Elks dodge facing CFL’s most-outstanding player as Blue Bombers’ Oliveira remains injured

Winnipeg Blue Bombers' Nic Demski (left) is tackled by Edmonton Elks' Derrick Moncrief (29) during second half CFL action in Edmonton, on September 21, 2024.

Brady Oliveira is the top player in the Canadian Football League.

And he won’t be playing Thursday (6:30 p.m.) against the Edmonton Elks.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers announced Tuesday that the 27-year-old running back will miss a second game in a row after suffering a shoulder injury two weeks ago during the team’s first offensive series against the B.C. Lions.

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The CFL named Oliveira its most outstanding player last season after the Winnipeg native rushed for 1,353 yards and three touchdowns, adding 57 catches for 476 yards receiving. The league also named him its most outstanding Canadian.

Matthew Peterson, a first-year CFLer who played five seasons at the University of Alberta, and American Quinton Cooley have been handling the Bombers’ rushing duties in place of Oliveira.

Peterson rushed for 42 yards on 11 carries while Cooley touched the ball seven times for 47 yards on the ground last week. Peterson ran for 130 yards and one touchdown on 23 carries the week before. Both games were wins over the Lions.

Blue Bombers slotback Nic Demski is questionable to play Thursday after he suffered an ankle injury on Saturday.

Elks head coach Mark Kilam said Monday his team has “a tall task at hand” in trying to contain the Blue Bombers’ attack.

“They’ve got some very good players,” Kilam told the media. “They’ve been together for a long time. They play a very physical style of football, and they’ve got (quarterback) Zach Collaros, one of the best in the league, under centre.

“When you play Winnipeg, you’re going to have to stop the run. That’s where it starts.”

The Blue Bombers are coming off a short week, playing Thursday night after their previous game Saturday against the Lions. Winnipeg head coach Mike O’Shea said Thursday after his team’s morning walkthrough the challenge will be to try to keep his players “fresh” and making sure “they’re physically able to go out there and compete.”

O’Shea, who’s won two Grey Cups since becoming head coach of the Blue Bombers in 2014, said he expects the Elks to “play hard” and described Kilam, who’s in his first season as Edmonton’s head coach after 20 years on the coaching staff of the Calgary Stampeders, 15 of them as their special-teams coordinator, as “a very fiery competitor.”

“They’re going to be a physical team, that is certain” said O’Shea, who played 16 years in the CFL and won four Grey Cups starring at linebacker for the Toronto Argonauts and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. “We never take anybody lightly. We’re not going to worry about anybody’s record coming in. We worry more about ourselves.”

Beard on shelf

Mark Korte will slide over on the offensive line to centre with starter David Beard on the Elks’ six-game injured list.

Beard, 32, left last Thursday’s loss to the Montreal Alouettes with a calf injury. Mark Evans will take Korte’s spot at left guard;

Also on defence, Kordell Jackson is slated to move over from his linebacking spot to play defensive back on Thursday after the Elks released Emmanuel Rugamba.