'It's going to be wide open': Riders expect to add veteran quarterbacks to compete in training camp

The Saskatchewan Roughriders are expecting to add a veteran presence to their quarterback room ahead of training camp.

During an offseason update Wednesday, head coach Craig Dickenson said the team feels it is important to bring in a veteran to compete alongside quarterbacks Mason Fine, Jake Dolegala and Levi Lewis.

“It’s going to be wide open this year at camp for us. We expect to have at least one veteran if not two veterans in camp and then the young guys mentioned as well,” Dickenson said Wednesday.

Dickenson said he also had a conversation with Cody Fajardo recently. It comes after Fajardo made remarks he was upset the team had not been in contact with him since the end of the season.

“I reached out to him after that. In reality, we have our year-end meetings with everybody and most of them we don’t talk to until after the holidays. But, I called him and wished him a happy holidays and kind of told him where we were at with our offensive coordinator search,” said Dickenson.

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“There’s going to be some input by the offensive coordinator on what direction we go in free agency and I think he knows he’s going to test it out.”

Dickenson also spoke on the recent hire of Kelly Jeffrey and why the hiring process felt longer than usual.

“If you can, avoid the temptation to feel rushed. You can do a really thorough job and we felt like we did that. We kept coming back to the fact that he as a strong candidate, in-house guy, who already knows kind of how we do things,” Dickenson said.

“He’s got respect of the room. Players really enjoy playing for him and he’s done it before. He’s been a head coach at the University level and NCAA ranks. He’s been a play caller and offensive coordinator.”

However the move from running backs coach to offensive coordinator means the Riders still have gaps to fill on their coaching staff.

“We’ve got some irons in the fire. The thing is you have to ask permission from the team that the current coach is on and then go from there. We’ve got permission from a few teams to talk to a couple of their guys. There’s a few coaches that are still coaching in the US. We’ve got two jobs we’re really looking to fill: receivers (coach) and running backs (coach),” said Dickenson.

Jeffrey was not the only announcement made Tuesday. The Canadian Football League (CFL) also released its schedule for the 2023 season.

“I haven’t looked at the schedule top to bottom super closely but I do see we get a bye week it looks like week four. Usually you don’t need one quite that early but what it does is it gives us a chance to focus on the first three weeks and make some corrections or changes,” said Dickenson.

Dickenson knows the pressure is on given the overhaul of coaches and questions surrounding the quarter back position following the poor performance in the 2022 season.

“I feel this year is just a great opportunity. It just feels like this year is a fresh start. I’m very motivated and excited,” he said.

“I don’t believe a lot of people expect much from us. I think the guys are ready to get to work and prove to the league and doubters we got a good team, got a good staff, and we’re going to be a team to reckon with.”