The depth of the Montreal Alouettes will be put to the test over the next few weeks.
The team has confirmed defensive back Najee Murray will be on the long-term sideline and receiver Kaion Julien-Grant will miss at least Saturday’s game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (3-4).
Linebacker Avery Williams was also absent from practice on Wednesday after failing to complete Sunday’s game, which the Alouettes won 25-18 (3-3) against the Calgary Stampeders.
“We’ve been saying this since the start of the season, it’s going to take everyone’s contribution to win every week,” said Alouettes head coach Jason Maas. All players entering the field must play as starters. That’s our expectation, and that’s why we’re not worried no matter who falls in battle.
“It’s if you have to get reinforcements from the outside that it can get complicated,” added Maas.
To compensate for the new injuries, the Alouettes added receiver Ronnie Blackmon, linebacker Brody Buck and defensive back Randall Evans to their roster on Tuesday.
In Murray’s case, his season would be over, a source told The Canadian Press on condition of anonymity. Maas only said it would be a “long-term” absence.
“It’s unfortunate because when I think about our team, the internal competition that we want to create, every defensive back has to play like it’s their last play. He [Murray] is the very embodiment of that principle. It’s a shame because he’s already struggled with injuries. But if he approaches his rehab the way he approaches every game, he should be fine. »
Murray had 32 tackles, one interception and one fumble in six games with the Alouettes this season.
The 29-year-old is in his fifth season with the Alouettes and has started 30 of the 39 games he has played in his career. He has seven interceptions.
“Najee is an incredible football player and my thoughts are with him and his family,” said Alouettes safety Marc-Antoine Dequoy. He is an important part of our defense, but we have a game to play on Saturday and we rely on players who have proven that they can replace him. We are thinking of him, but we have to focus on what is coming. »
On offense, quarterback Cody Fajardo will have to wait before he can count on the returns to play of Greg Ellingson and Reggie White Jr. Maas confirmed that they would not be able to face the Tiger-Cats even if they resumed training with the team. Both have yet to play this season.
However, we can expect Tyson Philpot to play a bigger role than last weekend against the Stampeders, when he was the target of Fajardo only once. Philpot was in his first game of the campaign.
“We’ll be doing drills together before and after practices, hanging out in the locker room together, and watching videos together to see what each other sees on games. All this in the hope of being on the same wavelength, said Fajardo. It was his first game of the season and things go fast sometimes when you come back from injury.
“I think the last time I worked with him was during the second practice of the camp. It was to be expected that not everything clicked the first time, but I expect it to go better this week. »
Julien-Grant has been one of Fajardo’s favorite targets so far. In the first six games of the campaign, he caught 30 passes for 469 yards.
