Nichols participates in practice

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This article was published 04/07/2018 (2624 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Quarterback Matt Nichols is off the injury list and took the majority of the reps with the first-team offence at Wednesday’s practice, but Winnipeg Blue Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea isn’t ready to declare him the starter for Saturday’s home game versus the B.C. Lions.

“Matt looked good today,” said O’Shea. “But as always, he’s been out four-plus weeks and with everybody else it’s really a question of how he feels tomorrow then how he felt today.”

Nichols injured his right knee in training camp during a non-contact play on June 6. He was given a four-to-six week timeline to recover, and with Saturday’s game being more than a month since the injury, it is likely Nichols will take the field.

Despite Nichols being on track with his recovery, O’Shea hasn’t closed the book on rookie quarterback Chris Streveler, who also took turns with the first-team offence on Wednesday. In three starts, Streveler completed 54 of 86 passes for 570 yards and threw six touchdowns while giving up two interceptions.

O’Shea said regardless of who the starter is this weekend, the game plan won’t change much.

“I don’t know that we closed off a lot of the (playbook) for Chris Streveler,” said O’Shea. “He’s a good quarterback. Chris looked good in practice, too. Really good.”

There was a lot of uncertainty for the Bombers when Nichols went down, especially with no proven backup on the roster due to Darian Durant’s retirement before the season, but O’Shea said Streveler was able to provide “a spark for his teammates” and the coach hopes Streveler will be a long-term contributor for the team.

“The interesting thing is you probably learn something about him every day, because he’s learning something every single day,” said O’Shea on what he learned about Streveler this past month. “Athleticism aside, fiery leader, a real pro for such a young guy at that position. Just professional and working all the time. Serious about his craft. Wants to be the best, but wants to be better every single day. Knows there’s a process to be the best.”

Nichols — who threw for 4,472 yards with 28 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 2017 — practised in full gear Wednesday but was wearing a brace on his right knee. O’Shea said Nichols will check in with head athletic therapist Al Couture after Thursday’s practice and if the quarterback feels good, it will give O’Shea “something else to think about.”

Receiver Weston Dressler, who has caught passes from Nichols since 2016, said he’s not surprised to see that Nichols may be ready to suit up on Saturday. Dressler said the familiarity of playing with Nichols will especially help guys like himself, Darvin Adams, Andrew Harris and the offensive line.

“I think when teams try to play more zone and things like that, trusting that you’re seeing the same thing as (Nichols), you know not that Chris did a bad job at that stuff, it’s just a comfort level of having been through it together before and having that experience together,” said Dressler, who has 12 receptions for 153 yards and a touchdown this season. “Matt’s done a good job the last few years as a quarterback in this league, he’s only gotten better as time has gone on.”

With Nichols being a more traditional pocket quarterback compared to Streveler, who often relies on his athleticism, O’Shea was asked if it would be possible to work both players into the huddle on game days.

“Once Matt’s ready to play, it’s his team. That’s the bottom line. That’s not difficult for me to say at all,” said O’Shea.

“Playing two quarterbacks, I don’t know how that works or looks just yet. Maybe that’s something we discuss down the road. But most fiery competitors don’t ever want to come off the field.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @TaylorAllen31

Taylor Allen
Reporter

Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor.

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