Saskatchewan Roughriders thread

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Canadian OL Jake Bennett, who was a centre at Colorado State University and All Mountain West first teamer, has retired at age 25 after just one season in which he played one game. The Riders forfeited a 2020 third round selection to grab him in the supplemental draft.

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Former Roughrider CEO, Jim Hopson says the CFL is in bigger trouble than occurred during the league's bankruptcy scare.

The league almost went bankrupt in the 1990s. Hopson, a hall of famer, says the global pandemic might have more serious repercussions.

“This one is just so big beyond the Riders. The government, the community and the City are trying to deal with so many other challenges,” Hopson said. Hopson was the team’s president and CEO from 2005 to 2014.

On Thursday, CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie said the 2020 CFL season will likely be cancelled amid the pandemic.

The Riders posted profits in four of the last five years, according to their financial statements from 2018-19. However if the 2020 season is shortened or cancelled, major revenue sources like gate receipts, sponsorships and concessions would be significantly reduced.

“The Riders were in pretty good shape going into 2020, but certainly a year without revenue would eat up a lot of what has been put away,” Hopson said. ...

The City of Regina is also still paying off Mosaic Stadium. The City owes the province around $93 million, to be paid off over the next 27 years. A $12 ticket surcharge from each event at Mosaic Stadium generates roughly $3.3 million per year. But with indefinite limits on large gatherings, it’s unclear how that will be paid back in 2020. ...

Mayor Michael Fougere is aware of the loan payment, but says the conversation of how the City will repay it hasn’t been discussed. “We’ll have that conversation, again it’s too early to say that right now, our administrations’ looking at that in talking with the Riders, with REAL sports and seeing what we can do,” he said. ...

“We haven’t had conversations with the City of Regina specific to the repayment of the stadium,” Premier Scott Moe said. “We’ll have those conversations as the days progress.”

Since the deal stretches into the future, Hopson figures delaying payment for one year “would not be a huge challenge. But it’s getting through this year and then having the revenues to start up next year if the season is totally cancelled,” he said. ...

“We did have significant reserves built up over the years,” Hopson said. “A lot of money went into the setting up of the stadium ($25 million), the football operations and the business operations.” ...

Moe says the club has been involved in discussions with the federal government and federal Minister of Infrastructure and Communities Catherine McKenna on resources that might be required for a modified season.

Fougere said he hasn’t spoken to Ottawa about support, but believes “federal assistance is warranted.”

https://regina.ctvnews.ca/covid-19-b...says-1.4931816

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Regardless of what happens to the CFL season, the Riders will not be hosting the Grey Cup as originally scheduled. Because of Covid-19 the host team will be the team with the best record in the CFL of the two teams playing in the club. However, the Riders are promised to be the Grey Cup game hosts in 2022.

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Canadian LB Sam Hurl has retired after landing a job with a large global commercial real estate firm. He played five years with the Riders and three with the Bombers.

American LB Deon Lacey, who played for the Eskimos from 2014 to 2016 before heading to the NFL where he played in 32 games, has signed with the Riders.

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This is an old article from June but some of you may be interested in former Argo QB Cody Fajardo's comments on his breakout season with the Riders and perhaps even reflect on what might have been if he stayed with the Argos.

He prepared for a backup role behind veteran pivot Zach Collaros, but just three plays into the season, Collaros suffered an injury that would prove to be long-term, meaning that Fajardo had to unexpectedly lead the team from the get-go.

“It was absolutely crazy for me personally,” Fajardo said. “As the backup, you know you’re usually going to have to play but maybe midway through the season when bodies are kind of beat up a bit. You never really expect it to be the third play of the first game. When I signed with the Riders, Zach was very open about his injury history. He said, ‘Look, Cody. You might have to play this year. I don’t know how many games but you might have to play. I haven’t been fortunate with my injury situation.’ So just hearing that from the starter made me want to work harder because I want to do whatever to help the team.”

