Spotter removes Eskimos QB Mike Reilly from game after head shot

Edmonton quarterback Mike Reilly was taken out of the game by the league’s spotter after taking a head shot from Calgary Stampeders defensive lineman Ja’Gared Davis.

The Eskimos franchise pivot took a helmet-to-helmet shot with no penalty flag thrown on the play. Because he was removed from the game by the spotter, who was added by the CFL to look out for concussions before last season, Reilly – visibly furious on the sideline – had to undergo concussion protocol. The 32-year-old returned, missing one series.

Reilly shared his thoughts on being pulled from the game, in a crucial series, after Edmonton lost 25-22.

“How are you going to take me out of the game for a hit to the head and there’s no flag on it? That’s my question. You take me out when we’re driving, in the red zone in an important part of the game. I appreciate the safety concerns – it felt like a high hit to me,” he says.

“I’m not saying that it changed the outcome of the game…but it was frustrating because there is nothing you can do about it. I flipped over immediately when I hit the ground and was looking at the ref, asking him ‘why are we not getting a roughing the passer flag here?’ And then hopped up immediately and ran over to the line because we were going to run the sneak, and then I’m getting told that I have to come out of the game. So, like I said, if the hit was so concerning that I would have to come out of the game, I would think that it would probably be deemed a roughing the passer hit.”