RIDERS HOLD FIRST PRACTICE

The Saskatchewan Roughriders held their first official practice as a team Sunday at Mosaic Stadium. After a bye during Week 1 of the 2016 CFL regular season, the Riders are now set to open their season at home to the Toronto Argonauts Thursday night at 8:00 pm.

Here are some comments from Head Coach & GM Chris Jones from after the workout:

ON THE PRACTICE

CJ: It was a good Day 1. It’ll get even more crisp. It was a little bit too lackadaisical for me for a Day 1 but again, it’s the first time they’ve been together in this setting so they’ll be even better in future Day 1’s.

ON ROSTER MOVES SINCE CAMP BROKE

CJ: It means we’ll always be on the lookout for the next people that we feel like we need to win football games. That’s it. We’re never going to be resting on our laurels, let’s say. We’re trying to find the right ingredients to win games. There’s no ulterior motives.

ON ADDING QB’S KINNE AND MONIZ

CJ: We made our final cuts and then we brought in a guy that was available to us that wasn’t originally available to us. B.J. Coleman didn’t play his best football – and he’ll be the first to tell you – in the two preseason games. But he did play well against our defense at times and we feel like he’s got what he needs right now to be our development guy at #2.

ON ADDING REC ARMANTI EDWARDS

CJ: Well he got injured in Florida unfortunately because he’s a very smooth receiver. He catches the football, he frames the football as good as anybody we have on our roster. He can play multiple positions, he’s very intelligent, and we’re happy to have him back. He beat Michigan at Michigan as a quarterback at Appalachian State so we can stick him in there and run our #3 stuff if we need him to.

HOW’S DARIAN DURANT LOOKED?

CJ: I think he’s looked excellent. If you’ve watched all the practices that I have, he’s played very well. He didn’t play his best football against Edmonton but nobody really looked very good.

ON FACING THE ARGOS

CJ: They got Ricky Ray and he’s going to be nothing but better in the second game after being out a year. We’ve got our hands full. Coach Stubler’s been around a long time and they didn’t play their best defensive game. He’s been too successful to assume that they’re going to come back out and not play good football. He’s too good of a football coach.

@rodpedersen