The Riders dropped that game to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats before losing to the Ottawa REDBLACKS in a shootout a week later. Then in Week 3, Fajardo and the Riders would secure their first win of the year with a 32-7 victory over the Toronto Argonauts at home. Fajardo threw for 430 yards and a pair of scores while completing 77 percent of his passes, marking arguably his best outing of the campaign. The 28-year-old continued to chip in solid performances, and on July 31, the Riders put their faith solely in Fajardo, as they moved Collaros to Toronto in exchange for a draft pick. ...

“I had no idea until we were in an offensive meeting about to go to a walkthrough. And coach (Stephen) McAdoo said that we had traded Zach and that I was the guy,” Fajardo said. “It was such a tough situation to be in because I wanted to be excited about the opportunity, I was also losing a good friend and teammate and a guy who was helping me along the way. So it was kind of awkward because guys were coming up and congratulating me, but in the back of my mind, it felt weird for me to celebrate when someone else had just lost their job. I remember going home and just keeping to myself. I called my dad and told him that the team had put their faith in me and we were like, ‘Man, we’ve been waiting five years just for a team to latch on.’ We finally got that with the Riders and it was truly a blessing.”

Fajardo helped lead the Riders to finish the year with a 13-5 record, marking their most regular-season victories since 1969. He was nothing short of spectacular, throwing for 4,302 yards and 18 touchdowns while adding an additional 611 yards and 10 majors on 107 carries. ...

“Being a Saskatchewan Roughrider quarterback on a winning team, life is good,” Fajardo said. “But I imagined how it would be if the team wasn’t winning football games. So that really was a part of my motivation and drive was just not to let the fans down because I wanted to be able to go to the grocery store and talk about our victory rather than throwing fewer interceptions or moving the ball more. But I love the pressure that the fans put on us because the passion that they have for the team is what makes us want to fight even more. We don’t want to let them down.” ...

While preparing for the final game against Edmonton, he was throwing a ball in practice and felt a sharp pain in his midsection that took him down to a knee.

“I just felt like I got stabbed in the side and I went to my knees and just thought to myself, ‘This would be the time I get hurt, right before we get to playoffs,'” he said. “But I kind of just said, ‘Well, we’re at the end of the season. If I can just get through without making anything worse, I could do that.’ I think the most pressure I had on myself is that I just re-signed with the team and finally got paid as a starter so I didn’t want to let the team down, and especially the fans. That’s probably what I wrestled with the most; not letting the fans down. So I just worked my tail off to be ready to play.” ...

By his own estimation, Fajardo was at about 80 percent into the Western Final against the Bombers. While fighting through the pain, he put up 366 yards on 27 completions. ...

Saskatchewan was knocking on the door, but on the final play of the game, Fajardo’s heave to the end zone for Moore hit the crossbar, ending the Riders’ season in heartbreaking fashion. Immediately after his pass hit the upright, Fajardo collapsed to the field, head in hands.

“For me, the only thought was, ‘Don’t throw that ball short and get stopped and lose the game that way.’ I’d rather throw the ball in the end zone and give our guys a chance,” Fajardo said. “The game was sold out but it was dead silent when the ball went near and I just remember hearing the echo of the goalpost. I collapsed because of all the hard work the team did and the hard work that I did to get back to that game and all the hard work we did to get back into the game. The fact that it hit the goalpost and I have no idea what would’ve happened — if Swerve (Moore) had caught it or if it would’ve been picked or incomplete — still haunts me to this day. There’s no closure to that.” ...

He was voted as one of the nominees for the Most Outstanding Player.

https://www.riderville.com/2020/06/0...iders-starter/

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Here is TSN's Riders all-time team.

I would have like to have seen Canadian 'foundational players' DE Bill Baker and OL/DL Bill Clarke make the team. Bill Baker was such a ferocious pass rusher that he was called the Undertaker, was a four time CFL all-star, and won the Most Outstanding Defensive Player award in 1976, as well as becoming CFL Hall of Famer. Bill Clarke was a two way player, playing both OT and DT for fourteen years with the Riders, while winning several awards and becoming a CFL Hall of Famer.

Three foundational players were named on the roster in offensive and defensive lineman Bill Clarke, who played with the team from 1951-1964, defensive lineman Bill Baker, who played with the team from 1968-73 and 1977-78, and quarterback and head coach Kent Austin, who played in Saskatchewan from 1987-93 and coached the Roughriders to a Grey Cup win in 2007. ...

