Toronto Argonauts stick with Cameron Dukes at QB vs. Blue Bombers

Would it be Cameron Dukes behind centre, or would Nick Arbuckle move up the depth chart?

That was the big question for the Toronto Argonauts after a tough loss, which left some wondering if a change was needed at the quarterback position.

Head coach Ryan Dinwiddie made it clear after practice Wednesday that he needed more time to determine who will start at quarterback when the Argonauts host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Dukes ended up getting the call once again, but it's hard not to read into the uncertainty of the talk at practice this week.

The Argos had Cameron and Arbuckle take reps with the starters, which led to the obvious question being posed to Dinwiddie about who he would go with on Saturday.

"We'll see. We just want to get them both reps; there's potential for both to play. We haven't made a decision on who's going to start yet," Dinwiddie said after practice. "I want to see them get one more day in and then make that decision from there."

So, how did the Argos get here?

It all started when the Argos lost their first game of the season against the Montreal Alouettes. The offence struggled to push the ball down the field. Then Dukes threw four interceptions in another loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders, which raised some potential questions about who the Argos should have as their starting quarterback going forward.

A victory over the Alouettes on the road did quiet some of those concerns although Dinwiddie did note that he felt Dukes left a bit to be desired. Then in Toronto's 27-24 loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Arbuckle's play in relief of Dukes brought up the question as to where the team should go.

Yes, while the offence did look more productive with Arbuckle on the touchdown drive, he had a tougher time when he was trying to get them down the field on the final possession, where Hamilton was tightening up their coverage.

As Dinwiddie noted while talking after practice, backups find it easier to come into a game and find some success as they see things differently watching on the sidelines.

Now, it's up to Dukes to get himself back on track.

"That's every day of my life, just nothing but crazy noise going outside of this; people love you, people hate you," Dukes said about whether he needs to block out the things being said about him. "I'm honestly just worried about winning. If I got to be a short-down guy, If I got to be the starter, I'm going to do whatever I can to make our team successful. I'm only worried about anything going on outside of these doors."

Just when it looked like the Argos were going to get some injury luck on their side, they got some unfortunate news following their loss to the Tiger-Cats.

Jared Brinkman and Jonathan Edouard were placed on the six-game injured list, which means they will join Kerfalla Exume, Folarin Orimolade (who was back practicing this week) and Jamie Harry on the shelf for this week and beyond.

It's not all bad news for Toronto as David Ungerer and Kevin Mital will be available which is important for the team's Canadian ratio as they likely need more national players that can be in the starting lineup on offence. Tunde Adeleke will also be available after starting the season on the six-game list.

It was surprising news to hear Thursday night when Jeff Hamilton reported that the Argos had cut veteran receiver Rasheed Bailey. It's not every day a team drops a player who had been one of their more productive receivers, as Bailey had 24 catches for 245 yards and two touchdowns.

Dinwiddie confirmed that the decision to release Bailey had everything to do with the fact that Jonathan Edouard's injury took away a Canadian starter on defence. As a result, Toronto now has to start two Canadian receivers to sort out the ratio.

"He was a great guy to have in the locker room. He had great energy, and everybody clinged to him quickly. We all had his back, and he had every one of our backs," Dukes said about Bailey. "He's a guy you could lean on for any situation, so it's devastating to lose someone like him."

It's not every day a team drops a player who had been one of their more productive receivers but also a great glue guy in the locker room. Don't expect Bailey to be without a job for long, as Hamilton reported that the Blue Bombers would be interested in a potential reunion, as Hamilton reported and it makes sense given their injuries.

Don't expect Bailey to be without a job for long, as Hamilton reported that the Blue Bombers would be interested in a potential reunion, and it makes sense given their injuries.

This will put the spotlight on Makai Polk, who the Argos really like but who comes in cheaper than a veteran like Bailey. Considering all the additions they needed to make on defence and all the injuries it felt like it was just a matter of time before moves were going to be made on offence.

With the injury bug hitting the Argos defence, Toronto had to once again make a call to a familiar name.

After losing Eduoard against the Tiger-Cats, the team signed Tavarus McFadden to a deal as he returned to practice this week.

McFadden was a surprise cut from training camp after playing 33 games in three seasons with the Argos. He will get thrown right into the action as he will start at cornerback against Winnipeg.

He has been keeping tabs on the team's play after getting cut but fortunately for Toronto, they aren't bringing in a player who is unknown to the system.

"I'm always ready to play," McFadden said when asked about his ability to get right back into the action. "Playing football is like riding a bike."