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But the Stampeders aren’t going to rush him. He knows the offensive system well enough that as long as he’s physically ready, he can step in and play against the Alouettes.

They just need to make sure he’s actually ready.

“He’s worried about overloading it right now,” said Stampeders head coach Dave Dickenson. “Not concerned that there’s an injury there, but I do feel that he hasn’t done a lot, so gradually, we need to pick it up if he’s going to be the guy.

“I trust he understands his body, and hopefully he gets there.”

On Tuesday, Mitchell started practice taking snaps with the starters, but by the end of the session, it was mostly backup Nick Arbuckle in his place.

Understanding the plan for building up his work-rate, that makes sense.

Mitchell spent most of his time on the six-game injured list not throwing the ball, after all.

The “slight” tear in his pectoral muscle kept him sidelined at first, and the procedure to reduce a cyst in the area required rest, as well.

As Dickenson noted, it’s only natural that any athlete will require a little time to build up their muscles and get back their strength and stamina after an extended period of inactivity — we use that term loosely here, as Mitchell remained active throughout the past six weeks but just wasn’t throwing the ball.

“I’m not too worried about the reaction after practice,” Mitchell said. “To me, it’s more how it feels during (the practice). Making sure you’re not thinking about your throws, making sure you’re able to get out there and rip it.

“In practice, on routes and everything, it’s really easy to know where to go with the ball. You’ve got John Bowman in your face, you’ve got to drop the arm, slot, throw around him. You need to practise to do those things — kind of find those areas — to make sure it feels OK whenever it happens.”

Daustin@postmedia.com

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