CFL2020'S ALL-TIME SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS ROSTER

QB	Ron Lancaster	1963-78
RB	George Reed	1963-75
RB	Wes Cates	2007-11
REC	Ray Elgaard*	1983-96
REC	Don Narcisse	1987-99
REC	Hugh Campbell	1963-67, 1969
REC	Weston Dressler	2008-15
OL	Roger Aldag*	1976-92
OL	Ted Urness*	1961-70
OL	Gene Makowsky*	1995-2011
OL	Jack Abendschan	1965-75
OL	Brendon LaBatte*	2012-Present
DL	Bobby Jurasin	1986-97
DL	Ed McQuarters	1966-74
DL	Ron Atchinson*	1952-68
DL	John Chick	2007-09, 2013-15
LB	Wayne Shaw*	1961-72
LB	Eddie Lowe	1983-91
LB	Reggie Hunt	2002-07
DB	Bruce Bennett	1966-72
DB	Glen Suitor*	1984-94
DB	Lorne Richardson*	1973-76
DB	Eddie Davis	2001-09
DB	Ed Gainey	2016-Present
K	Dave Ridgway*	1982-95
P	Ken Clark*	1980-83
ST	Corey Holmes	2001-05, 2007

* National player

https://www.tsn.ca/george-reed-ron-l...ster-1.1495641

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Riders fans celebrated Labour Day with the classic.

It was supposed to be a big year for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Regina was set to host the Grey Cup in its new Mosaic Stadium, and the club is celebrating its 110-year anniversary. ...

Marketing staff had been planning for a full slate of celebrations, and then COVID-19 changed everything. "This has been one of those things where we definitely have had to pivot, but we feel like we owe it to Rider Nation to put something on and to celebrate with them in any way possible,” explained Miram Johnson, Saskatchewan Roughriders director of marketing. ...

On Sunday, 600 cars full of Rider faithful lined up to drive past Mosaic Stadium over three hours, collecting team paraphernalia and goodies, all from the comfort of their vehicles. This year’s celebration may have a lot more masks and hand sanitizer than organizers were expecting, but there was no less enthusiasm.

"The community-owned teams in Canada, like Winnipeg, Saskatchewan and Edmonton, they're the foundation and there's something to that community thing," said Steve Mazurak, former Roughriders receiver and staff member.

Mazurak has been celebrating the Labour Day Classic for the past 60 years, but he’s never seen one like this.

https://regina.ctvnews.ca/rider-nati...ssic-1.5094874

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Roughrider President Craig Reynolds discusses what the end of the 2020 season did to the Riders and the upcoming 2021 season below.

“The day after we announced the cancellation of the season, we had an all-staff meeting and I had to talk to our entire staff about that decision and the disappointment everyone in the organization felt about it. I also had to let the organization know that we were going to have work-force adjustments,” Reynolds told Regina Leader-Post reporter Murray McCormick. When we had to relay those messages, that was excruciatingly difficult to do so. (Sept. 30) was a difficult day, telling them that they weren’t going to be part of this moving forward. It was especially tough considering it wasn’t the fault of anyone other than the pandemic that we’re all dealing with.” ...

Focus has been shifted to next year and working to ensure football is played. Reynolds knows it is paramount for the three-down league to be on the field. There are multiple return-to-play models being looked at as options for the CFL and its member franchises.

“There is an incredible commitment to do that and we all know that we need to be playing football in 2021. Do we need to make some changes to our business model?” Reynolds questioned. “Yes, and we’re doing that work right now. We’re all committed to doing that and seeing the other side of this pandemic. That includes building a stronger CFL coming out of this pandemic.”

https://leaderpost.com/sports/footba...id-19-pandemic

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Since yesterday was Remembrance Day, I note quite a record of service by Roughriders.

At least 23 members of the 1939 Roughriders served in the Canadian or American branches of the military at various times during the war.

Richter adds that at least four footballers with ties to Regina died during the Second World War — Freddy (Ripper) Ray, Ernie (Si) Simonson, Claude Warwick and Alexander Spencer Page. ...

