VINCE YOUNG TO BE A ROUGHRIDER

Young’s agent, Leigh Steinberg, tweeted Wednesday he was en route to Regina to finalize a deal between his client and the Saskatchewan Roughriders. A source said Young was also making the trip and the Riders were planning to unveil him at a news conference sometime Thursday.

The six-foot-five, 232-pound Young is on Saskatchewan’s negotiation list, giving it CFL exclusivity to the former University of Texas star.

The development isn’t overly surprising. On Monday, Steinberg told The Canadian Press he expected his client to decide his football future either later this week or early next.

Steinberg created a stir on Twitter last month by saying he was talking to the Riders about the two-time Pro Bowl quarterback playing in Canada this season. On Wednesday, Steinberg tweeted that Young would decide his football future by the end of this week.

Saskatchewan has been looking for a starter since trading veteran Darian Durant’s rights to the Montreal Alouettes in January. The Riders signed Kevin Glenn, 37, for his third stint with the CFL club and also have Canadian Brandon Bridge and Americans G.J. Kinne, Jake Waters and Bryan Bennett on the roster.

Young turns 34 in May and hasn’t been on an NFL roster since the 2014 off-season when he was with Cleveland Browns for two weeks. He hasn’t played in a regular-season NFL game since 2011 when he was with Philadelphia.

Young enjoyed a banner career at Texas, leading the Longhorns to an NCAA championship in the 2006 Rose Bowl. He was drafted third overall by Tennessee that year and went on to become the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year and earn a Pro Bowl selection.

He went to the Pro Bowl again following the 2009 season. Last month, Young pleaded no contest and was sentenced to 18 months of probation for a 2016 drunk-driving arrest in Austin, Texas.

Young, a native of Houston, currently works for Texas promoting diversity and community engagement.

News of Young’s arrival in Saskatchewan prompted Calgary quarterback Bo Levi, a fellow Texan to tweet: “Looking forward to battling this guy. Big name coming to the @CFL . @leighsteinberg 2 Texas boys about to battle it out.”

But Glenn, an 18-year CFL veteran, responded on Twitter with: “@BoLeviMitchell @CFL @leighsteinberg you giving him the job already lol.”

Derek Dennis, the CFL’s top lineman last year with Calgary who signed with Saskatchewan this off-season as a free agent, tweeted “All I gotta say is don’t worry about getting touched in that pocket!”

Young spent eight seasons in the NFL, completing 755-of-1,304 passes (57.9 per cent) for 8,964 yards with 46 TDs and 51 interceptions in 60 career games. He also ran 282 times for 1,459 yards (5.2-yard average) with 12 TDs but also lost 12-of-40 career fumbles.

Earlier this week, Steinberg said Young had spoken to Chris Jones, the Riders head coach/GM. Steinberg added Young was not only impressed with Jones but also the Riders’ rabid fans and the prospect of playing at the new Mosaic Stadium.

Steinberg added Young was very serious about his comeback and had become fully entrenched in off-season workouts. Steinberg also felt Young’s mobility would make for an easier adjustment to Canadian football.

This won’t mark the first time a client of Steinberg’s has ventured north.

He represented quarterback Warren Moon, running back Jim Germany and receivers Tommy Scott and Waddell Smith when they were helping the Edmonton Eskimos win Grey Cups from 1978-82. And in 2006, former NFL rushing leader Ricky Williams played for the Toronto Argonauts after being suspended by the NFL following a fourth positive drug test.

(CP)