Bombers lose Maston to second Achilles tear

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This article was published 03/06/2022 (1200 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mercy Maston can’t catch a break.

The veteran dimeback for the Blue Bombers missed all of 2021 after tearing the Achilles in his right leg during training camp. Maston worked extremely hard to recover and was re-signed for 2022, only to tear the Achilles in his left leg last Thursday.

Head coach Mike O’Shea confirmed the injury on Friday, the final day of training camp.

“He’s back at home right now and should be back here at some point to be evaluated,” O’Shea said. “It’s very tough. Tough on him, tough on his teammates. It’s the worst.”

On average, professional football players miss nine months with a torn Achilles before they can return to the field.

Maston was an underrated contributor in the team’s 2019 Grey Cup run. He spent some time with the Edmonton Elks and the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles before signing with the Blue and Gold in August of that year.

It’s a big blow as the dime, also known as the strong side linebacker, takes a lot of versatility and knowledge to play.

“Some guys cover well and some guys block well, some guys play the run well and tackle. That position, in particular, has to be able to do it all and he did it all at a very high level and understood the game and saw the game well and communicated well,” said O’Shea.

Defensive back Nick Taylor, who played with Maston in Edmonton, also joined the Bombers in August of 2019. Taylor said on Friday that he considers Maston a brother and to see him go down with another serious injury is heartbreaking.

“It’s definitely tough. We were planning on having a big year for him and I was getting back my partner. I really have some fun with him so it’s unfortunate,” Taylor said.

“He’s a good guy, was training hard all offseason, so it’s just unfortunate. But we got to move on and get things ready for Week 1.”

When Maston got hurt last season, the Bombers acquired Alden Darby in a trade with the Toronto Argonauts. Darby went on to have an all-star season before signing with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats as a free agent in February.

With Darby and now Maston out of the picture, they will likely turn to American rookie Donald Rutledge Jr. The 25-year-old product of Georgia Southern University has been working with the starters in Maston’s spot since the injury. Rutledge Jr. spent training camp with the Indianapolis Colts in 2020 and the Arizona Cardinals in 2021.

“I feel like I’m the perfect guy to step into the role with the way I gel with the guys. If they want to attack somebody in the room or any new guy, I want it to be me,” Rutledge Jr. said.

“I feel like I’m battle tested, I’m ready for it. And I know if I make a mistake, I’m going to learn from it. I’m not going to come out and make the same mistake.”

O’Shea spoke highly of his new potential starter.

“He’s good. He’s got real nice physical size, seems to take in all the information very well, he’s got this leadership quality about him that’s interesting to note and he can fly around and play good football,” said O’Shea.

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31