Richter’s research also revealed that 10 former RRC players did not return from the First World War — Lyman Edward (Hick) Abbott, Thomas (Tommy) Herbert Blair, William Robert (Bob) Boucher, Clarence Russell (Clarrie) Dale, Harold Lamont (Howie) Longworthy, Robert Leggat, Norman Howard Pawley, James Douglas Scott, Merrill Samuel (Sam) Taylor and Russell Barr (Punk) Thomson.

https://leaderpost.com/sports/footba...ied-in-service

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The Riders have resigned three year Canadian veteran OL Braden Schram and Global WR Max Zimmerman who played one game in 2019 and then was placed on the PR.

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Saskatchewan has resigned several Canadians: OL Brendon Labatte, a six time CFL all star and 2013 Most Oustanding Lineman; OL Dan Clark, who like Labatte won a Grey Cup with the Riders in 2013; WR Jake Harty, who played three years with Ottawa where he won a Grey Cup in 2016, and Jordan Reaves, who played mostly on ST where he had 12 tackles in 2019; former three year Argo veteran LB Nakas Onyeka; and 2019 rookie Charnel Dabire, who had 12 tackles and a sack; LB/ST Micah Teitz, who has 24 tackles 27 games for the Riders.

Former 2019 Argo DL Freddie Bishop, who also played for Calgary and in the NFL and AAF has joined the Riders. American all-star WR Shaq Evans, who caught receptions for 1,334 yards in 2019 has signed a one year extension. The Riders have also resigned three year veteran American DB Nick Marshall, who had five interceptions in 2019. Three Americans have opted back into their 2021 contracts DB AJ Hendy, most recently played in New York the XFL after several NFL tryouts, DB Champ Cheevers who played in one Atlanta NFL preseason game; and Chris Livings, DE at McNeese State. American DB Jeremy Clark also signed with the Rider after playing for Seattle in the XFL and 2 games in 2years in the NFL. Blace Brown, another American DB who got into two games with the Riders in 2019, has signed a two year extension. American WR Sam Coates and playing 44 games with three NFL teams over four years, gaining 528 yards on 29 receptions. Saskatchewan added two new Americans to their roster: DL Keion Adams, who has NFL TC experience; and former North Texas QB Mason Fine, who is ranked 28th all-time in US college football history in passing yardage.

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It is increasingly looking like DE Charleston Hughes is heading to free agency due to salary cap considerations.

However the riders have signed a number of other players including: former Argo Canadian OL and Riders 2016 first overall pick Josiah St. John; RB Will Powell, who had three consecutive 1,000+ rushing yard seasons from 2017 to 2019 with the Redblacks and Riders; WR Shaq Evans, who had 1300+ receiving yards in his 2019 sophomore year; DB Ed Gainey, 2017-18 CFL All-Star and 2017 Rider nominee for Most Outstanding Defensive Player; three year Rider veteran OLT Terran Vaughn, with responsibility for protecting Fajardo's blindside; DB LJ McCray, who had 47 DT and 3 interceptions in 2019 in 13 games; WR Jordan Williams Lambert, who missed all but three games due to injury in 2019 but had 764 receiving yards in 2018; three year NFL veteran Demarcus Ayers; two year NFL DB Christian Campbell; OL Andrew Lauderdale, who attended NFL TC with the 49ers and Bills; DL Tim Williams who played 20 games in three NFL seasons; QB Tom Flacco, who finished fifth in voting for the Walter Payton award in 2018 while at Towson University; former XFL and AAF DL Trenton Thompson, who first signed with the Riders in 2020; former University of Alamaba Birmingham first team All-Conference DL Garrett Marino; 2016 first overall pick and WR Carlos Henderson, who had one reception for 15 yards in 2019; and Global OL Rene Brassea, who played 17 games in 2019;

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The Riders have signed six members of their 2020 draft picks.

