RIDERS NOT CONCERNED ABOUT CARTER
REGINA – Saturday’s game between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Toronto Argonauts at BMO Field is the long-awaited meeting of the Riders and exiled receiver Duron Carter.
The Roughriders released their reigning team MVP on August 11, and he signed with Toronto two weeks later. Almost immediately, CFL fans circled this week’s game on the calendar.
After Wednesday’s closed practice, Rider coach Chris Jones was asked how he thinks Carter will approach this game.
“I don’t know. Duron’s a good player,” Jones shrugged. “Again, he’s a pro. You’ll have to ask Duron how he’s going to feel.”
Fans are clamouring to find out which cornerback Jones will match up on Carter Saturday night.
“We’ll see,” Jones winked. “We’ll probably have to put more than one on him in order to defend him. He’s a great player. We’ve got our hands full regardless, with their receiving corps, there’s a lot of good players other than Duron.”
Jones was asked if Carter holds an advantage regarding the Riders’ calls, given the fact he spent significant time on both offense and defense during his time in Saskatchewan.
“Maybe we have an advantage because we’ve seen him, ya know?” Jones answered.
Meanwhile coinciding with the release of Carter was the signing of veteran non-import wide receiver Rob Bagg. The switch immediately sparked a 4-game winning streak, even if Bagg didn’t get onto the active roster until two games later.
“He’s got a significant role in the fact he’s being a mentor and a leader in the locker room and in our meeting rooms with our young receivers,” Jones said of Bagg. “We’ve got a really good young group of receivers and it’s good having Rob Bagg letting them know exactly how things should be done with work habits, etcetera.”
Jones was asked if Bagg would like to see the ball more in this offense.
“Rob knows what his role is and he’s going to be a pro regardless of what we ask him to do,” Jones advised.
The Riders visit the Argonauts Saturday at 5:30 pm on TSN and the 620 CKRM Rider Radio Network.
RP
@rodpedersen
