Riders await final roster ahead of season opener

REGINA -

Three weeks of Saskatchewan Roughrider training camp came to an end Thursday afternoon, but tough decisions are still to be made when it comes to the team roster.

“We watched some guys very closely this last week, especially those two padded practice days, we wanted to see if anybody flashed and a few guys did make an impression and we’ll see how we go,” said head coach Craig Dickenson.

He said trimming the roster will be difficult, especially when it comes to receiver, offensive line and quarterback positions.

“They’ve got some tough decisions. I mean, we’ve got a lot of really great guys on the team from the offensive line room, quarterbacks, running backs, all the way on defence,” said offensive lineman Evan Johnson. “We’re gonna be a really good team, really competitive. We’re gonna play fast, hard.”

Quarterback Cody Fajardo said he has received the bad news call before, and he sympathizes with the players on the bubble.

“It’s a very stressful time to be one of those bubble guys and I don’t wish that on my worst enemy,” said Fajardo.

“It’s just you want to be a football player and you’ve worked so hard to get there and then, unfortunately, you get that call and it’s tough to stomach sometimes.”

Even with the pressure of cuts looming in the air, the players are feeling relief after weeks of hard work.

“It feels real good…we worked really good as a team, put a lot of good work on the field, so it feels nice to finally have it all finished up,” said running back Kienan LaFrance.

The decisions on cuts will be made Thursday night, and then coaches will go through the process of filling the team’s practice roster.

The Riders will hit the gridiron for practice on Monday to prep for their home opener against the BC Lions on Aug. 6.