Mike O’Shea says Winnipeg will comply with CFL’s injury reporting; key decisions to come Wednesday

Photo courtesy: Scott Grant/CFLPhotoArchive.com

The CFL has implemented NFL-style injury reports for the 2021 season, presumably to ensure that fantasy players and sports bettors remain well-informed.

The change has been generally well-received considering how teams have published misleading depth charts in the past to try to gain a competitive advantage against opposing teams.

Mike O’Shea was asked in mid-July regarding his feelings on the new initiative and he wasn’t ready to offer an opinion given that the details surrounding the reports were not yet clear.

He addressed the changes on Tuesday, albeit briefly.

“As per the league, we will obviously put our reports out there in a timely fashion and we’ll comply with the new protocols for them,” said O’Shea via videoconference.

Winnipeg provided its first report on Sunday, which specified the nature of each injury and the extent to which each player participated in practice.

Injury report: August 1, 2021@ElitePhysioWpg | #ForTheW pic.twitter.com/JeMNAnLN9d

— Winnipeg Blue Bombers (@Wpg_BlueBombers) August 1, 2021

The injury reports are sent to the CFL at 5 p.m. ET each practice day, at which time they are published by the team and the league. Winnipeg will issue an additional injury report the day before each game, at which point the players in question will either be officially ruled in or out.

This means that final decisions regarding the status of star running back Andrew Harris, receiver Andrew Harris, and linebacker Kyrie Wilson should be announced late Wednesday afternoon.

The Blue Bombers open their season at IG Field on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. CT. The team has indicated that ticket sales are moving “very well” with the possibility of a sellout.