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There are times, Drew Willy admitted, when he wonders what might have been had he not wrecked his knee seven games into the 2015 season, while he was the starting quarterback at Winnipeg.

It was still relatively early in the season, but Willy already had passed for 1,434 yards and eight touchdowns when he injured his right knee. He suffered a tibial plateau fracture and a partial tear of his posterior cruciate ligament.

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“I thought I was playing some of the best football I’ve played,” Willy said ruefully, following practice on Wednesday. “I’m not the first guy to get hurt in this game. I won’t be the last.”

Willy, the argument could be made, hasn’t been the same since. The Blue Bombers traded for Matt Nichols in September 2015, eventually making Willy redundant. Winnipeg’s fortunes started to change last season, when Nichols became the starter.

By September, Willy was traded to Toronto for defensive-back T.J. Heath and two draft choices, including the Argonauts’ first-round pick in 2017, which turned out to be the first overall choice in May’s Canadian college draft.