The Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback carousel has a new face and another has been put on the shelf. At the same time, the name temporarily-at-the-top-of-the-depth-chart rookie, Chris Streveler, is continuing with his rapid learning curve.

Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea announced after practice Monday that No. 2 QB Alex Ross will be out for four-to-six weeks with a lower-body injury suffered during a botched field goal attempt in last week’s loss to the Edmonton Eskimos.

As a replacement, the Bombers have parachuted in Canadian Football League journeyman Mitchell Gale and added him to their practice roster. The 28-year-old Oklahoman has spent five years in this league, bouncing from Toronto, Hamilton, Saskatchewan, Calgary and B.C.

With starter Matt Nichols recovering from a knee injury and Ross now nicked, Gale instantly becomes the club’s most experienced QB. And, including the retirement of Darian Durant just before camp, the Bombers have now lost three quarterbacks in the span of 33 days.

“He’s been in a few different systems, so he’s very familiar with the CFL,” said O’Shea. “He’s been around the league since 2013. I was in Toronto with him in 2013 so I know him personally… I know what kind of guy he is and how much he’s grown as a football player.

“We’ll bring him in, see if he’s in shape and if he can pick up the playbook, which I’m sure he can… his learning curve is not as steep as a raw rookie or a guy who has never played in the CFL.”

Gale has 13 games to his credit, the last coming with Saskatchewan in 2016, and has completed 55.7 percent of his passes for four touchdowns against three interceptions. He spent chunks of last season with Calgary and B.C. and was actually at the Innisfail Pro Rodeo – north of Calgary – when the Bombers contacted him over the weekend.

“At this point in my career nothing really surprises me, so when it did happen I was kind of prepared because this has happened to me before,” said Gale. “I don’t know if I had any expectations, honestly. If it happened, it was going to happen and I was going to be ready for it. If it didn’t happen, I was going to move on with my life.

“(Finding a home) is the plan every single time. The other side of the coin is this is a business and sometimes things happen and so you’ve got to roll with the punches whether they are good or bad. You’re either ready or you’re not when the opportunity comes and I feel like I’m ready for this opportunity. I’m just taking this one step at a time.”

Gale is on the practice roster for now and the injury to Ross means that Bryan Bennett will likely be the No. 2 quarterback behind Streveler when the Bombers head to Montreal to face the Alouettes this Friday.

Streveler completed 15 of 28 passes for 178 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions against the Eskimos, while also rushing seven times for 30 yards. And if there was anyone who needed a few days to decompress afterward, it was the University of South Dakota rookie.

“It has been nice to have a couple of days to regroup after the first game,” Streveler said Monday. “Being a short week and having the announcement of starting was kind of hectic. I’ve been through this one week. I’m not going to act like I’m a seasoned pro, but it was kind of a crazy week, a short week, and with all the media that was going on.”

Streveler has played the sponge since signing here in May and then moving up the depth chart with Durant’s retirement and the injury to Nichols. He said Monday he felt he can be more decisive in his game, but that will come with every snap in practice and when the hits are for real.

In the meantime, the Bombers continue to be impressed with his rapid growth.

“Once again, he’s showing us the decision-making process that he went through in training camp,” said O’Shea. “He’s learning as the game goes on. I thought he got better and more comfortable as the game went on, as you’d expect any young guy to do.

“If that kind of growth can be shown again through the next few games he’s just going to keep getting better and better and everybody’s going to enjoy watching him.”

BOMBERS REPORT | June 18, 2018

 GOOD TO GO, MOE?:

Veteran linebacker/defensive back Moe Leggett continues to crank up his workload at practice. But a decision on when he will make his 2018 debut after rupturing his Achilles last October is still to be determined.

“We’re not sure yet,” said Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea “Moe’s out there running around now and his role’s increased in practice. We’ve got to temper that with the idea he missed all of training camp and there’s some catching up to do. We’ll see as the week goes on where Moe ends up. But he does look good.”

When Leggett returns he could line up at his familiar dime back spot, but could also be shifted to halfback, particularly with Chandler Fenner playing so well last week. Leggett, for his part, doesn’t care where he is as long as he is on the field.

“I’m comfortable wherever I am,” he said. “I prepare myself as if I’m playing defensive line… that’s just the way I prepare myself and so I feel comfortable wherever they put me.”

Leggett spoke Monday of the rollercoaster of battling through an injury and the emotions that come with having to watch rather than being out there with his teammates.

“It’s very hard. It was just like when I was in the boot (last fall), it was just that hard,” Leggett said. “It’s frustrating for a competitor not playing and you’re able to play. But I’ve accepted my role and I’m ready to go whenever.”

OUCH REPORT:

QB Alex Ross will be lost four-to-six weeks but the other Bomber players who did not participate Monday – RB Andrew Harris, DE Craig Roh, OL Sukh Chungh and linebackers Adam Bighill and Jovan Santos-Knox – are all expected to play Friday in Montreal.

ABOUT THE ‘D’:

The Bombers defence has been under the microscope after surrendering 481 net yards against the Eskimos last week. Here’s O’Shea when asked for his assessment of that unit:

“Short of a couple of plays, I thought we logged some pretty good minutes there where we held Edmonton down pretty well. They got one early on us, which is not expected, and they got another fairly decent chunk on a contested catch again. But you’re playing a good football team and you’ve got good players battling good players and someone’s going to come out on top. Unfortunately on a couple of plays we didn’t. Those couple of plays aside I thought we did fairly well. We held their run in check, we broke up a lot of passes.

“It’s unfortunate… we gave up one at the beginning and one at the end and that’s the story of the game.”