Liam Richards/Electric Umbrella
Chris Jones is well aware that some of his decisions may not sit well with all the members of Rider Nation.
That was apparent again Saturday, when many Saskatchewan Roughriders fans reacted negatively when word got out that veteran receiver Rob Bagg was among the players that the CFL team was releasing.
But Jones — the Roughriders’ general manager and head coach — said Sunday that the popularity of a player can’t be part of the decision-making process as a team tries to set its final roster.
“We certainly are appreciative of all the people who come and watch the games; you have to have fans in order to have a league and certainly that’s something,” Jones said during a media conference at Mosaic Stadium.
“But at the same time, you have to be willing to make hard decisions. When you start letting things like that — like media or somebody else’s opinion on the decision that you’ve made — affect you, I think that you end up being weak.”
Bagg was one of 23 players released by the Roughriders in advance of Sunday’s roster deadline. The 33-year-old product of Kingston, Ont., began his CFL career with Saskatchewan in 2008 and, at the time of his release, was the longest-serving member of the team.
Bagg signed with Saskatchewan as an undrafted free agent out of Queen’s University in 2007. He cracked the roster, but opted to return to Queen’s for his final university season.
He joined the Roughriders in 2008 and played 139 games over the next 11 regular seasons, recording 364 catches for 4,705 yards and 24 touchdowns.
Bagg dealt with knee injuries during his career, but returned each time. After he missed all but three games in 2012, he came back in 2013 and helped Saskatchewan win a Grey Cup.
Bagg, who had 35 receptions for 339 yards and a TD in 17 games in 2017, missed the third week of training camp this season with an ankle injury.
His place was taken by Devon Bailey and Josh Stanford, both of whom made the roster. Regina-born receiver Mitch Picton was released, but Jones said he’ll likely be back with the team at some point.
“That (decision to cut Bagg) was a tough one,” Jones said. “Rob Bagg has been a good player here for a long time and certainly has been a loyal player for us during our tenure here. It’s a young man’s game, unfortunately, and we had a couple of young guys who performed really well over the course of the entire camp.”
Two other long-time CFL receivers were released.
Bakari Grant, who began his career in 2011 with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, was released prior to his second season with the Green and White.
The 30-year-old set career highs in receptions (84) and receiving yards (1,033) in 2017 after signing with Saskatchewan as a free agent in February of that year.
Chad Owens, 36, also was preparing for his second season with the Roughriders.
A former standout with the Toronto Argonauts, Owens signed with Saskatchewan in February of 2017. A foot injury limited him to three regular-season games, but he dressed for both of the Roughriders’ playoff games.
Owens, who had 17 receptions for 235 yards and a TD in the ’17 regular season, injured a shoulder in training camp this season and didn’t play in either pre-season game.
As with Bagg, it’s likely that younger players with lower salaries cost Grant and Owens their jobs.
CFL rookies Shaq Evans, Kyran Moore and Jordan Williams-Lambert had solid training camps; Evans and Williams-Lambert made the roster, while Moore was placed on the practice roster.
The Roughriders’ offence struggled to move the ball in the team’s two pre-season losses, so removing three veterans who are familiar with the system could pose a problem.
“A lot of times, that is the worry,” Jones admitted. “But at the same time, the quarterbacks aren’t always going to throw perfect balls so you’ve got to make sure that you’ve got young, fresh legs that can go get an errant throw, run down a ball or dive after a ball. You have to look at it both ways.”
The Roughriders also released guard Travis Bond, whom they had signed as a free agent in February. He was expected to fill the spot vacated when Peter Dyakowski was released in the off-season, but Sunday’s move ends that experiment.
Jones noted that teams always bring in players to compete with others who have larger salaries. That type of battle cost Bond his job this time.
“It can’t be even,” Jones said. “There’s got to be a clear, distinct difference between your play and the play of the person who’s competing with you. That’s basically what it comes down to.”
Sophomore Dariusz Bladek, who missed most of training camp with an injury, will be in the mix at right guard if he can get healthy. The Roughriders also could look at internationals Jarvis Harrison and Takoby Cofield in that spot.
The Roughriders also put five players on the six-game injured list, including linebackers Brandyn Bartlett and Kevin Francis and kicker Tyler Crapigna.
The move with Crapigna wasn’t expected. He began training camp on the veteran injured list, but returned for the second week of camp to compete with Brett Lauther.
Crapigna kicked in Saskatchewan’s 39-12 loss to the Calgary Stampeders on Friday, but now has been shut down with a leg injury. Jones said Crapigna needs season-ending surgery and is facing “a long, long rehab.”
Brett Lauther
“He was willing to go into this year knowing that he had something, but he was going to wait and get it worked on after the season,” Jones said. “He put the team in front of his own personal good.”
Lauther, who’s in his third go-round with the Roughriders, went 5-for-5 on field-goal tries in the pre-season — including a 55-yarder in a 35-12 loss to the host Edmonton Eskimos on May 27. His showing gave the Roughriders the confidence they needed to shelve Crapigna.
All five of the players on the six-game injured list are Canadians and other Canucks were cut. As a result, Jones and his staff are poring over the waiver wire in case they see someone they like.
“Those injuries have hurt our depth,” Jones confirmed. “We’ll go into the season and hope like crazy that we can stay healthy. Then we’ll be able to get some of those guys back after the six games.”
The Roughriders are to open the 2018 regular season Friday, when the Argos are to visit Mosaic Stadium.
