Hobbled Bighill will be a game-day decision for Grey Cup

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This article was published 13/11/2023 (931 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

HAMILTON —Another trip to the Grey Cup, another Winnipeg Blue Bombers injury from the Western Final to speculate about.

It’s turning into an annual tradition as the story leading up to the 2022 championship game was quarterback Zach Collaros and the status of his ankle. The two-time CFL Most Outstanding Player missed a few practices early in the week before toughing it out in a 24-23 loss to the Toronto Argonauts.

This year, the attention is on linebacker Adam Bighill.

The 35-year-old defender went down in the second quarter of Saturday’s division title match – a 24-13 win over the B.C. Lions at IG Field – with a non-contact injury.

The respected leader couldn’t put any weight on his right leg as he struggled to make his way to the sideline.

Bighill flew to Hamilton with the team for Sunday’s Grey Cup showdown against the Montreal Alouettes in a walking boot.

Non-contact injuries tend to be serious.

“As I said before, and I’ve said it for a decade, probably: we’re going to give him up until the last minute and I’ll never doubt a player’s desire to play or the amount of work that they’re going to put in to allow them to play. So, I’m always hopeful,” said Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea shortly after landing at the Canadian Heritage Warplane Museum in Hamilton Monday evening.

Safety Brandon Alexander knows exactly what Bighill means to the team as the two are usually the first two players at the team facility every morning. They arrive before 6 a.m. to study film together.

American linebacker Malik Clements, a 27-year-old in his third CFL season and second with Winnipeg, will likely take Bighill’s place at middle linebacker.

Clements sacked Lions quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. twice last weekend.

“There is no filling in for Adam Bighill. The only thing you can do is make the adjustments. We don’t know what that looks like yet,” said Alexander.

“But at the end of the day, Adam Bighill is going to be Adam Bighill. All in the meetings, he’s going to be hands on, on everything. He’s all there, regardless of the situation.”

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The Bombers are also dealing with a major blow on offence as leading receiver Dalton Schoen has been out with an ankle injury since Oct. 6.

Whether the two stars play or not, Montreal head coach Jason Maas knows Sunday will be a stiff test for the Als.

“They’re more than just two people, I can tell you that,” Maas said Monday. “They’ve got depth on their team, they’ve got a great culture, they’re led by a tremendous man, who has led them to four Grey Cups. They know what they’re doing, they have a great system in all three phases, and I know they have a lot of buy-in by their players. Whoever is available will give us their best shot, and that’s what we’re going to do as well.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

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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.

Every piece of reporting Taylor produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.