Ray was carted off the field in the second half of the Argos Week 2 loss to the Calgary Stampeders after being awkwardly tackled between a pair of Stampeder defensive linemen. Ray was hospitalized, and the following day the team confirmed that Ray did indeed have feeling in all of his extremities. Given his age (38), and the severity of the injury, Ray's future as a quarterback was placed in doubt. Only a couple days later team doctors advised Ray to not play again in 2018. On September 24, 2018 Head Coach Marc Trestman confirmed that Ray would not return to the Argos for the 2018 season. In early November 2018 Ray was still considering his options, leaving the door open for a possible return in 2019. By early March Ray had not informed the Argos of his intentions for the 2019 season, and still needed to be cleared by doctors before returning to the field. General manager Jim Popp hinted that if Ray were to return to the Argos it would be as a backup quarterback, possibly transitioning to a coaching role in the future. On May 8, 2019 Ray held a press conference to officially announce his retirement.