B.C. head coach Rick Campbell wasn’t trying to pull one over on the Saskatchewan Roughriders or anyone else.
The Lions listed Michael Reilly as the starting quarterback on the Week 1 depth chart and the plan was for him to run out with the offence at the beginning of the game in Saskatchewan. However, following the coin toss at centre field, Reilly didn’t feel his right arm was where he wanted it to be and Nathan Rourke took the field.
“It was honestly probably the hardest thing that I’ve done for a long time in football was to tell [Rick Campbell] that I was not going to give us the best chance to win, because I’ve been waiting for this moment so long to play in this game,” Reilly said.
“It was pretty clear to me that when I was throwing that the person that gave us the best chance to be successful at the start of the game was Nathan and not me. I let him know and Nathan was aware that could be a possibility.”
While Rourke was playing the opening half, Reilly was with trainers working on his right elbow, which had a tight black wrap on it all night long. The Lions medical staff “worked on it more” at halftime and Reilly felt confident that it was at a level where he could play. The 36-year-old declined to confirm whether an injection was used to dull the pain.
“I will not discuss my medical issues. I don’t want my opponents to know anything about what I’m going through,” Reilly said.
“We try to get them ready to play and if they’re medically cleared to play and the player feels he can play, then we’ll let him play. Reilly is a tough customer. Until you see it firsthand — that guy he wants to do whatever he can for the team to win,” Campbell said.
The last-second starting QB decision was questioned by many pundits, especially considering the league’s foray into sports betting with NFL-style injury reports adopted to create increased certainty when placing a wager on a game during the 2021 CFL season.
The information must be credible, accurate, timely, and specific within the guidelines of the policy, which is of paramount importance in maintaining the integrity of the game. A violation of the policy may result in commissioner discipline.
“I can tell you we’re not being deceitful in any way. We wanted the guy to play, he wanted to play, and it was a decision that was literally made on the sideline. I don’t feel bad about how it was handled,” Campbell said.
As the Reilly went through the third quarter and into the fourth, he could feel each drive that he was losing control of his accuracy. He was seeing the defence well, reading and knew where the ball needed to go, but putting it on target was increasingly becoming an issue. Reilly talked it through with Campbell and Rourke went back in to finish the 33-29 loss.
“It was getting worse and worse, we talked it through and I said, ‘It’s gotten to that point where I’m no longer the option that gives us the best chance to win this game, because I can’t throw the ball accurately,'” Reilly said.
“That was how the day went down.”
