Riders finalizing COVID-19 protocols, preparing for training camp
After a quiet past year, the football operations department for the Saskatchewan Roughriders is busy.
"I'm really proud of the work they're doing right now," Riders' general manager Jeremy O’Day said. "We’re confirming all our players as we speak and getting them booked to come into Regina, so every time we book another flight, the excitement grows."
The Canadian Football League announced its return to the field on Monday after the board of governors voted in favour of a 14-game season for 2021.
When he heard the news, O’Day said he was happy for the players, who have had to go almost two years without playing, and for the fans to have football back.
"Super excited, elated, that we're going to get to get back on the field and play football," he said. "Just happy to be back back doing what we do."
As he begins to contact players, the Riders’ GM is also encouraging them to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
"We’re going to try to do our best to encourage our guys to get so that we could reduce that risk of an outbreak on our team," he said.
"It is their choice to get vaccinated."
O’Day said the team has provided education sessions with doctors for the players on the vaccinations, but he didn’t know what percentage of players would have received the shot when they arrive in Regina.
As the team prepares to hit the field next month, it’s also finalizing the protocols that will be in place to limit the spread of the virus.
"Certainly you want to try to do the best you can to mitigate any risk that you can have of bringing COVID into the building," O’Day said. "We're gonna have to be very precautionary and very safe and follow all the protocols that are that are put in front of us so that we we can make sure it doesn't get in the building."
Saskatchewan is set to open training camp on July 10 and will have a little less than a month to prepare for the start of the regular season on Aug. 6 against the B.C. Lions at Mosaic Stadium.
The team will be allowed to bring in 100 players for training camp. O’Day said their roster is currently over that limit, so they will have to make some tough decisions over the next few weeks.
"It’s a little bit tricky because we're things are happening all at once here where we're booking travel for our players, and making sure that our all our players are committed to playing," O’Day said.
He expects there to be more players than usual who decide to move on from football.
"We're in the process of making sure that everyone's committed to come in before we make too many decisions on the roster, but we will have to make some adjustments before we get to camp," O’Day said.
When the Riders kick off the regular season against the Lions, it will have been 628 days since the team last took to the field. O’Day said he won’t be changing his expectations for the team because of that.
"They're competing against players that are in the same same exact position," he said. "We're hoping our guys did the best they could to keep yourself in sit in shape."
With no preseason this year, the Riders are planning on scheduling a scrimmage against another team, but nothing has been finalized yet.
"It’d be great from an evaluation standpoint to be able to see our guys competing against another team," O’Day said. "Also, just from experience, being in training camp for for a week is a long period of time of only playing against your only your own teammates."
O’Day said the team is still working out if fans will be able to attend any of the training camp sessions.
The Riders announced the signing of American linebacker Deon Lacey on Tuesday and O’Day said he’s going to provide a lot of versatility for the team.
"Deon is a multi-dimensional player, he's obviously a four-team special teamer… and we see him as a guy that we can use in multiple areas," he said.
O’Day also revealed global draft selection Sebastian Sagne from Finland was released after tearing his achilles tendon during training for the upcoming season.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.
Ontario Provincial Police arrest 64 suspects in child sexual exploitation investigation
Ontario Provincial Police say 64 suspects are facing a combined 348 charges in connection with a series of child sexual exploitation investigations that spanned the province.
'Summer of discontent': Federal unions vow to fight new 3-day a week office mandate
Federal unions are launching legal challenges and encouraging public sector workers to file "tens of thousands" of grievances over the new mandate requiring federal workers to return to the office at least three days a week in the fall.
Watch fighter jet pilots pummel fake enemy ship off coast of Philippines
The United States and Philippines held annual joint-training drills just off the Southeast Asian nation’s western coast on Wednesday. Military forces sunk a 'mock' enemy warship – the BRP Lake Caliraya, which was a decommissioned tanker made in China.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his head more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
'Ozempic babies': Reports of surprise pregnancies raise new questions about weight loss drugs
Numerous women have shared stories of 'Ozempic babies' on social media. But the joy some experience in discovering pregnancies may come with anxiety about the unknowns.
OPINION What King Charles' schedule being too 'full' to accommodate son suggests
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
TSB concludes investigation into cause of London, Ont. freight train fire
More than two weeks after a freight train with several railcars ablaze rolled through the heart of the Forest City, the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) has concluded its investigation.
'I killed four people': Trial hears video evidence of Jeremy Skibicki at Winnipeg trial
“I killed four people,” alleged serial killer Jeremy Skibicki told two homicide detectives during a recorded interview played as evidence in his trial Wednesday.