Stamps franchise QB Bo Levi Mitchell undergoes procedure to remove cyst in right shoulder

Photo courtesy: Scott Grant/CFLPhotoArchive.com

Calgary Stampeders’ quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell has had a procedure to fix the injury that plagued him last season.

“Bo had a cyst in his shoulder. It wasn’t anything overly severe, but it was bothering him. We tried to get a band aid on it. And then in the off-season we were thinking let’s go try to fix it, so that means get rid of it,” Dickenson said on the 3DownNation podcast.

“We feel confident that we were able to do that. I did see Bo before coming out here, his arm’s above his head, he looks good — no sling. I’m expecting him to even be stronger. It was important to get him to feel right. He’s our franchise.”

Calgary’s star pivot completed 23-of-34 passes for 252 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in the Stamps’ Week 3 win against B.C. but left the game late favouring his right arm, chest and shoulder area. Following the setback, the two-time former M.O.P. was placed on the six-game injured list. It caused Mitchell to miss a start for the first time since 2014.

Mitchell had the MRI on his pectoral muscle sent to renowned doctor Neal ElAttrache who works primarily out of Los Angeles. ElAttrache performed Tom Brady’s ACL surgery in 2008 and multiple operations on five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant among other star athletes.

Mitchell received a cortisone shot for his injured pectoral muscle in late July. The results and expert opinion came back from ElAttrache with a small issue that needed shrinking in order to subside the pain. ElAttrache took care of the shot and surgery to ensure Mitchell rehabs back to full health.

“I feel good about him being as close to 100 percent as possible,” Dickenson said. “I’ve seen him, he looks good.”

The unfortunate pectoral injury limited Mitchell to 11 games in 2019. He passed for 3,464 yards with 19 touchdowns against 11 interceptions while completing 66 per cent of his attempts. Calgary went 12-6 during the regular season, finishing second-place in the West Division, but lost the Western Semi-Final at McMahon Stadium to the eventual Grey Cup champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

“Arm started to feel really, really good throughout that six, seven game stretch,” Mitchell said on his self-titled The Bo Show on Sportsnet 960 Calgary. “I’m not going to blame the arm, it’s just I didn’t have the stuff that I needed and didn’t have that pop and that trust in it to just let it rip.”