Every football team follows the same line that it’s the “next man up” when it comes to dealing with injuries and that’s certainly been the case for a lot of CFL teams this season.

The Toronto Argonauts face a tough task of pushing forward without running back Andrew Harris who was ruled out for the remainder of the season. Harris is scheduled to have surgery for a torn pectoral muscle that he suffered in their last loss against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Whether or not this is the last time we see Harris on a football field remains to be seen as the 35-year-old is closing the door on playing next season. The Argos haven’t either.

"I'd love to have him back," head coach Ryan Dinwiddie told reporters. "I think he can get it done (overcome injury) but it will be up to him if he wants to."

Now, the team has to find a way to move forward and that means handing the ball off to the next men up, starting with AJ Ouellette.

When the Argos brought in the former Ohio University rusher into the fold, he flashed his great ability to break tackles and pick up a good chunk of yards. Up until this point, the 27-year-old hadn’t really had the chance to be featured in the offence.

Ouellette says that nothing will change about his approach now that he is No. 1 on the depth chart and believes that he is hitting his stride now that he’s been able to get his legs going and having a feel for game action.

“We got to extablish the run. Be a presence out there in the first half, run through some people and then that's when you can start showing a little bit more moves out on the side,” Ouellette explained about what he hopes to bring. “We just got to stay locked in and do our assignments off the field.”

Canadian rookie Daniel Adedoboye will likely see more action being the No. 2 back behind Ouellette and believes they are ready for the increased workload.

He credits Harris for the way he has led the charge both on and off the field.  The running backs are also glad that Harris will be remaining with the group to offer his support because they know he has a lot to offer.

“It's a huge loss for our offence, but all we can do is try our best and give me the effort that we know that that we can give because our coaches wouldn't give us that opportunity if they didn't have trust in us,” Adeboboye explained. “Hopefully me and AJ together and even (Javon) Leake we can all combine to give our offence life like Andrew did.”

Dinwiddie also mentioned that the team has reached out to D.J. Foster who is making another attempt to make it back into the NFL.

"If he gets one more year in (NFL) he'll get his pension," Dinwiddie said. "I haven't talked to him in a while but I know the scouting department has been in contact just seeing where he's at mentally and physically."

Foster had an impressive rookie season in Toronto finishing the 2021 season with 332 yards and two touchdowns on 82 carries while adding 33 receptions for 316 yards and two scores.

The running game remains a vital component now more than ever as it makes the offence far less predictable. If the Argos are not able to find production on the ground, it puts more pressure on McLeod Bethel-Thompson and the receivers to pick up the slack considering the struggles they have had at times this season.