RIDERS’ TRE MASON HAPPY TO REVIVE PRO CAREER
By: Andrew Olsen
SaturdayDownSouth.com
After two years of making headlines for the wrong reasons (arrests, erratic behavior) former Auburn RB Tre Mason is excited to be playing professional football again.
Mason, a third-round pick by the St. Louis Rams in 2014, still has a ways to go when it comes to getting back to the NFL, but signing with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League on May 30 is a start.
“I never really wanted to leave the game,” Mason told the Saskatoon StarPhoenix this week. “I’m just excited to have the opportunity to play here and make things happen. Today went well. It went like as expected. You grind hard, come out and take advantage of the opportunity.”
At Auburn, Mason was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy in 2013 (fellow finalist Johnny Manziel is also in the CFL now) after rushing for 1,816 yards and helping the Tigers to an SEC title. With the Rams, Mason rushed for 765 yards as a rookie in 2014, but his production plunged during the first-year breakout season of Todd Gurley in 2015. Mason did not report to the squad again after the 2015 season and was released by the team on March 10, 2017.
While he’ll have to play two seasons at the CFL, with Mason having not yet celebrated his 25th birthday, there’s a chance he could have something left for an NFL comeback if he impresses in the CFL.
