The Toronto Argonauts left with a much-needed victory Saturday night over the B.C. Lions, but uncertainty now surrounds the status of quarterback Chad Kelly after he exited with what the team later identified as a neck injury.
Kelly was injured late in the first half of Toronto's 26-12 win over the Lions after taking a hit to the head/neck area while sliding to the ground to give himself up.
Veteran backup Nick Arbuckle took over under centre and helped guide the Argonauts to the victory, throwing for 134 yards and adding 28 yards on the ground.
There was no official update on Kelly’s status after the game, who had completed 15 of 18 passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns before exiting.
"I'll probably get an update when we get on the plane," head coach Mike Miller said.
Sankey was penalized for roughing the passer while Argonauts offensive lineman Peter Nicastro and Lions defensive back Ronald Kent Jr. were also assessed unnecessary roughness penalties on the play.
Asked whether he believed the hit that knocked Kelly from the game crossed the line, Miller declined to speculate without first reviewing the video. The first-year head coach said his view of the play was obstructed and didn't want to make a judgment based solely on what he saw in real time.
"There are a lot of bodies around in that moment from where my vantage point was," Miller said. "I'd like to think that that's not the case. But again, until I really take a look at the film, I would just be guessing."
While Kelly's injury cast a shadow over the win, Miller praised his team's resilience after overcoming several injuries during the game.
He said it certainly helps to have Arbuckle be able to come in and manage the game after Kelly was forced to leave.
“That's why he's here," Miller said. "He's done that for us in the past. He just prepares so well. He's a pro's pro. He's an extra set of eyes for me on the sidelines. Couldn't be more excited for him."
The Argonauts now head into their bye week before returning to BMO Field for their home opener against the Calgary Stampeders, which could give Kelly additional time to recover if his injury is not considered serious.
Arbuckle will have to wait and see if he will be the one under centre for that game, but the 2024 Grey Cup MVP will be ready whenever his number is called.
"You never know when that opportunity comes, at what point in the game, what the situation is," Arbuckle said. "I had an understanding of how successful our defence was in this game and how well we were dominating on that side of the ball. Our special teams were handling things.
"It helped me change kind of my approach and how I was managing the game situations and making sure that we didn't give them any extra opportunities. We didn't want do anything negative on our side of the ball."
The veteran quarterback also said he spoke with Kelly after the game and came away encouraged by his teammate's spirits, though he did not have any details on the extent of the injury.
"He was in the locker room here, seemed like he was doing pretty good, but didn't talk too much about his injury,” Arbuckle said. “He seemed like he was in it. I'm not really sure what the extent of anything is, but he seemed like he was in good spirits and just happy for the team to win."
Arbuckle acknowledged the difficulty of evaluating intent but said quarterbacks need to feel protected when giving themselves up as runners.
"Anytime somebody's going for a slide, and they get hit, it's an illegal play," he said. "It's hard to judge somebody's intentions, and I don't want to do that, especially when I didn't get a chance to really look at it.
"You'd want to take that out of football as much as you can. As a quarterback, you need to be able to feel like you can protect yourself."
Beyond stepping in for Kelly, Arbuckle also provided a memorable moment himself when he delivered a stiff arm to Sankey on a scramble.
Arbuckle admitted it was more instinct than anything else and had no idea it was Sankey trying to tackle him.
"That was definitely a heat-of-the-moment thing," Arbuckle said. "I remember I tried to do a stiff arm once before back in 2019 on Henoc Muamba, and it did not go as successfully as it went today. So it definitely wasn't in my plan."
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