OL Mattland Riley (6’3 – 300lbs) was selected by the Riders 7th overall in the 2020 CFL Draft. The Melfort product spent four seasons at the University of Saskatchewan appearing in 31 games for the Huskies, and playing his final season at left guard. In 2019, Riley was part of the offensive line that lifted its running back to an incredible 1,610 yards and nine touchdowns on 195 carries.

WR Kian Schaffer-Baker (6’4–195lbs) spent four collegiate seasons at the University of Guelph. The Mississauga native played in 28 games recording 95 receptions for 1,544 yards and eight touchdowns. He impressed at the 2019 East-West Bowl where he led all receivers with five catches for 126 yards and a touchdown. 

LB AJ  Allen (6’1–210lbs) finished his fourth year of eligibility at the University of Guelph in 2019 playing in 31 games as a defensive lineman. The Burlington native made 63.5 tackles, five-and-a-half sacks,12 tackles for loss, one forced fumble and three fumble recoveries. Allen has shown tremendous versatility during his collegiate career, lining up at both linebacker and defensive end. In 2018, he was named a OUA Second Team All-Star.

DB Vincent Dethier (5’11–196lbs) completed his fourth year as a defensive back for McGill University.  The 24-year-old recorded 104.5 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, four quarterback sacks, four interceptions, eight knockdowns, six fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles in 34 games played.  

RB Jonathan  Femi-Cole (5’10–218lbs) finished his first season at Western University in 2019. The Ontario native played in eight games for the Mustangs recording 40 carries for 174 yards and five touchdowns while adding four tackles.  Prior to playing at Western, Femi-Cole attended the University of Minnesota where he played in 13 games, making one reception for 13 yards and 15 carries for 67 yards.  

OL  Jesse Lawson (6’6–285lbs) spent two years with the Carleton Ravens playing in nine games as an offensive lineman. Lawson played in the 2019 East-West Bowl and was in the Top-20 on the Central Scouting Bureau list for much of 2019. Prior to attending Carleton, the BC native spent time with the Langley Rams and the White Rock Titans of the Canadian Junior Football League.

https://www.riderville.com/2021/01/1...l-draft-class/

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Word is that former Argo OL and now Rider GM Jeremy O'Day is looking to save money and get younger by allowing Jon Ryan (39), Charleston Hughes (37), Solomon Elimimian (35), and Patrick Lavoie (33) enter free agency. O'Day discusses the Rider's situation as free agency approaches in the video below.

https://www.riderville.com/2021/01/2...agency-primer/

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Saskatchewan has signed American DB Kenneth Acker, who spent five years in the NFL and WR Artavis Scott, who spent four years in the NFL, mostly on PRs.

Acker (6’0-195lbs) joins the Roughriders after five years in the NFL, playing in 40 regular season games. He was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the sixth round (180th overall) of the 2014 NFL Draft. He went on to play 15 games in 2015 making 63 tackles, three interceptions and 21 passes defended. The Oregon native was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2016 and suited up for 25 games, earning 39 tackles, four passes defended and one interception. He also had stops with the Indianapolis Colts and the Jacksonville Jaguars. Acker played four collegiate seasons at South Methodist University (2010-2013) where in his senior year he was named American Athletic Conference Second Team and to the Thorpe Award Watch List. ...

Scott (5’11-195lbs) joins the Roughriders after signing with the Los Angeles Chargers as an undrafted free agent following the 2017 NFL Draft. Scott spent the better part of three seasons with the Chargers, primarily on the practice roster before moving on to the Indianapolis Colts in 2020. Most recently, Scott was on the Houston Texans’ practice roster. Scott was a standout receiver for the Clemson Tigers, earning All-ACC receiver honours in all three of his collegiate seasons. He finished his career with the most receptions in program history (245) for 2,458 yards (10.0 avg.) and 19 touchdowns (fifth in Clemson history) over 43 games.

https://www.riderville.com/2021/01/2...kenneth-acker/

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OT Anthonio Garcia, who was a third round draft pick in 2017 but bounced around the NFL for three years on four teams without playing a down and had a four game PED suspension, has signed with the Riders.

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Former six year NFL veteran OL Seantrel Henderson, who played in 39 games for Buffalo and Houston, has signed with the Riders.

