The Edmonton Eskimos’ down-and-out season just took another bad turn.
Already 1-5 in the Canadian Football League and on a four-game losing streak, the Eskimos will have to pull themselves out of their slide without the services of middle linebacker J.C. Sherritt.
The club sent out a statement Tuesday morning that said Sherritt suffered a broken thumb on his left hand during the team’s Aug. 2 loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Sherritt had surgery on the thumb over the bye week and is out “indefinitely,” the release says.
This isn’t the first hand injury Sherritt has suffered in his three seasons with the Eskimos. As a rookie in 2011, he missed two games with a broken finger in his right hand and played out the season wearing a cast.
Sherritt was fifth in the league in tackles this season, with 37. Last year he set a single-season CFL record for tackles in a season with 130.
Rennie Curran is a CFL rookie but will likely fill the void for Sherritt while he’s out. The University of Georgia product has wowed the Eskimos’ coaching staff in training camp and he has been a notable contributor on special teams this year, with six tackles in four games played. Also helping to absorb the loss of Sherritt will be linebacker Damaso Munoz, who leads the Eskimos in tackles this season with 41 and is just four behind Montreal’s Chip Cox for the league lead.
Esks sign three after bye week
Eskimos general manager Ed Hervey added three import players on Tuesday morning. Wide receivers Dominique Edison and Jamar Howard join the team, along with offensive lineman Miles Mason. All three are on the practice roster.
Mason’s addition is likely to offset the loss of offensive tackle Branden Curry, who came back from the bye week on crutches with a knee injury sustained in the Eskimos’ Aug. 2 loss to Hamilton.
