SASKATOON — The Saskatchewan Roughriders will not be re-signing Justin Cox.
Chris Jones — the Roughriders’ head coach, general manager and vice-president of football operations — made that point abundantly clear after practice Tuesday, one day after Cox was acquitted on a charge of assault causing bodily harm in Regina Provincial Court.
Cox, a defensive back who spent the 2016 CFL season with the Roughriders, was released by the team on April 19 — one day after he was charged following an allegation of intimate partner violence.
On Tuesday, Jones said he made the decision not to re-sign Cox after meeting Monday night with Roughriders assistant vice-presidents John Murphy and Jeremy O’Day.
“I’ve got two little girls at home and both of those guys have two little girls at home and it’s just a situation (where) it’s a matter of principle for us,” Jones said after Day 3 of training camp at the University of Saskatchewan’s Griffiths Stadium. “We’re going in a different direction.
“It’s an unfortunate event. We certainly wish him the best and hope his situation gets better, but we’re going in a different direction.”
Cox twice had faced charges of aggravated domestic violence before he signed with the Roughriders in 2016. When he was charged in April, Saskatchewan cut him — and Jones said Monday’s court ruling won’t affect anything.
“He’s a great player; he’s in fact probably the best cover guy that I’ve ever coached,” Jones said. “But it comes down to principle and, like I say, we’re very aware of the history of him. Then, with the current event, it just made it where, principle-wise, I could not put the club or our team in that situation.
“That’s the decision that we’ve made and we’re sticking to it.”
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Tailback Kienan LaFrance and receivers Ricky Collins Jr., and Caleb Holley didn’t participate in Tuesday’s workout, joining linebackers Sam Eguavoen and Glenn Love and defensive end Ivan Brown on the sideline.
Punter Josh Bartel and long-snapper Jorgen Hus remain on Saskatchewan’s veteran injured list.
Asked about Collins and Holley, Jones said the two projected starters are dealing with leg injuries that resulted from the wear and tear of camp.
“You’ve got to get out there and be seen when you’ve got a group like we’ve got,” Jones said. “We’re hoping that they can get back quickly.”
Tailback Daniel Thomas and linebacker Gary Wilkins left Tuesday’s practice with undisclosed ailments. The severity of their injuries wasn’t immediately known.
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There were a lot of bodies flying around Tuesday during a special-teams “compete drill.”
The session featured one-on-one battles, with one player attempting to get to a tackling dummy and the other player trying to block the pursuer.
The drill got the juices flowing for linebacker Kevin Francis.
“I’m a very competitive guy,” he said. “Not only that, but I’m very physical, so anytime we get in a drill where it’s one-on-one competition, a physicality type of thing, I always like to show that I’m the man. I enjoy it.”
Francis was one of the more physical players during the drill — and one of the more vocal players after winning his battles.
“It’s contagious and my teammates feed off it,” he said of his emotional responses. “If I’m charged up and I lead by example, they get charged up and that’s how we do it.”
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Offensive tackle Derek Dennis made his on-field debut with the Roughriders on Tuesday.
Dennis, who missed the first two days of camp while testifying at a trial in Calgary, was asked what difference he saw between Saskatchewan and his previous team, the Calgary Stampeders.
“Playbook-wise, it’s not really too big of a difference,” replied Dennis, who signed with the Roughriders as a free agent in February. “It’s a little more simple here, but the environment is completely different.
“I compare (the Stamps) to the New England Patriots. It’s more like they’ve got a set system; they just find bodies, a plug-and-play type of thing. Here, it’s more like a grind. It’s more like Coach Jones wants to instill a certain mentality, the same mentality that he has, on the team.
“As an athlete, you have to understand that and be able to adjust and correct yourself and adapt to a different environment. That’s really what I’m trying to do right now.”
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EXTRAS: Jones once again confirmed that linebacker Cameron Judge — the Roughriders’ first-round pick in the May 7 draft — has agreed to terms on a contract. But Jones reiterated that Judge won’t be in camp for some time; he still has exams to write at UCLA. “Until it turns June sometime,” Jones said, “we’re not going to see him.” … The crowd on hand at Griffiths Stadium saw a little razzle dazzle that turned into the play of the day. Quarterback Kevin Glenn threw a lateral to receiver Duron Carter, who snared the pass and then unfurled a perfect toss downfield to receiver Jenson Stoshak behind coverage … There have been some serious battles in the trenches at camp, but Jones knows pre-season and regular-season games will tell the coaches what they have on the offensive and defensive lines. “Practice is practice,” Jones said. “Guys get used to going against each other and learning each other’s mannerisms and it becomes a little easier to block and a little easier to get off the block. It’ll be until the lights come on and you’re going against an uncommon opponent until we see exactly where we’re at.”