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The Riders have re-signed DL Micah Johnson, who made $250,000 in 2019 which was the highest defensive player in the CFL. I'm sure he's not getting anywhere near that now.

Rider OL Evan Johnson has also resigned with the team.

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Riders have signed both LB twins Jordan, who had 37 DT and 8 ST tackles with BC as well as a sack and a FF in 2019, and Justin Herdman-Reed, who started 7 games for the Argos in 2019, with similar numbers of 37 DT and 5 STs, as well as 2 sacks and 2 FFs.

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The Riders have been busy following the start of free agency in signing:

Canadian kicker Jon Ryan (6’0 – 217lbs) will return to the Riders for the 2021 season having initially signed with his hometown Club in 2019 after a 12-year CFL hiatus. Ryan played in all 18 games of the 2019 season, making 107 punts for 5,222 yards and a 48.8 yards per punt average. His longest punt spanned 77 yards and he placed nine punts inside the opponents 10-yard line. The 39-year-old was the Roughriders 2019 nominee for Most Outstanding Special Teams Player and was named West Division All-Star. Prior to his return to Saskatchewan, Ryan played in 191 NFL games making 914 punts for 40,985 yards – 311 of which landed inside the 20-yard line. The Regina native amassed a career average punt of 44.7 yards with a net average of 38.7 yards. Prior to his NFL career, Ryan played two seasons with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2004 and 2005. He was named an all-star in 2005 after leading the league with a 50.6 yard punting average.

American LB Larry Dean (6’0-226lbs) joins the Roughriders after returning to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2020. Dean spent most of his career with the Ti-Cats but played the 2019 season with the Edmonton Football Team. Dean has not missed a single regular season game, playing in 72 over the last four seasons. Over that time, he has earned 365 defensive tackles, eight special teams tackles, six sacks, three interceptions – including one he returned for a touchdown – 16 pass knockdowns and five forced fumbles. He also played in five playoff games. Dean is a three-time divisional all-star (2017–19), was the East Division’s nominee for Most Outstanding Defensive Player in 2018 and was Edmonton’s nominee for Most Outstanding Defensive Player in 2019.

Canadian DB Godfrey Onyeka (6’2-200) joins the Green and White after spending two seasons with the Edmonton Football Team. He played 27 games making five defensive tackles and 13 special teams tackles. Onyeka was selected in the second round (10th overall) by Edmonton in the 2018 CFL Draft. The Brampton native was a standout at Wilfred Laurier University where he was a three-time USPORTS First Team All-Canadian, a three-time OUA First Team All-Star and a 2014 OUA All-Rookie. In 2016, he helped the Golden Hawks win the OUA Championship.

National LB Kevin Francis (6’5-220 lbs) returns to the Green and White after a two-year hiatus, having signed with the Lions for the 2020 season and played the 2019 season with the Ottawa REDBLACKS. The 27-year-old entered the CFL with the Riders after he was selected in the 2016 Supplemental Draft. A gifted special teamer, Francis has played 52 career CFL games making 15 defensive tackles, 37 special teams tackles and two forced fumbles. Francis was also noted for his special teams play in college, where he played 34 games, starting in 10, as a tight end at North Carolina A&T. The Toronto born, New York raised Francis collected 17 receptions for 163 yards in his time as an Aggie and made eight special teams tackles.

American DB Damon Webb (5’11 – 195) signed with the NFL’s Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent in 2018.  He played in four preseason games for the Titans recording five tackles and two pass deflections. Webb spent four collegiate seasons at Ohio State playing in 35 games and recording 131 tackles, four tackles for loss, two touchdowns from six interceptions, seven pass deflections, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.

American DB Lorenzo Jerome (5’11-205lbs) comes to the Roughriders after spending the 2019 season with the Calgary Stampeders. The 26-year-old played seven games for the Stamps, making 11 defensive tackles, six special teams tackles and one interception. Prior to coming to the CFL, Jerome was signed by the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent in 2017 playing in four regular season games and making three tackles. He spent a brief period with the Seattle Seahawks in 2018 playing in all four pre-season games and notching 13 tackles.

https://www.riderville.com/2021/02/1...eturns-riders/