(Trois-Rivières) Receiver Tyson Philpot has still not trained with his Montreal Alouettes teammates since May 26. Could he miss the start of the season?
On Wednesday, after his team trained at the Diablos stadium at Cégep de Trois-Rivières, head coach Jason Maas made it clear that he shouldn’t be counted on to talk about the injuries suffered by his proteges. But the fact remains that Philpot wasn’t wearing any equipment or cleats and did long exercises targeting mostly his hamstrings around the edges of the pitch.
If the Canadian receiver were to be absent, then his absence will be felt. Philpot, a first-round pick, ninth overall, in 2022, caught 39 passes for 459 yards and two touchdowns. He was in uniform for 18 Alouettes games, during which he was also used in kickoff returns. On 24 occasions, he returned the ball for 511 yards. Statistics that earned him the title of rookie par excellence in the Canadian Football League.
At this time, Philpot’s name has not been placed on the injured list, which will be done shortly if he cannot start the season at the same time as the rest of the group.
He is already assured that he will not be in the last preseason game this Friday at Percival-Molson Stadium, against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
In his absence, the first receiving unit consisted of newcomers Greg Ellingson and Austin Mack, as well as Cole Spieker and Canadians Kaion Julien-Grant and Hergy Mayala.
Of the lot, it is Mayala who has benefited the most so far. Mayala has signed a new pact with the team just days before the start of training camp, having played in all 18 games for the club last year.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Hergy Mayala
In 18 games, he caught 33 passes for 409 yards and two majors — numbers similar to Philpot’s. Like the latter, Mayala was also a first-round pick, eighth overall, by the Calgary Stampeders in 2019.
He also played his first two seasons in the Alberta metropolis. Mayala caught 67 passes for 846 yards and five touchdowns — all in his first season — for the Stamps.
According to receivers coach Mike Ionello, the 27-year-old Congo native had a very good camp and his versatility would allow the club to use him in all five receiver positions when needed. A Canadian player like Philpot, his inclusion in the starting lineup would not upset the Alouettes’ ratio.
Ionello still has about 20 receivers in camp, and he admitted tough decisions will have to be made by Saturday’s 10 p.m. deadline to return his roster of 45 players and 18-member practice roster. This is a fine problem for the coach, who prefers to have a large pool of players to make his choices.