The Saskatchewan Roughriders could play veteran quarterback Trevor Harris for as long as the first half on Friday during their preseason finale against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
“We’ve got a checklist of things we want to see him do and once that checklist is done, we’ll sit him. He’s got a little bit of work to get and he wants to get it, so we’re going to get him some work probably the first quarter and maybe into the second as well,” head coach Craig Dickenson told the media.
Harris did not play in Saskatchewan’s preseason opener against the B.C. Lions due to the birth of his third son, Tripp. He is excited to hit the field for the first time as a member of the Riders and values the opportunity to play in the preseason despite having a decade of experience in the CFL.
“It’s huge. The one year that we didn’t have preseason was 2021 and it felt like we got off to a slow start offensively in general across the league, myself included. I was able to get a lot of reps in this training camp and so I feel like I’m in a pretty good rhythm right now and excited to go out there and tee it up on Friday,” said Harris.
Dickenson wants to see the club’s first-string players do well at IG Field before the backups take over in the second or third quarter. The Blue Bombers are reportedly planning to field a young team after playing many of their veterans against the Edmonton Elks this past week, creating the potential for a mismatch.
“I want to see some rhythm with our ones. We’re going to play our ones for a quarter, maybe two, and I’d like to see some rhythm with that group. And then if we can find a couple of backups at receiver, one guy in the secondary that can play for us, a linebacker, that’s the goal,” said Dickenson.
The fourth-year head coach also indicated that Canadian defensive back Godfrey Onyeka suffered an injury to his shoulder and pectoral muscle that the club suspects will hold him out long-term.
The Riders will visit the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for their final preseason game on Friday, June 2 with kickoff slated for 8:30 p.m. EDT.
