The boot is off, as Darian Durant waits for the other shoe to dropLiam Richards/The Canadian Press
The boot was off, but Saskatchewan Roughriders head coach Cory Chamblin won't rush his decision regarding quarterback Darian Durant's status.
Durant took limited reps in practice Thursday after missing Wednesday's session with his injured right foot back in a walking boot. Chamblin will wait as long as he can before deciding whether Durant will play Saturday in Guelph, Ont., versus the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
"It is a game-time decision and I really mean that," Chamblin told reporters. "He did enough [Thursday] to where he made it through and he got the reads that he needed.
"If it doesn't swell up and do all of those other things, we'll probably see him on game day."
Durant, 30, injured his foot in a 39-28 road win over the Toronto Argonauts on July 11. He wore the boot early last week before shedding it to resume practising and eventually start against Hamilton.
Durant showed no signs Sunday of the foot bothering him, completing 20 of 32 passes for 347 yards and four TDs in a convincing 37-0 home win over the Ticats. Durant also ran twice for 18 yards and was named the CFL's offensive player of the week.
However, Durant said Wednesday the foot began bothering him after the game and he put the boot back on to take pressure off it.
Saskatchewan (4-0) is the CFL's only unbeaten team and Durant has been a big part of that. Durant has thrown a league-leading 12 TD passes and has yet to surrender an interception.
But if Durant can't play, sophomore Drew Willy would make his second career CFL start.
Ray's status on hold
The Toronto Argonauts will give quarterback Ricky Ray two days off before deciding whether he'll play Tuesday night against the B.C. Lions.
Ray injured his left knee in Toronto's 35-19 road win over Winnipeg last week. It's the same knee Ray hurt last year that forced him to miss three late-season starts before returning to lead the Argos on their Grey Cup march.
Argos head coach Scott Milanovich said Ray experienced some pain in the knee during a workout Wednesday.
"What he's going to do is take (Friday) and Saturday off and we're going to see if he can go (Sunday)," Milanovich told reporters Thursday. "If he's unable to go then we'll go in a different direction."
And that would be having sophomore Zach Collaros start against B.C., but Milanovich said ultimately Ray will decide if he faces the Lions.
"If he tells me he's healthy, he's going to play," Milanovich said. "I'm not going to be scared.
"It's football and there's no avoiding the hits and things like that. If he's not feeling healthy, for sure, we're going to be cautious with him."
Ray has a league-high 1,203 passing yards with eight TDs and no interceptions. Ray was an outstanding 19 of 20 passing for 286 yards and two TDs against Winnipeg before being injured.
Collaros and Trevor Harris rotated against Winnipeg after Ray left. Harris was 3 of 5 passing for 66 yards, while Collaros completed the only pass he threw for five yards.
"We like them both," Milanovich said. "We think Zach's a little bit better fit for this team and the style of defence they [Lions] play.
"He's going to run around, he's a playmaker and can still drop back and pass and hopefully make a good decision with the football."