Notebook: Kevin Francis returns to the field
SASKATOON — For two weeks, Kevin Francis had to sit and watch his Saskatchewan Roughriders teammates endure the rigours of training camp.
Francis had shoulder surgery in November and was still recovering when the Roughriders opened camp on May 20. But for the 24-year-old linebacker, sitting out wasn’t any easier than what his teammates were going through.
“It was torture,” Francis said Monday at Griffiths Stadium, where he practised for the first time since camp began. “That is the worst feeling in the world because you want to be out there. But it’s a process that you have to follow.”
Francis is entering his third season with the Roughriders after being selected in a supplement draft in 2016. After playing all 18 games as a CFL rookie, his 2017 season ended after 15 regular-season contests due to a banged-up shoulder.
He rehabbed the injury through the off-season but — much to his chagrin — he wasn’t ready to go when camp opened.
“I tried to be the biggest motivator I could be for the guys and take all the mental reps that I could,” said the 6-foot-5, 220-pound Toronto product. “I tried to do my part and do what I could do.
Kevin Francis
“Every time I was in the meeting rooms, I envisioned myself seeing and doing the things that I would do if I was out here: Going through the calls, going through my progressions and seeing what I would do in different situations.”
Having done that, Francis enjoyed what he called “a smooth transition” Monday when he finally hit the field. He also had fresher legs than most of his teammates, many of whom have been going hard since the beginning of camp.
Now Francis has to figure out what’s in store for him.
The Roughriders plan to address the ratio by having a Canadian linebacker on the field on every defensive play, so that could result in multiple possibilities.
Sam Hurl could play in the middle with internationals at the weak- and strong-side spots, or Sam Eguavoen could move to the middle and a Canadian — like Francis or Cameron Judge — could play on the weak side.
That’s not up to Francis, so he’s not worrying about it.
“At this point, I just control what I can control: Be 27 (his jersey number), do what I can do and let the chips fall where they may,” he said. “If there’s another guy in front of me, then so be it; I’ll play my role. If I’m up, then I’ll do what I’m supposed to do.”
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Francis was just one of the players who returned from the training room Monday.
Defensive backs Jeremy Cutrer, Ed Gainey and Denzel Radford, linebacker Micah Teitz and defensive lineman Curt Maggitt all were back on the field. So were receiver Devon Bailey and offensive lineman Timothy Gardner, both of whom had been absent while dealing with personal issues.
While a few players returned, others remained sidelined.
Offensive linemen Dariusz Bladek, Dalton Houghton and Josiah St. John, receivers Rob Bagg and Chad Owens, linebacker Brandyn Bartlett and defensive tackle Makana Henry all sat out with injuries of undetermined severity.
With Bladek and Houghton missing in action, starting left guard Brendon LaBatte saw action as the centre with the second-team offence.
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On Monday, the Roughriders announced they had signed two international players and released three others.
Running back David Cobb, 25, joins the Green and White after NFL stops with the Tennessee Titans, Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Bears.
David Cobb
The 5-foot-11, 229-pound product of Killeen, Texas, played collegiately at the University of Minnesota and was a fifth-round pick (138th overall) of the Titans in the 2015 NFL draft.
Defensive back Aaron Ivory, 22, hails from Cleveland. The 6-foot-1, 202-pounder played his college ball at Findlay University.
Two rookies — defensive back Daniel Davie and defensive lineman Johnny Maxey — were released. So was second-year receiver Antwane Grant, who had seven catches for 107 yards in five games with Saskatchewan last season.
“He worked with us last year and did some good things,” head coach-GM Chris Jones said. “He’s a very dependable guy. If we had multiple injuries, we wouldn’t hesitate to call him back. But we had a few guys who we felt were a little bit ahead of him.”
That list comprises CFL rookies Shaq Evans, Kyran Moore and Jordan Williams-Lambert, all of whom have had their moments at receiver during camp.
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The Roughriders are in game-week mode, with Friday’s pre-season tilt against the visiting Calgary Stampeders on the horizon.
“It’s our job to try to make sure they’re as prepared as they can be without over-preparing and without hurting our guys,” Jones said. “We feel pretty good. We got some guys back off injury and look forward to moving forward.”
To that end, Saskatchewan has entered its normal style of preparation prior to a game. Monday was Day 1, Tuesday will be Day 2 and so on.
“(Tuesday) will be a real get-after-it day and Day 3 will be a polish day after that,” Jones said. “We’ll get another (weight-training session) in on Day 3 and then we’ll be back down in Regina for walkthrough on Day 4 and then be ready to play.”
