TORONTO - An injury to incumbent Cleo Lemon has created a rare opportunity for a Canadian quarterback to suit up for a CFL game.
Rookie Danny Brannagan, a native of Burlington, Ont., will dress in his first CFL regular-season game Saturday. He'll serve as the Toronto Argonauts' third quarterback when they host the Saskatchewan Roughriders at Rogers Centre (TSN, 3 p.m. ET). Backup Dalton Bell will start in place of Lemon (concussion).
Third-stringer Ken Dorsey will serve as Dalton's backup with Brannagan being promoted from the practice roster to take Dorsey's No. 3 spot.
"You're always ready because you never know when injuries happen or situations arise," said Brannagan. "You have to be ready and always making sure that if this was the week you're ready to go."
Toronto signed Brannagan, Canadian university football's career passing leader, as a free agent this off-season amid much fanfare. The last Canadian quarterback to start in the CFL was Toronto native Giulio Caravatta with the B.C. Lions on Oct. 27, 1996 against the Argos.
Canadian quarterbacks haven't traditionally been given much of a chance to play in the CFL as head coaches, all under pressure to win immediately, tend to look to Americans. Not only have they played the position longer than their Canadian counterparts, but have also done so against better competition in the NCAA ranks.
Being able to bring a Canadian along slowly and make the investment of time and money required with no guarantees he'll develop into a pro quarterback is a risk many feel they simply can't afford. That's what made Toronto head coach Jim Barker's decision to put Brannagan on the practice roster so interesting.
On Friday, Barker said he hopes Brannagan's presence at Rogers Centre will serve as inspiration to other Canadian-born quarterbacks to work towards a potential CFL career.
"Well, someone is going to come to Rogers Centre tomorrow and they're going to see Danny Brannagan down there in warmups in uniform and be able to say, 'Maybe one day I'll be able to play quarterback,"' Barker said. "That's good for football across Canada.
"It's about Canadian quarterbacks. I had a football school (in Calgary) and had 20 young kids from age 10 through high school and to have a high school kid who has some ability come up and say, 'Coach, I want to play pro football so maybe I need to change positions,' is wrong . . . it makes my skin crawl."
Presently, CFL game-day rosters consist of 42 players. Twenty are Canadian, 16 are American, another three are called designated imports, players who can play special teams and sub for another American. The final three spots are for quarterbacks of any nationality.
However, Barker recommends a Canadian-born quarterback -- who plays only that position -- be included among the 20 roster spots for Canucks. The other position that had been reserved for a third quarterback could go to a fourth designated import, another special-teams player who Barker says would essentially be replacing a 20th Canadian, who'd also playing special teams.
"If we just count the Canadian quarterback as a Canadian, he'd have the same advantage as every other Canadian has," Barker said. "There's nobody who can put an argument forward to me that this is not something we should do.
"I know the argument will be made that the quality of play of the quarterback dictates what our league is all about and I understand that. But I also understand if we go out and actually attempt to develop him (Canadian QB) because there's a benefit to having him on the roster now that those players will develop to a point that it won't bring our game down a level."
Brannagan, 24, was among five quarterbacks Toronto had in training camp but the number was reduced to four when former NFL player Gibran Hamden abruptly retired during rookie camp.
The six-foot, 198-pound Brannagan, who guided Queen's to a Vanier Cup title last year, saw action in Toronto's opening exhibition game, a 13-10 win over Hamilton. He completed 3-of-11 passes for 31 yards and an interception but his fate was essentially sealed when he didn't play in the Argos' final pre-season contest, a 31-23 road loss to Montreal.
Brannagan was released following training camp but remained on the Argos' practice roster. It allowed him to work out daily with the team but not play.
For home games, a practice-roster player can stand on the sidelines but he'll be left behind when the club heads on the road. The pay isn't great, roughly $500 a week.
"The biggest thing for (Brannagan) is being around pro players, being around it every day where all you do is work around football, watch in the meetings and see how things develop," Barker said. "The only argument to my suggestion I've heard is if we end up playing with a Canadian quarterback and they're not qualified, the quality of the game will go down.
"My point is if we go out of our way to make it positive to develop these quarterbacks, when they get the opportunity they'll play. I'm not saying every team will have three Canadian quarterbacks.
"My point is to get every team to really bust their rear end to find a third Canadian quarterback and now there's an advantage to having him on the roster. It's about what's good for this country."
