Riders QB Zach Collaros put on six-game injured list

Photo courtesy: Scott Grant/CFLPhotoArchive.com

Riders quarterback Zach Collaros has been placed on the six-game injured list following a shoulder to the head from Ticats linebacker Simoni Lawrence.

“Zach was put on the six-game injured list today and so he won’t be with us for a while,” Riders head coach Craig Dickenson said.

“We’re not going to go into it. He’s just not going to be with us for a while. He’s around he just can’t practice on six-game.”

The 30-year-old was down on the field for a couple minutes and walked off under his own power. As he went to the sidelines, Collaros was visibly upset about the hit.

.@sskroughriders QB Zach Collaros leaves the game after a "roughing the passer" head shot from Simoni Lawrence. #CFLGameDay pic.twitter.com/j4VXfP8Siv

— CFL on TSN (@CFLonTSN) June 13, 2019

Collaros went through concussion protocol and didn’t pass which was why the Riders pivot remained on the sideline with shoulder pads off and jacket on for the remainder of the game.

“He’s fine, we’ve talked to him and all that good stuff. But we’re just going to err on the side of caution,” Dickenson said. “It was just a decision we made after talking with him and talking with the doctors.”

The veteran quarterback missed four games last season due to concussions.

Saskatchewan’s pivot was on the receiving end of a hard hit from B.C.’s Odell Willis late in the first quarter of Week 20 against the Lions in October last year. Willis was given a roughing the passer penalty on the play and Collaros never returned to action in 2018.

Earlier last season, Collaros was hit by Ottawa Redblacks defensive lineman Avery Ellis under the helmet and caught him under the chin. That drove Collaros from the game as he underwent concussion protocol in Week 2. He returned to action in Week 8.

Collaros sat out three games due to a head injury in 2016 and missed time in 2014 after suffering a concussion while with Hamilton. The Ticats traded Collaros to Saskatchewan in January 2018 and the Riders re-signed him to an incentive-laden deal for the 2019 season.