Numbers mean nothing to Naaman Roosevelt.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders’ slotback is on pace for his lowest statistical totals since his rookie season in the CFL, but he isn’t frustrated or disappointed.
“As long as we’re winning, I’m cool about it,” Roosevelt said following the Roughriders’ 30-29 victory over the host Toronto Argonauts on Saturday. “I just want to make plays for the team, keep the wins going and win the Grey Cup — and I’ll be happy with whatever I’ve got.”
Statistically speaking, Roosevelt had his most productive game of the 2018 regular season in Toronto. He had a season-high 105 yards on five catches, including three second-down receptions that produced first downs.
“For me, whatever happens, happens. I’m just excited to keep winning and keep it going.”
He’s now leading the 2018 Roughriders in targets (83) and receiving yards (570) and is second in receptions (48, one fewer than Jordan Williams-Lambert). But Roosevelt is only 17th in the league in both catches and receiving yards.
He’ll be hard-pressed to reach the 1,000-yard mark this season — a milestone he surpassed in each of the previous two campaigns despite not playing full seasons either time. Injuries limited him to 11 regular-season games in 2016 and 14 in 2017.
Again, he couldn’t care less about the 1,000-yard mark.
“It is what it is,” the 30-year-old product of Buffalo said of his production. “We’ve been doing a good job trying to build as a team and I’ve been trying to build as a leader of the team and a leader of this receiving corps.
“For me, whatever happens, happens. I’m just excited to keep winning and keep it going.”
When Roosevelt signed with the Roughriders in 2015, he joined a receiving corps that featured established CFL veterans like Rob Bagg, Weston Dressler and Chris Getzlaf. Those players handled the leadership while Roosevelt followed along.
When the 2018 season started, Roosevelt was the last veteran standing, so he assumed the role of leader. Even with Bagg now back in the fold, Roosevelt remains one of the receiving corps’ point men.
Quarterback Zach Collaros, who’s in his first season with the Roughriders after being acquired in the off-season from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, recognizes the veteran slotback’s importance.
Asked if Roosevelt has become his security blanket, Collaros replied: “I think he always has been.”
“Even in years prior, he has been a go-to guy on this football team,” Collaros said. “When there’s a big moment, he’s going to win for you.”
Collaros aimed seven passes in Roosevelt’s direction in Saturday’s game, but the last one may have been the most important.
Trailing Toronto 28-27 with just over three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Roughriders faced a second-and-10 situation from their 35-yard line. Collaros proceeded to connect with Roosevelt for 26 yards to the Toronto 49-yard line to keep the drive going.
Five plays later, Brett Lauther kicked a 56-yard field goal to give Saskatchewan a 30-28 lead.
“I’ve always admired Naaman from afar,” Collaros said. “I knew him from high school, playing against him (when Collaros was at Steubenville High School and Roosevelt played at Buffalo’s St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute), and just (observed) his toughness.
“From seeing him when I was in Hamilton, he’d get hit and get back up. Being on his team, (you can see) how tough he is. He catches everything and he’s just a leader for us. He’s a great teammate, a great person and an unbelievable football player.”
Roosevelt’s decrease in numbers represents in part a change in the Roughriders’ offensive philosophy in recent years.
He was targeted 111 times in 11 games in 2016 (an average of 10.1 attempts per game) and 107 times in 14 contests last season (an average of 7.6 passes per game). So far this season, he has been the intended receiver an average of 6.4 times per game.
“We do different things now,” Roosevelt said. “We run the ball a lot more, so that’s one big thing. The game plan is a little different this year and I understand that. Whatever’s called, I’ve just got to run it.”
Saskatchewan has run the ball 283 times this season, an average of 21.8 attempts per game. Last season, the Roughriders had 305 rushing attempts in 18 games, an average of 16.9 carries per outing.
There’s a corresponding drop in the number of pass attempts per game, with the Roughriders’ average dropping from 33.9 last season (610 passes in 18 games) to 29.5 in 2018 (383 throws in 13 games).
Despite that, Roosevelt remains the Roughriders’ most consistent pass-catching threat. Until the team’s younger receivers — Williams-Lambert, Shaq Evans, Kyran Moore, Devon Bailey and Josh Stanford — prove themselves in the league, opposing teams may keep sliding extra defenders toward Roosevelt to limit his opportunities.
That’s why Roosevelt’s first 100-yard game of the season may be an important sign.
“Hopefully we can keep it going,” he said. “The coaches told me, ‘We’re going to get you involved early and get the offence going,’ so I was excited to get a couple of passes early, feel good about it and help get the offence rolling.
“Once the ball is in my hands, I feel like I’m making plays for the team. It’s exciting when the coach has confidence in you to make plays for him and try to do what you can.”
The Roughriders (8-5-0) are to visit the Montreal Alouettes (3-10-0) on Sunday.
