One of the CFL’s blossoming young stars will not take to the field for this week’s rematch between the Toronto Argonauts and Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Rookie American safety Derek Slywka has been placed on the one-game injured list with an ankle issue. The Ithaca College product arrived in training camp with the Argos as a receiver before converting back to defensive back partway through and has started the first seven games of the year. He has recorded 19 defensive tackles, two special teams tackles, one interception, and two forced fumbles, while taking one of those back for a defensive touchdown. He also returned a missed field goal for a touchdown in the same game.
Canadian defensive back Tyshon Blackburn will move from strong-side linebacker to safety to accommodate the injury. American Jarrett Martin comes off the practice roster and returns to his role at SAM, where he previously started four games.
In other moves, the team’s first-round pick in the 2025 CFL Draft, defensive end John Ojo, has also been one-gamed due to a hamstring issue. Canadian linebacker Jordan Herdman-Reed, who was signed this week, will dress to flesh out the ratio.
The Toronto Argonauts (2-5) will visit the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (3-3) at Princess Auto Stadium on Friday, August 1 with kickoff slated for 8:30 p.m. EDT. The two teams met at BMO Field this past week where Nick Arbuckle carved up Winnipeg’s secondary for 316 yards and two touchdowns en route to a 31-17 win.
The weather forecast in Winnipeg calls for a high of 26 degrees and sunny conditions. The game will be broadcast on TSN in Canada and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune-in on TSN 1050 in Toronto and 680 CJOB in Winnipeg.
Graphic courtesy: Toronto Argonauts
