By Mitchell Blair
For Riderville.com
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are secure at the quarterback position for the next few years. The football team made a big move Friday by announcing Darian Durant had signed a contract extension that will keep him with the team through the 2014 season.
Durant was entering the option year of his contract and had the opportunity to play out this year and then test his luck via free agency, but that was something that he didn’t want to go through.
“This is where I wanted to be. This is where I started my career,” Durant told reporters at Mosaic Stadium. “A lot of guys don’t get a chance to play for a long time in one place. When the opportunity presented itself, it was a no-brainer for me. I love it here. I love the guys on the team. I love everyone in the organization. And the fans are great.’’
The North Carolina grad is coming off a subpar 2011. After leading the team to the Grey Cup in his first two years as the team’s starting quarterback, Durant, who will enter his seventh season with the Riders, struggled last season throwing for 3600 yards and 18 touchdowns to go along with 14 interceptions. He admits last year was one to forget for many reasons.
“Everything kind of was out of whack from the beginning, from what was going on in the front office all the way down to what was happening in the locker room. It was just one of those years you want to forget about,” Durant said. “I’m very confident in my abilities. I know that I can produce and that I can lead this team to a championship. I’m just glad this organization has that faith in me. Now we can go forward and try to get that done.’’
General Manager Brendan Taman is obviously happy to know Durant is part of the Rider plan for the next few years.
“We’re excited to have this happen and get a cornerstone of our team locked up,” Taman said. “He is a guy that has gotten us to two Grey Cups and I am confident he can get us to a third with good coaching and good people around him. You don’t want to mess around with the quarterback position in this league because if you do, you are dead in the water. Knowing he is here with some good young guys around him has me confident that what you’ll see in the future is different from what you saw last year.”
Durant was not the only member of the Riders to sign a contract extension. At the same time, the team announced offensive lineman Chris Best has also signed one. Like Durant, Best’s deal will keep him in Rider green through the end of the 2014 season. He came to the team after coming on board as their 1st round draft choice (4th overall) in the 2005 CFL draft. He has been the team’s starter at right guard since 2009 and last year was named the team’s nominee for top lineman.
“I’m really excited about signing this extension before training camp and not having to worry about a new deal,” stated Best. “I want to be committed to this place, and I’m really happy they feel the same way. I’m looking forward to the season now for sure.”
Having two big parts of the football team under contract for the next few years takes one big item off the table, but another one remains and that is the CFL draft which goes next week. The Riders have the first overall selection, but they are not tipping their hat as to what way they are leaning.
“We will take the best guy on the board that is available who can help us,” Taman said. “We haven’t decided who the pick will be yet as we have some work to do before coming to a final decision.”
