November 20, 2017

The Roughriders have options at quarterback

Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Kevin Glenn (5) looks for a receiver against the Toronto Argonauts during the first half of the CFL Eastern final, Sunday November 19, 2017 in Toronto. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mark Blinch

Kevin Glenn played the blame game as he stood in the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ locker room Sunday.

The 38-year-old quarterback tried to take responsibility for his team’s 25-21 loss to the Toronto Argonauts in the CFL’s East Division final, suggesting his showing at BMO Field — 6-for-13 passing for 87 yards with three interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown — was the main reason for the defeat.

On Monday, Glenn still was downcast. But the sun had come up and he already was seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

“(The East final) won’t gnaw on me that much,” he said as the Roughriders cleaned out their lockers at Mosaic Stadium. “It’s fairly fresh in my mind right now.

“Once you come out of a game like that, you tend to question yourself: ‘Should I have done this? Should I have done that? Where did I go here? I didn’t do enough of this or that.’ That happens in professional sports with athletes after a tough loss like this.

“It won’t gnaw on me for the whole off-season. Once the Grey Cup is over, it’ll probably settle down. At that point, it’s a new season and you’re trying to do everything you can to get back to putting your team in a position to be successful and get to that opportunity again.”

The Roughriders had an opportunity to go to the Grey Cup game, but that chance went by the boards with Sunday’s loss. But Saskatchewan had that opportunity in large part because of Glenn’s play during the regular season.

The 17-year veteran completed 318 of 468 pass attempts for 4,038 yards with 25 touchdowns in 17 starts. The last time he had comparable numbers was 2012, when he was 325-for-487 for 4,220 yards and 25 TDs for the Calgary Stampeders.

Glenn exceeded 100 career wins as a starting quarterback and 50,000 career passing yards during the 2017 season — accomplishments that he expects to look back on more fondly after he hangs up his cleats.

But in Glenn’s mind, everything he did in 2017 proved he still can get the job done despite his age.

“If I didn’t believe that I’m able to play at this high level, I wouldn’t be playing,” he said. “I would say, ‘Hey, I’m going to sit this one out. That’s enough of this.’ I most definitely have confidence in myself and I think other people do, too.

“It’s cool to joke about the whole age thing in football and professional sports because we tend to think that if a guy is over 30, then he’s old. But he’s not necessarily old.”

Glenn is under contract for the 2018 season and he intends to honour that commitment. Roughriders head coach-GM Chris Jones said the organization wants Glenn to return, but noted he and the quarterback will meet to “decide exactly what the path is soon.”

“Everybody wants to point at Kevin about yesterday’s ball game, but quite honestly, if you don’t have Kevin the week prior, there’s no guarantee you walk out of Ottawa with a win because he was very sharp there,” noted Jones, referring to Glenn’s play in Saskatchewan’s 31-20 victory over the host Redblacks on Nov. 12 in the East semifinal.

“Even some of the games earlier in the year before he hurt his hand (on Sept. 9), he played some great football. He was playing as good as anybody in the entire league. The thing I can tell you about Kevin Glenn is that he’s a genuine person. I care about that young guy — he’s 38, but he’s a young guy in my mind — and I’m glad he’s on our football team.”

That said, Jones admitted the Roughriders will continue to search for their next quarterback, just as they’ll keep searching for the next running back or receiver.

Brandon Bridge, meanwhile, would like to be that next quarterback.

The 25-year-old product of Mississauga, Ont., had his finest season as a pro in 2017, completing 92 of 138 pass attempts for 1,236 yards with 10 touchdowns for Saskatchewan in 12 regular-season appearances.

Bridge entered the season — his third in the CFL — with just 37 completions for 445 yards and two touchdowns in five games played.

“I think I definitely raised some eyebrows with my game play,” Bridge said. “All you need is an opportunity in life and whatever you do with it, that’s your decision.

“At the end of the day, I definitely proved myself. I raised some questions and raised some eyebrows around the league. We’ll see what happens.”

Some of those eyebrows may have been raised on Saskatchewan’s staff. Bridge said after Sunday’s game that he and the team had started discussing a contract extension and Jones confirmed that during Monday’s media availability.

“(Discussions with Bridge are) in a good position,” Jones said. “I think he likes it here. I think he knows that our staff really likes him and wants to try to develop him as a quarterback.

“I do think that he brings a lot of really big intangibles to the position. I feel like there’s growth that has to go on there in the off-season. He’s a dynamic young player.”

Bridge, who went 11-for-21 passing for 141 yards with one TD off the bench Sunday to spark the Roughriders’ offence, feels like he grew during the 2017 season. But Bridge wants to improve on his accuracy in the off-season as he tries to win the starting job.

While Glenn will play whatever role that’s asked of him for the team’s sake — including being a backup — he “most definitely” thinks he still should be No. 1 on the depth chart. And he’ll gladly fight to keep that job.

“As a professional football player, a lot of times even if you’re awarded the starting position, you still know in the back of your mind that you have to go out and compete every day in practice,” said Glenn, who also was backed up by Vernon Adams Jr., in 2017.

“You can’t take a day off because there’s always somebody behind you on your heels who’s trying to play, too. The more competitiveness that we can get as far as individuals, it makes your team that much better. I’m all about competition.”