the first quarter, with the Tiger-Cats only leading 17-7 at the break, but with Willy out, it escalated quickly. Hamilton dominated the second quarter, thanks largely to Brohm's ineffective showing leading to two-and-outs and interceptions, and led 38-7 late in the half before a last-minute Winnipeg touchdown made it 38-13. Those kinds of blowouts are a storyline that might be repeated across the CFL this year with all the quarterback injuries. If the teams without their starting pivots can't find effective backups, we might just wind up with a lot of mismatches.