The Saskatchewan Roughriders will be without strongside linebacker Derrick Moncrief for the rest of the team’s Week 2 contest with the Edmonton Elks after the prized offseason addition was ejected from the ball game.
Moncrief was involved in an altercation with Edmonton centre David Beard midway through the third quarter and received a 15-yard misconduct penalty. It was his second post-whistle misconduct infraction of the game, which now results in an automatic ejection due to an offseason rule change.
The Riders were leading the game 12-10 at the time of Moncrief’s removal. He was a key contributor to that score-line, having recorded a spectacular interception earlier in the contest.
Moncrief returned to the Riders this offseason, signing a two-year contract in free agency after finishing the 2021 campaign as a member of the Elks.
The Alabama native initially signed with Saskatchewan in 2017 and went on to play 35 regular-season games over three seasons. He had a career year in 2019, that culminated in a CFL all-star nod, after making 69 tackles, four sacks, three interceptions and one forced fumble. All told, he tallied 126 defensive tackles in Green and White, while adding four sacks, five interceptions and one forced fumble.
Moncrief’s first tenure in Green and White came to an end in January 2020, when he signed an NFL contract. He played one regular-season game with the Los Angeles Rams in Week 8, spending the rest of that year on the practice roster. Moncrief signed with the Edmonton Elks in September of 2021 and played nine games, tallying 23 defensive tackles and four sacks.
