Demski back from injury

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This article was published 30/07/2022 (1186 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CALGARY— Raise your hand if you thought Nic Demski was going to play this weekend.

If your hand is up, either your last name is Demski, or you’re lying, because no one thought the Winnipeg Blue Bombers receiver was going to suit up tonight against the Calgary Stampeders.

An ankle injury suffered at IG Field in Week 3 against Hamilton knocked Demski out for the last four games. The Winnipegger was put on the six-game injured list, but he’s been taken off early and will be getting the start in Calgary.

“I think he’s probably ahead of schedule. I don’t know if we set a target,” said head coach Mike O’Shea shortly after landing in Calgary.

“It’s up to the athlete and the trainer and how he progresses, right? All these guys work extremely hard when they’re out to get back and Nic’s another guy who busts his ass to rehab and make sure he could show us that he could go.”

What makes it surprising is the fact that Demski hasn’t practiced once since the injury. But both O’Shea and Demski downplayed the fact.

“These guys know what they’re doing. And I think they take a lot of mental reps and there’s a lot of value in that,” O’Shea said.

“Sometimes there’s even greater value in just sitting back and observing from a little bit afar. Doing that, and also making sure that with the young guys that are in, he’s always coaching. So, if you believe in learning best by teaching, you’re learning as well during that time off the field.”

You can get a PhD in football when you’re out with an injury, but it’s not going to do you any good if your body isn’t physically ready to play. Although he hasn’t been on the field running around with his teammates, Demski said he’s been testing out the ankle and the medical team gave him the green light.

“Anxious, that’s probably the word I would use the most. But you know, at the end of the day, I’ve been keeping my head in it since the moment it happened. I was out for a couple games, and obviously we had a couple games at home, too, so being on the sideline, just keeping my head in with the guys keeps me (ready),” Demski said.

“I’m just ready to go, man. It’s been a while, it’s only been four weeks, but to me, it’s felt like three months so I’m ready to go back out there and get back in action.”

It’s unknown if Demski is actually at full health, but even if he isn’t, his return is much needed. Carlton Agudosi, who caught a pair of touchdowns against the Stamps in Week 6, is on the six-game injured list and Greg Ellingson, the team’s leading receiver, is missing a second straight game due to an injured hip.

“At the end of the day, this is my job to come here and make plays in whatever way I can. I wasn’t thinking too, too much about the other injuries that are going on,” said Demski.

“As soon as this happened, the first thing that was in my mind was how I could come back as quick as I can to come out here and help my team out on the field.”

Demski had six catches for a game-high 96 yards before limping off the field. He left the contest in the third quarter after his ankle was awkwardly trapped under a Tiger-Cats defender as he got tackled.

But the question before tonight’s kickoff is this: is Demski actually ready to contribute? Or is he just going to be used as a decoy?

“I don’t know, man,” Demski said with a grin.

“We’ll have to see.”

BO-LIEVE IN JORDEN

Kamar Jorden’s drop in the end zone, leading to a Demerio Houston game-sealing interception, cost the Stampeders a chance to force overtime in Week 6 at IG Field, but his quarterback still believes in him.

“I’m going to trust 88 until the day one of us aren’t here,” Bo Levi Mitchell said after Friday’s walk-through. “He’s the guy that’s made a lot of plays for me in the past… Yeah, it was a bad bounce, but (Houston) was back there doing his job and that was a hell of a play. Not luck, just a bad bounce for us at the wrong time for us and they took advantage of it.”

The Stamps feel like they beat themselves that night, allowing the Bombers to come away with a 26-19 victory.

“I honestly felt like that was our worst game,” Jorden said. “The fact that we could’ve won that game, I think it speaks volumes to the type of team that we can be.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31