The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have named Dane Evans the starting quarterback for Week 4 against the Montreal Alouettes.
Evans took reps with the Ticats first-team offence at practice on Wednesday as Jeremiah Masoli has been limited in during the week with an injury to his ribs suffered against the Roughriders.
“It’s not a coy thing, he’s got some sore ribs and he’s a tough sucker, probably should’ve came out of the game in Saskatchewan a little bit, but he’s a tough man,” head coach Orlondo Steinauer said.
“He took most of the reps day one for us. For the reasons behind closed doors and how he’s exactly feeling, Dane will start.”
Masoli had started the first two games for the black and gold. Masoli completed 62 percent of his passes for 377 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions plus two rushes for nine yards and one touchdown against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Evans saw his fist action of the 2021 CFL season in Week 2 against the Riders. He was between the white lines at Mosaic Stadium for just over one quarter, completing 3-of-10 passes for 21 yards in a 30-8 loss as the Ticats suffered a second straight defeat to begin the schedule.
Hamilton had a bye in Week 3 following their 0-2 start and travel to Montreal for a match-up with the Alouettes on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. ET. Evans gets the chance to run out with the starting offence in La Belle Province.
The 27-year-old Sanger, TX native completed 72 percent of his passes for 3,754 yards with 21 touchdowns and 13 interceptions during 12 regular season starts in 2019. He went 10-2 as a starter and helped the Ticats reach the Grey Cup after Masoli suffered a major knee injury in July 2019.
The Ticats have called on Evans to help lead the team to its first win of the season.
