Ricky Ray of Argos will miss “substantial time” because of an injury.
Quarterback Ricky Ray of the Toronto Argonauts is surrounded by players and coaching staff as he lies hurt on the field.
TORONTO: Ricky Ray, the starting quarterback for the Toronto Argonauts, “will miss substantial time this season,” according to the team, following his neck injury on Saturday night.
Ray, the team’s all-time leading passer, was released from a Toronto hospital earlier in the day and is currently recuperating well at home with his family, according to a statement provided by the Argos on Monday night.
Ray sustained an injury during Toronto’s 41-7 home loss to the Calgary Stampeders in the third quarter.
The Argos added that Ray will not be returning anytime soon and that additional testing will be performed to assess the ailment.
After becoming trapped between Calgary defensive linemen Ja’Gared Davis and Cordarro Law, Ray exited the field on a stretcher on Saturday night, his head immobilized. More than twenty minutes of playtime were lost while medical staff attended to Ray.
Throughout his time at Argos, Ray, 38, has demonstrated incredible fortitude by overcoming knee injuries, a partially deflated lung, and shoulder surgery to rejoin the starting lineup.
But it was undoubtedly unsettling for spectators, players, and officials from both teams to see a well-respected future Hall of Famer leave the field strapped down on a stretcher.
The Argos reported on Sunday that Ray was doing well at the hospital, had feeling in his limbs, and was not exhibiting any signs of a concussion.
The general manager, Jim Popp, stated earlier on Monday that it will take a few more days for club officials to fully understand Ray’s situation.
Popp remarked, “I can’t even speculate on that right now.” “I surely hope and pray it’s not significant for his quality of life and his family’s that there’s a 100 per cent recovery.
“The preliminary report is positive, but it doesn’t mean he won’t miss some time. They conduct extensive tests, review material, and ask for several reviewers in order to provide a clear indication of the next course of action. We might not receive all of those responses for a few days.”
Popp stated that the football game’s result before secondary was determined when Ray fell down.
According to Popp, “people as individuals view the game as irrelevant and unimportant since it’s a quality of life and what they’re going to have to go through.”
“In any sport, that’s the terrifying aspect. however, it takes on greater significance when it involves one of your industry’s and your league’s greatest players, like Ricky, who puts everything in perspective.”
If there is a bright spot in the cloud covering the Argos (0–2) right now, it is that they have time on their side. Toronto’s season doesn’t start again until July 7 at home against Edmonton after a bye week.
The Argos are able to relocate from York University to their new permanent home at BMO Field during that time off. The team still has time to get backup James Franklin ready for his matchup with his old squad.
Franklin scored the only touchdown for the Argos on a 10-yard dash and was 8 of 13 passing for 65 yards against Calgary.
Even with Toronto’s appalling start, don’t count on Popp to make significant adjustments. The Argos started the season with a 27-19 loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Regina.
They then suffered a crushing defeat in the Grey Cup rematch, which the Double Blue won 27-24 in Ottawa in November.
Popp stated, “If we made any changes, they would be extremely minor, if any.” Twenty of the 24 starters are back, and we’ve come a long way from a year ago in terms of guys knowing their roles, the system, and the culture.
“With the majority of these players, we won a Grey Cup; we also signed some important free agents and held another draft. Simply said, our performance hasn’t been up to par.”
Just over three months before the regular season began, on February 27, 2017, the Argos hired Popp and head coach Mark Trestman.
Toronto had a 4-6 record going into the second half of the 2017 season, but it won five of its final eight games to secure first place in the East.
In the conference final, Toronto defeated Saskatchewan 25-21, and the team’s incredible Grey Cup triumph sealed the deal.
Popp stated, “It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.” Every game is significant because you learn something new and gain knowledge, and some of these early setbacks may have revealed something to us that we hadn’t fully considered.
“We surprised a lot of people with our performance last year, but that didn’t mean we played well at the beginning. Over the next few weeks, we’ll see if we can get back to playing football at a far higher level than how we ended the game (Saturday night).”
“Yeah, we’re down 2-0; nobody wants to start like that.”We just need to reevaluate and maybe have a bye week at the appropriate time. We’ve already seen the movie, so we’ll examine it in great detail. During the off-week, we’ll see more movies here, get back to practicing, and attempt to get back on the winning track.”
