Roughriders 'eager to get rolling' after perfect pre-season, GM says

The Saskatchewan Roughriders are saddling up for the regular season, now that the pre-season is over and final roster cuts have been made.

The Riders are rolling, coming into Week 1 with perfect pre-season on their belts. Although it's what happens from here that counts, general manager Jeremy O'Day told reporters Monday.

"Pre-season [games], they don't count, but they are important for building momentum and, obviously, showing you what you've got on the roster going into the season," O'Day said.

"[Through] 18 games, you're going to go through some ups and downs. There's going to be adversity — and that's when you really find out what's going to happen with your team."

The Roughriders finished fourth in the CFL's west division last season, going 6-12 and missing the playoffs.

It was a long off-season, O'Day said, but "substantial change" was required to try to turn the franchise around this year. Final cuts were made Sunday.

The club lost veteran quarterback Cody Fajardo, who signed with the Montreal Alouettes in February. But this year's starter Trevor Harris looked solid in his one pre-season drive against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, completing each of his four passes for 72 yards and a touchdown.

The team also kept its three other quarterbacks: Jake Dolegala, Mason Fine and Shea Patterson.

Running backs Jamal Morrow — who averaged more than five yards per carry last year — and Frankie Hickson — who was the Riders' nominee for the league's most outstanding rookie — made the cut. But the Riders released Kienan LaFrance, who had worn the green-and-white since 2019.

Cutting LaFrance was an incredibly tough decision, said O'Day, who described him as "a glue guy" who was a great person and teammate. 

Ultimately, the team had four potential running backs, but only wanted to roll with three, he said. They also wanted to proceed with players in that position who were slightly younger.

The team maintained many of its defensive veterans, but decided to move ahead with two punters on its special teams unit.

The decision was made because Kaare Vedvik strained a quadricep before last week's preseason game against Winnipeg, and Adam Korsak only ended up punting twice in that game, O'Day said.

The Riders enter Week 1 fresh off of a 2-0 pre-season, including their first pre-season victory since June 14, 2014. But any pre-season success — or failure — is often taken with a grain of salt.

"We haven't had all of our guys out there. At the same time, we haven't played against all the starters for the other teams yet," O'Day said.

"We're not seeing very exotic blitzes or stunts and stuff in the pre-season, so there's still a lot yet to come."

That said, O'Day was impressed by how well the offence has performed so far, especially given that unit has experienced so much turnover.

He's also happy with how quickly the team has bonded. The men are motivated, buying into the system and the culture the organization is trying to establish, O'Day said.

"They're eager to get rolling," he said.

The Roughriders kick off the regular season on the road Sunday against the Edmonton Elks, who broke the record for the longest home losing streak last season.

Edmonton's home losing streak currently sits at 17 consecutive games. The Elks last won at home on Oct. 12, 2019.