OTTAWA — Trent Richardson’s time has come.
Saskatchewan Roughriders head coach-GM Chris Jones announced Tuesday that Richardson will play Saturday when the Roughriders face the Toronto Argonauts in a CFL game at BMO Field.
The Roughriders’ reason for activating Richardson — who signed with them only on Sept. 26 — was simple.
“He’s a former first-round (NFL) draft pick and he seems like he’s in good shape, so I would assume that we can hand the football off to him,” Jones said after a workout at MNP Park on the campus of Carleton University.
“We’ve been working with him with his (pass) protections so we look forward to seeing him go out there to compete.”
The 5-foot-9, 225-pound Richardson was a star at the University of Alabama, where he had 3,130 rushing yards and 35 touchdowns in 38 games. He helped the Crimson Tide win two national titles (2009 and 2011) and was named first-team All-SEC twice, the conference’s offensive player of the year once and a unanimous All-American once.
The Cleveland Browns selected Richardson with the third pick overall in the 2012 NFL draft and he set a franchise rookie record with 11 rushing touchdowns.
But he didn’t make much of an impact in the NFL during stints with the Browns, Indianapolis Colts, Oakland Raiders and Baltimore Ravens — and he was out of the league before the 2016 season.
The 27-year-old product of Pensacola, Fla., signed with the Roughriders last Tuesday and got into a couple of practices before returning to the United States after an uncle passed away. Saskatchewan put Richardson on its suspended list while he was away over the weekend.
During Tuesday’s practice — the Roughriders’ first since Friday’s 18-17 victory over the host Ottawa Redblacks — Richardson took a number of repetitions with the first-team offence while Kienan LaFrance worked with the second team.
“You’ve got a guy (in Richardson) who has played a lot of football, so as long as he’s in good enough shape, that’s the thing,” Jones said. “He has got to be in CFL football shape and we’re working on that.
“I’m not sitting here and telling you that he’s in the best shape that he has ever been in, but he’s in good shape. We look forward to watching him run the rock.”
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While Richardson comes on to the roster for Saturday’s game, defensive end A.C. Leonard departs.
Saskatchewan put Leonard on the six-game injured list Tuesday due to a lower-body injury he suffered during the contest against Ottawa.
“He’s back in Regina now,” Jones said. “He’s going to get worked on and (he’s) going to be out for a week or two.”
Leonard had appeared in all 13 of Saskatchewan’s games this season and had recorded 22 defensive tackles, 19 quarterback pressures, four sacks, four tackles for losses and two pass knockdowns.
Potential replacements for Leonard are Antonio Longino (who dressed as a backup defensive lineman Friday) and Rakim Cox (who is on the practice roster).
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Linebacker Cameron Judge, who has missed Saskatchewan’s past 10 games with a shoulder injury, went on a Twitter rant Saturday that had many people asking questions.
One of his many tweets included what appeared to be a hint at retirement.
“I would like to announce that I am stepping away from focusing on my rehab on my shoulder surgery to focus on an off the field opportunity,” wrote Judge, a 22-year-old product of Montreal whom the Roughriders selected in the first round (second overall) of the 2017 draft.
Roughriders officials spoke with Judge, his parents and his agent after the tweets were posted. According to Jones, the notion of Judge leaving football was never raised during those conversations.
“I read (his posts) just like everybody else, but I spoke with him at length for about 30 minutes the other night and that’s not what he told me,” Jones said. “We’ll see when he comes up (to Regina next week) and we’ll honour whatever he does.”
Judge didn’t attend training camp with the Roughriders due to schooling commitments at UCLA. After reporting, he played in Saskatchewan’s first three regular-season games and made four special-teams tackles.
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It took 17 seasons in the CFL, but Kevin Glenn finally has seen the seat of Canada’s government.
The Roughriders’ veteran quarterback and his teammates practised on Parliament Hill on Sunday. The workout was followed by a tour of the Centre Block and the Peace Tower — and it was the first time Glenn had ever gone inside.
“It was awesome,” said the 38-year-old product of Detroit. “It was an eye-opener. It was something that I was willing to experience. I’m glad that we actually got an opportunity to do it.”
The Roughriders arrived in Ottawa on Sept. 27 and are staying in the nation’s capital until travelling to Toronto on Thursday. They’re to fly to Regina after Saturday’s game against the Argos, ending a 10-day excursion.
“We’re around each other a lot as it is even when we’re back at home in Regina, but I think there is kind of a team-building aspect to it,” Glenn said of the trip. “You’re rooming with a guy for this amount (of time) — and I don’t usually do roommates unless it’s my wife or my kids.”
For the record, Glenn noted that backup quarterback Brandon Bridge has been a good roommate.
“He’s clean,” Glenn said with a smirk.
