The Saskatchewan Roughriders were back on the practice field Tuesday at Mosaic Stadium to begin their on-field preparations for Sunday’s home opener against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Before the team took the field however, Head Coach Corey Mace adjusted his practice plan from a full practice to a walk-thru.
Coach Mace told us on the 5th Quarter Post-Game show on the Co-operators Roughrider Radio network that his approach this week may be fluid as they were preparing for the same opponent in back-to-back weeks and he wanted to read how his athletes were physically.
That read must have given him the impression that the team needed a less physically strenuous work-out with more mental intensity.
So, the team took to the field for a little over an hour with intermittent showers. The team went through offensive, defensive and special team play calls with particular attention to detail.
Not participating fully in the drills was:
- Running Back A.J. Ouellette who was bothered by a leg injury.
- Receiver Shawn Bane Junior, who left Sunday’s game late in the first half also did not fully participate. However, Head Coach said his injury was more of a tweak and that Bane was trending towards playing on Sunday.
- Offensive Lineman Jermarcus Hardrick. His ankle has bothered him for a couple of weeks, but he likely will be back on the weekend.
- Defensive Back Rodney Clemons who is nursing an Achilles injury.
- Defensive Back Rolan Milligan Junior with a neck hurt was not on the field.
- Clint Ratkovich missed with a foot hurt.
- Defensive Back C.J. Reavis had a hip injury that kept him from fully participating.
- Defensive Back Deontai Williams was held out with a sore foot.
- AND the most serious injury was Offensive Lineman Phillip Blake. According to Coach Mace post-practice he is dealing with a quad injury that is going to keep him out of the lineup long term. How long he will be out will be answered in the coming days after more medical tests are complete.
The Riders will hold a full practice on Wednesday where we will get a better idea of what the line-up make look like on the weekend.