CHARLESTON HUGHES TO PLAY IN WEEK 20

REGINA – The Saskatchewan Roughriders were back at practice on Tuesday for the first time since Saturday’s 29-24 victory at Calgary.

Riders defensive end Charleston Hughes missed that game due to an impaired driving charge but he was on the field on Tuesday, and is expected to be in the lineup this Saturday when Saskatchewan hosts the BC Lions.

“He should play,” said Head Coach & GM Chris Jones. “We’re moving forward. It was an unfortunate event but we can’t just sit there and continue to pound away at it. It’s one of those things where anytime something negative happens we have to move forward at some point.”

Hughes said it hurt to miss that game but even moreso since it was to be his first return to Calgary since being traded away in the off-season.

“I think it did,” Hughes explained. “I had a lot of friends, family, fans, really prepare for me to come back to Calgary and display my talent. Unfortunately it didn’t happen. I did apologize to everybody on social media; all my friends, family and fans, so it’s good.”

Meanwhile veteran receiver Naaman Roosevelt was back at practice after missing several weeks with a lower body injury. Jones said they’ll wait throughout the week to see how Roosevelt responds before making a decision on his status for the BC game.

Jones threw a curve on Saturday by inserting tailback Cameron Marshall for his season debut, taking the place of Marcus Thigpen. The ASU product contributed well over 100 combined yards in the victory.

“We’re fortunate,” Jones offered. “We’ve got three guys who can really play and impact the game. All three are really hard workers. We’ll just continue to rotate all three people and the freshest guys play.”

The Riders host the BC Lions Saturday at 5:00 pm on 620 CKRM and TSN.

RP
@rodpedersen