Elliott out

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This article was published 17/07/2011 (5166 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback situation — already tenuous with the uncertainty surrounding the position through the first three weeks of the season — took another big blow Saturday.

Second-year backup QB Joey Elliott suffered a torn ACL in his left knee in Thursday’s 21-20 loss to the Calgary Stampeders, the club announced. The 24-year-old out of Purdue will require surgery on the torn ligament and is out for the remainder of the season.

There is never a good time for a major knee injury, but this news couldn’t come at a worse time for both the team and the player.

If starting QB Buck Pierce were to miss an extended stretch of game action — a distinct possibility given the pounding he’s taken this summer — the keys to the offence were to go to Elliott, a player who provided a perfect mix of upside and safety net for the coaches.

The Bombers brass loves Elliott’s confidence and his leadership qualities — so much so that his high standing with GM Joe Mack played a role in the decision to ship 2010 starter Steven Jyles to Toronto for a first-round draft pick in the off-season. All he was lacking, many around the club said, was some game seasoning to develop as the next Bombers quarterback.

But now, his injury means a lost year of on-field development, a lost season of what could have been some significant experience, given the track record of Pierce during his tenure in Winnipeg.

“It’s a missed opportunity, no question,” a positive Elliott said Saturday. “As a backup in the CFL, maybe you think you can get one or two starts, as it’s a long season. Playing quarterback in this league is tough, and you never know what could happen. So there’s that.

“My contract is up after this year and I was hoping to impress the coaches and take care of it from that standpoint, but now I’m going to work hard in my rehab and help out my teammates as much as possible.”

After coming in to replace an injured Pierce (who suffered a bruised quad) to start the second half, Elliott suffered the injury right before he made a tackle on Stamps DB Keon Raymond in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s contest. Raymond, who was returning a Terence Jeffers-Harris fumble, tripped awkwardly into the quarterback’s legs, but Elliott said the injury occurred before the contact.

“My left foot got stuck in the turf and I twisted my knee right before I was going to tackle the guy,” he said. “It was a freak accident.”

Elliott looked in obvious pain as he rolled around on the turf, but he did leave the field under his own power and did stay in the game, guiding the offence into position for a game-winning field-goal attempt against a stiff wind (Justin Palardy’s 44-yard try fell just short).

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Elliott’s final line Thursday: 10-of-18 for 87 yards.

No date has been set for the surgery. If all goes well, Elliott is looking at a six-to-eight month rehab before he can return to a full workout regimen.

The injury leaves the Bombers with four quarterbacks: the banged-up Pierce, second-year man Alex Brink, who moves into the No. 2 hole, practice roster greenhorn Brandon Summers, and Justin Goltz, a late training camp cut who arrived back in Winnipeg Saturday.

Having originally signed with the Bombers last October, the 6-5, 215-pound Goltz knows the system — an attractive quality for head coach Paul LaPolice and Co. — and should slide in as the third quarterback on the depth chart when the club returns to practice Monday.

adam.wazny@freepress.mb.ca