TORONTO - So much for the Toronto Argonauts' quarterback controversy.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders announced Saturday that the team has acquired import quarterback Michael Bishop from the Argonauts for a conditional draft pick in the Canadian Draft.
"Our coaching staff is very pleased to be reunited with Michael," Riders general manager Eric Tillman said in a statement. "As you know, Kenny (Miller), Paul (LaPolice) and Gary (Etcheverry) all worked with Michael in Toronto, and they believe he brings many assets to our organization.
"In fact, Michael's playing rights were acquired from Calgary while Gary was the head coach of the Argos."
Bishop, 32, is in his seventh season with the Argos but has played sparingly this season behind starter Kerry Joseph. The six-foot-two, 223-pound Bishop has completed just 19-of-42 passes this season for 326 yards with three touchdowns and an interception.
The trade ends the Argos' patience with Bishop, who for years appeared on the cusp of being capable of being the club's starter, only to revert back to relying too heavily on his strong right arm making poor decisions throwing the football.
Bishop, a Heisman Trophy finalist his final season at Kansas State, wrested the starting job from veteran Damon Allen to start last year and appeared to round the corner in terms of his development as a capable CFL starter. But he sustained an early-season wrist injury that forced him to miss a good chunk of the campaign.
When Bishop returned, he began reverting back to making bad decisions throwing the ball. However, he did amass an 11-1 record as the Argos starter and led the club to an 11-7-0 record to finish first in the East Division.
However, Bishop struggled in his first-ever CFL playoff game as a starter, completing 21-of-45 passes for 376 yards in Toronto's 19-9 home loss to Winnipeg in the East Division final.
Still, the expectation during the off-season was that Bishop would be in the mix for the Argos' starting job come training camp. But that all changed when Toronto acquired Joseph, the '07 CFL outstanding player, in a blockbuster trade with the Grey Cup-champion Roughriders.
