The Edmonton Eskimos have announced that offensive tackle SirVincent Rogers is out indefinitely after sustaining a torn left tricep in training camp and that’s not good for a squad that looking to rebuild on the fly after missing the playoffs last season and losing quarterback Mike Reilly in free agency.

The Eskimos signed Rogers in February to a deal that, according to Justin Dunk, made him the highest paid American offensive lineman in the league. That likely puts him in the $215,000 range.

The 33-year-old held down the left tackle spot for the past four years in Ottawa, playing in two Grey Cup games and winning a ring in 2016. Rogers was named a CFL all-star in 2018 and has started 87 games over his six-year career, including 17 last season.

Triceps tears generally have six-to-nine month recovery time – and can be longer – meaning it’s certainly possible, even likely, that Rogers could be out for the entire CFL season.

The Eskimos have four other American offensive linemen on the roster: Tommy Draheim, who has started 18 games over four CFL seasons; Travis Bond, who started 17 games last season at left guard; Colin Kelly, who was the team’s starting right tackle last season; and rookie Andrew Peterson. The could try a Canadian at tackle – Matt O’Donnell started a number of games last year – but that limits the club’s depth at guard.

In other words, there was a reason that Edmonton signed Rogers to a big money deal to be their starting left tackle.