Henry Burris limited in practice for second-straight day: will he start Sunday?

The Ottawa Redblacks are set for a two-game showdown with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to see who takes first place in the East Division, but is their quarterback? Henry Burris didn't do much in practice for the second-straight day Thursday, following a 27-20 win over Winnipeg Saturday where he took a low hit from Jamaal Westerman (who earned the maximum possible fine, half a game cheque, as a result Thursday). The Redblacks described Burris' absence Wednesday as a "vet day" designed just to give him a break,  but Burris said in that piece he planned to fully participate Thursday; however, when Thursday rolled around, it was backup Thomas DeMarco who was taking the first-team reps. The team seems high on Burris still playing against Hamilton Sunday, but with two subsequent practices off, others are wondering if he actually will. What will it mean for the Redblacks if Burris does or doesn't play?

It's not overstatement to say that Burris' play has been essential to Ottawa's turnaround from 2-16 last year to 10-6 this season. He's thrown for a league-leading 5,148 yards this season (Calgary's Bo Levi Mitchell's second with 4,304), and is having the best statistical season of his career (he's thrown for his best completion percentage ever, 71.8 per cent, and his second-highest yards ever with two games left) at age 40. Some of that's thanks to the better cast of receivers the Redblacks have put around him this year, but his own play has also really improved. He's been the top quarterback in this league this year, so if he can't play Sunday, that's a substantial setback for Ottawa no matter who replaces him.

This perhaps gets even tougher for the Redblacks when you consider that DeMarco doesn't have much CFL game experience. Yes, he's been in the league for four years (two with B.C. and two with Ottawa), but he only has 124 career CFL completions, and 103 of those came in 2013. Moreover, he hasn't been good at all in limited action this year, completing just one of 12 passes with two interceptions for an astounding -58 quarterback rating. DeMarco isn't a CFL rookie, unlike Hamilton starter Jeff Mathews, but Mathews has almost as many CFL completions (98) and has been much more effective in his limited playing time. DeMarco may have some potential, but he hasn't shown a ton of it so far, and thus, if the Redblacks have to start him instead of Burris, that would seem to be a substantial blow for them.

However, Thursday's comments from Ottawa head coach Rick Campbell suggest the Redblacks are pretty confident Burris will be suiting up Sunday. Here's what Campbell had to say:

And Burris said Wednesday he intends to play:

So, we'll see what happens. Perhaps Burris will be good to go Sunday and all of this discussion will be pointless. Significantly-limited participation in two straight practices certainly does raise questions about where he's at, though. If he isn't able to go, that will likely be a big problem for Ottawa, and it may substantially hurt their chances of winning the East.