Riders await final roster ahead of season opener
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.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.