THE FAJARDO FIASCO

By: Braedyn Wozniak, RP Show Intern

The Roughriders still technically have a chance at the playoffs, but if this week is any indication, they and their fans can kiss this season goodbye. 

In fact, 3DownNation columnist and podcast host Ryan Ballantine thinks the benching of Cody Fajardo for Mason Fine is even worse than them simply quitting on this season. 

On the Rod Pedersen Show Friday at Calgary’s Grey Eagle Resort & Casino, Pedersen asked Ballantine what the purpose of the benching was, then announcing he’ll play at some point in the game. “What are you doing?” Rod asked rhetorically. “How do you know how the game’s going to go? This isn’t the pre-season!” 

“Well, it is the pre-season for Saskatchewan,” Ballantine countered. “It’s the 2023 pre-season. (Fine’s) in, what do we have? What do we got?” 

The fact is the Riders have nothing. They have a soured relationship with Cody Fajardo, the highest-paid player in franchise history, and a quarterback in Mason Fine that provides little hope for the Riders to beat Calgary even once in the next two weeks. 

“All that’s going to happen to Mason Fine these next two weeks is that he’s going to eat a lot of turf,” said Ballantine. “He is going to be on his ass over and over and over and over again.” 

No truer words have been spoken. The Riders offensive line has been historically bad, and as Ballantine put it, the Calgary defensive line is a “pack of monsters.” 

There is no bright side for the Riders. The Riders have been trending downward since Fajardo’s 2019 MOP candidate season.  

It just finally blew up to the tune of a 6-10 season, one in which they’ve lost nine of their last 11 games and blew every chance they had at playing at home in this year’s Grey Cup in Regina. 

The Riders have done next to nothing right this season, and it continued with the handling of Fajardo’s benching, from Head Coach Craig Dickenson to Cody Fajardo himself. 

Dickenson seemingly couldn’t decide whether Fajardo was playing this Saturday after he missed Monday and Tuesday’s practices. He first told them it was a “vet day,” then came out Wednesday saying the team “needed a spark.” 

Then Fajardo came out to address the media emotionally distraught, saying “I hope there is someone out there who might want me,” as he heads into free agency this summer. 

“Cody gets in front of the media, near tears rolling from his eyes, saying ‘I hope someone still wants me,’” said Ballantine. “Come on man. I know that the Rider season is over and they clearly believe it’s overdue.” 

Ballantine used the Bo Levi Mitchell benching in Calgary as an example for how it should have been conducted. 

“We saw the playbook on how this is supposed to go,” he said. “We saw Bo Levi Mitchell supplanted in Calgary, he stood in front of the media … end of story, haven’t heard from him since.” 

While Fajardo is not to blame in this mess, he handled the benching poorly. Playing quarterback for the Riders requires a level of mental toughness like no other position in the CFL. 

For a team that still has a chance (very small one at that) at making the playoffs and the formula they’ve been using hasn’t been working. They might convince some that this is their ghastly attempt at making the playoffs, but it is highly more likely they are simply giving up. 

Fajardo’s not at fault for the poor play, but desperate times call for desperate measures. 

The Riders are a mess at all levels, and he’s taking the brunt of the blame for this collapse. Fajardo is simply a great guy in a terrible situation. 

Rider faithful need to prepare for similar results next year, even if there is a new quarterback under center. 

(The Rod Pedersen Show airs daily at 12 pm ET on Game+ TV and WQEE Radio. Call your cable provider to subscribe. You can also watch on YouTube Live or listen 24/7 at RodPedersen.com/ListenLive)

(Photo: Hannah Souster)