All eyes were on Darian Durant as the Riders returned to practice on Monday.
It wasn't for the usual reasons though, as Durant was seen wearing a walking boot on his right foot thanks to an injury he suffered against the Argonauts last week in Toronto.
On the weekend Durant had tweeted that the x-rays came back negative, meaning no bones were broken, but the boot would suggest this could take more than a day or two to heal.
"It's a sprained foot," said Durant. "Luckily we have a long week, give it some time to heal and see where we are in a couple of days."
With that long week and a day off Tuesday it's not surprising that Durant didn't practice at all on Monday as Drew Willy and Tino Sunseri took all of the snaps.
The good news for Durant is that time is on his side, as the team doesn't play until late Sunday afternoon when they host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
"Ample amount of time to let this thing heal," said Durant. "We'll see where we are come Wednesday or Thursday."
So Durant is in a wait and see kind of mode, as is the team. But head coach Corey Chamblin is certainly throwing the idea out there that Durant may in fact not play against the Ti-Cats.
"Darian has to be Darian, he has to be well enough to help us win," said Chamblin. "We're looking for healthy players."
As has always been the case with Chamblin, when someone goes down the next player up is expected to step in and perform.
In this case that would be Willy.
"It's my job to be ready. That's what a backup quarterback does," he said. "It's my job to go out there and keep the offense running at a high level."
It wouldn't be the first time Willy would be sprung into action thanks to an ankle or foot injury to Durant. Last year he had to do the same against the Alouettes in Montreal, something Willy thinks he learned from.
"I've been through this before, going into the Montreal game," said Willy, "just staying ready out there. It's always fun to get more reps, I'm not complaining about that."
Both Durant and Chamblin expressed their confidence in Willy should he step in and play on Sunday. It certainly won't hurt having the league's leading rusher in behind him to help Willy out if he has to play, but Chamblin did admit they would have to open up the play book a bit with Willy as passer.
"You can't become one dimensional," he said. "At some point we have to continue having a balanced attack. Whichever quarterback is in there will have to throw the ball."
