Edmonton Eskimos sit Jacory Harris to reduce likelihood of more injuries to QB corps

EDMONTON - The last time the Edmonton Eskimos held practice at Commonwealth Stadium, six quarterbacks were splitting the reps.

Just five days later, that number was cut in half on Monday.

With Matt Nichols undergoing medical exams on the knee he injured in Friday’s preseason-opener and unsigned non-import prospect Austin Kennedy gone back home to Windsor where he will start for the Lancers in the CIS this fall, the Eskimos stable of arms was further reduced when Jacory Harris sat out the balmy 22C session.

“Yeah, we were a little light, but we’re a little light at all positions,” said quarterback Mike Reilly, who will start Friday’s exhibition game in Vancouver. “It’s been a long camp and you get a little heat like this and guys are out there running around.

“It was a long day and we were in our up-tempo, no-huddle mode the whole time, so guys definitely put in some good work (Monday).”

The good thing for Reilly is the fewer the quarterbacks, the less the reps have to be shared.

“Yeah, it’s getting to that point where camp is kind of winding down a little bit and we’re getting into season mode,” Reilly said. “So it’s nice to get those reps and maybe run some of the plays a little more often that you haven’t ran in the past and get some different looks.

“You’ve just got to take advantage of every rep.”

Just like Harris took advantage of resting his body in hopes of avoiding any further injury to the quarterback stable.

“It’s not a vet day for him, but he was a little sore after (Sunday’s) practice and because of that, we don’t want to risk it,” said head coach Kavis Reed. “Until we understand fully what’s going on with Matt (Nichols’s knee), we’re going to be very careful of our quarterbacks.

“It’s nothing (Harris) shouldn’t be out here (Wednesday), but we wanted to be as careful as possible with him.”


(edmontonsun.com)