Zach Collaros out for year with a torn ACL: what now for the Tiger-Cats?

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats' worst fears came true Monday, as a MRI revealed that the knee injury starting quarterback Zach Collaros sustained in Saturday's loss to Edmonton was in fact a torn ACL that will end his season (initially reported by TSN's Matthew Scianitti, later confirmed by the team). That could dramatically affect the Tiger-Cats' fortunes. Yes, they still lead the East Division with an 8-4 record, but 7-4 Ottawa, 6-5 Toronto and even 5-6 Montreal could potentially catch them, especially if they can't replace Collaros' aerial production. What will they try to keep their passing offence clicking in his absence, and is it likely to be successful?

Replacing Collaros will be anything but easy, as he was playing at a level that likely made him the frontrunner for the CFL's Most Outstanding Player award. He currently leads the league with 3,376 passing yards, and his 25 touchdowns against eight interceptions and 70.2 per cent completion mark are also remarkable. Thus, even if the Ticats had a reliable backup, they'd still probably see a downturn. They don't appear to even have that right now, though, as both Jeff Mathews and Jacory Harris struggled against the Eskimos in relief. Mathews completed just 12 of 20 passes for 157 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions and also lost a fumble, while Harris was six of 12 for 59 yards with a lost fumble.

Yes, stepping in mid-game was a difficult situation for both Mathews and Harris. Yes, they didn't receive a ton of reps in practice leading up to this, given Collaros' clear status as the starter. Yes, Edmonton's defence is one of the league's very best. Thus, it's quite possible that either Mathews (who, remember, has a history with head coach/general manager Kent Austin and offensive coordinator Tommy Condell from Cornell) or Harris could improve and turn into a capable CFL quarterback. That's far from assured, though, and even if they do become good one day, that may not help Hamilton much this year. The Tiger-Cats have a remarkably good and a remarkably deep team, and they've made two straight Grey Cups; their play this year suggested that they might not just get back to the championship game, but that they could actually win it and take home their first Grey Cup since 1999. That's going to be a lot tougher without Collaros, though, and it may be particularly difficult with quarterbacks like Mathews and Harris who haven't seen much CFL action.

Thus, despite their protestations that they're comfortable with Mathews and Harris, the Ticats may look to the trade market to bring in a veteran. As discussed here Sunday, a natural candidate might be Saskatchewan's Kevin Glenn; the 1-11 Riders aren't technically eliminated yet, but they may be eying a rebuild, and trading Glenn would make it easier for them to see just what they have in 22-year-old QB Brett Smith. If Hamilton can't get Glenn, though, there aren't many other options. The only other places that seem to have a surplus of proven quarterbacks are Calgary (Bo Levi Mitchell and Drew Tate) and Toronto (Trevor Harris and Ricky Ray), and it seems unlikely any of those guys will be traded midyear. Montreal does have an interesting QB choice coming up between Jonathan Crompton and Rakeem Cato, but while both of those guys have potential, neither has much CFL experience, and both have shown flaws (which may help motivate the Alouettes to hang on to both in case one falters). Moreover, even if the Ticats did land someone like Glenn, that wouldn't guarantee success; it's always tough to pick up a new scheme, playbook and teammates midseason. Trying to go after a veteran makes sense from this corner, but even if they do go that route, it's far from an automatic victory.

The Roughriders certainly aren't going to let Glenn go cheaply, either, and that's also the case for other teams. The epidemic of QB injuries across the league has illustrated the value of good backups, so it's very much a seller's market. Thus, in some ways, this becomes a gamble for Austin. Does he risk continuing on without a proven quarterback, or does he weaken his roster elsewhere to try and pry a veteran QB loose? He won't have a ton of time to decide; it doesn't appear an official CFL trade deadline date has been made public yet, but CFLDB predicts it will be around Oct. 14. We'll see how Austin and the Ticats handle this, but there's no question that losing Collaros is a major blow for them. The key question is if it's a survivable one, or if Hamilton's Grey Cup hopes ended with Monday's MRI results.

(Update: This post initially had Hamilton's and Ottawa's records crossed up. It's been fixed. Thanks, Elizabeth!)