Derek Mortensen/Electric Umbrella
Mitchell Blair is sports reporter for 620 CKRM radio and a contributing columnist for riderville.com.
It is too early to speculate on what the Saskatchewan Roughriders will look like in 2017 as there will be significant player movement. Through off-season acquisitions, free agency and the CFL draft, there is an expectation that the green-and-white will be back in a playoff spot in 2017 as they christen the new Mosaic Stadium.
While the Riders will be in search of their first playoff appearance since the 2014 campaign, it is safe to say Head Coach and General Manager Chris Jones has more to work with going into training camp after a year of looking for players he feels can contribute to the on-field fortunes of the club on a day-to-day basis. As you look at the roster, you can see he has a solid nucleus of players going into training camp
The big question surrounding the football team is the future of Darian Durant, but with or without the long time Riders quarterback, the team has developed what should be a solid group of players going into next season.
Here is a position-by-position look at the offence as it stands going into the New Year.
QUARTERBACK:
As mentioned, this is the biggest question the football team has, and it is one that may not be answered for a while. Darian Durant can become a free agent in mid-February. If he signs, the football team is secure at that position, but if he doesn’t, there are three quarterbacks that may be asked to step in and take the reins.
Brandon Bridge came over from Montreal, and has CFL experience. Jake Waters and G-J Kinne have been around, but have seen very little time under center.
Like Durant, Mitchell Gale is also a free agent.
RUNNING BACK:
The tragic shooting death of Joe McKnight in December has likely altered the football team’s plans at running back as there were several indications the 28-year-old would have been the starting tailback going into 2017.
That being said, there may be a need to make a move or two at this position if the team can’t re-sign Curtis Steele.
Steele’s first season in Rider green was a tough one due to injury, but he showed when he was in the lineup he could contribute as he ran the ball for 314 yards and a 5.8 yard per carry average. Canadian Greg Morris showed he could step up if needed. While it was a small sample size, the Toronto native showed some spark carrying the ball for an 8-yard average albeit on only 14 carries.
RECEIVER:
Many teams in the CFL can boast about the solid receiving group that they have, but the Riders showed in 2016 they have a surplus of pass-catchers who can catch the ball with the best of them.
The group is led by the Riders 2016 Most Outstanding Player nominee, Naaman Roosevelt. The University of Buffalo product was expected to have a break-out season, and he lived up to those expectations. Were it not for an injury that derailed the 2nd half of the season for him, Roosevelt was putting up one of the best seasons for a receiver in Rider history. At the time of his injury, Roosevelt had accumulated 76 catches for 1095 yards. If you translate that to an 18 game season, Roosevelt was on pace to have 125 catches for 1792 yards.
The 2016 season also saw three other receivers step up in their first year wearing Rider green. Ricky Collins came from Texas A & M and hauled in 48 passes for 720 yards in 14 games while Caleb Holley caught 56 passes in 11 games. The most intriguing receiver may have only given us a glimpse of his potential though. It took Armanti Edwards a while to get into the lineup, but in the three games he did play before suffering a season-ending injury, he caught 19 passes for 231 yards as the former Carolina Panther showed he can run the routes needed to become a CFL’er.
Add in the always dependable and tough Rob Bagg, an emerging Nic Demski and the speedy Joe Craig and the green-and-white have a very talented stable of receivers with no sign of that changing in the immediate future.
OFFENSIVE LINE:
With youth, you gain experience and it is safe to say the Riders offensive line gained some valuable experience in 2016.
Injuries to Chris Best and Brendon LaBatte resulted in Best not playing a down, and LaBatte missing a majority of the season. That forced many players into the lineup when they perhaps weren’t ready, but many did an admirable job when in there including 2015 first pick overall Josiah St. John.
The University of Oklahoma product was likely pressed into service earlier than what Chris Jones wanted him to be, but the 24-year-old should come out of the gate in 2016 a much better player in his second season.
Others like Kennedy Estelle, Andrew Jones and Matt Vonk also perhaps saw more action than what was first thought going into the season, but the experience they received should prove to be valuable as the team moves into its new home.
If there was one constant, it was local product Dan Clark. While injury ended his season with four games left to go, the 28 year old firmly established himself as the anchor of the offensive line moving forward.
Thaddeus Coleman is a free agent whom the team would likely want to get back seeing he has much needed CFL experience and as is usually the case in the CFL, there are many offensive lineman in free agency the team can look at in an attempt to upgrade should they decide to move in that direction.
While there are several players the football team knows will lead them into the new Mosaic Stadium, there are many players on the other side of the ball who despite a five-win season are ready to come out and show that they are ready to become household names in Saskatchewan if they are not already.
In my next installment, I will look at what the team is looking like defensively as the calendar moves us closer to the start of training camp.
