Cameron Marshall has big plans for the off-season

Cameron Marshall’s work here is done.

Like most of the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ international players, Marshall will spend the CFL off-season in his home and native land, the United States. The 26-year-old running back and his wife were to leave Regina on Wednesday.

But Marshall had some things to do before heading out.

In the two weeks since the Roughriders lost 25-21 to the Toronto Argonauts in the East Division final, Marshall had to go through the process followed by nearly every American-born player who suits up for a CFL team.

He had to get out of his lease, pack up his belongings, send them home and get ready to leave Canada.

“It’s one thing if you’re not making the playoffs,” said Marshall, a product of San Jose, Calif., who lives in Phoenix. “You know, ‘OK, this is when the season is over for sure,’ and then you can make your arrangements accordingly.

“But when you’re week to week (in the playoffs), you don’t know if you’re going to be here for a couple more days, for three more weeks or whatever. It’s interesting.”

The Marshalls’ home away from home was fully furnished, so they didn’t have to dispose of unwanted furniture or other household goods they didn’t want to take south. All that was required was a thorough cleaning to make sure the couple could get its security deposit back.

Marshall said his landlord had had Roughriders players as tenants before, so she was OK with the Marshalls breaking their lease. During one of Cameron’s previous stops in pro football, that wasn’t the case.

“It can be a mess sometimes,” Marshall said.

American-born players don’t have to worry about immigration paperwork when they’re ready to leave the country — getting work permits and such is an issue before the players come north — but Marshall had to fill out paperwork of a different kind.

He spent an hour and a half filling out forms at a FedEx office on Monday as he tried to send things home. He needed to know what his belongings — and those of his wife — were made of to satisfy the folks at U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

“Knowing that about this year, I’ll make sure to make some better arrangements ahead of time so that it won’t be like that next year,” Marshall said with a chuckle. “I was pretty frustrated.”

After returning home, Marshall’s first priority is to relax and spend time with family members. Then he’s going to visit medical personnel to get more advice about the left knee he injured Sept. 3 against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

“I’ll probably talk to my doctors back home and see what I need to do to get healthy,” Marshall said. “Then I’ll start training.

“I’m sure I’ll start working in some capacity down south too, but it depends on where I’m at with my health.”

The Roughriders were in the market for a new starting tailback when they signed Marshall in February. The former Arizona State University star had had NFL stints with the Miami Dolphins, Seattle Seahawks and Jacksonville Jaguars and had played 19 CFL games with Winnipeg over the 2014 and 2015 seasons.

Marshall won the starting job as Saskatchewan’s tailback in training camp and he got off to a fine start to the 2017 campaign.

He had 81 carries for 434 yards and two touchdowns, 29 catches for 278 yards and two TDs, and one kickoff return for 20 yards through the Roughriders’ first eight regular-season games. He also provided excellent pass protection for quarterback Kevin Glenn.

But on Sept. 3, Marshall injured his left knee after rushing six times for 56 yards in the first two quarters against the visiting Bombers. He played only one more regular-season game — Oct. 20 against the host Calgary Stampeders — and didn’t appear in either of Saskatchewan’s two playoff games.

“It’s frustrating, obviously, when you get injured,” said Marshall, who finished the season as Saskatchewan’s leader in carries (101) and rushing yards (543). “You’ve got to deal first with getting your mind around, ‘Let’s get healthy’ so you focus on that. Then it’s, ‘Let’s get back to where we’re playing effectively.’ ”

With Marshall out of the lineup, Saskatchewan turned to national Kienan LaFrance and international Trent Richardson. After Richardson injured an ankle, the Roughriders deployed returner Marcus Thigpen at tailback — and he seized the opportunity.

Used because he was the healthiest international tailback, Thigpen rushed 15 times for 169 yards and a touchdown in Saskatchewan’s 31-20 victory over the host Ottawa Redblacks in the East Division semifinal. He also got the nod in the division final against Toronto, gaining 34 yards on seven carries.

Marshall believes he could have played in the post-season, but the Roughriders had room for only one international tailback due to the ratio. That was Thigpen, whom Marshall knew from their time together with the Dolphins.

So, while Marshall is at home this off-season, he’ll put in the work he hopes will help him reclaim his starting spot.

“I would be naïve to say that it’s just going to be a walk in the park,” he said. “Those are some good players — and I think we bring different things to the game.

“That’s going to make me work even harder this off-season just to prove that I should be there. The more people who are in there, the more of a challenge it is.”