SASKATOON — Linden Gaydosh is on the comeback trail — again.
The four-year-long pro football career of the 6-foot-3, 310-pound defensive tackle has been interrupted by injuries to his back and to an Achilles tendon. Now Gaydosh is hoping he can come back one more time and resume his career, this time with the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders.
“I don’t know what else to do; I just want to play ball,” Gaydosh said after Monday’s training-camp session at the University of Saskatchewan’s Griffiths Stadium.
“It has been tough every time I’ve had it taken away from me and it’s tough every time I want to come back. At the end of the day, I want to end my career on my own terms.”
Gaydosh had a stellar career at the University of Calgary. He was named the top rookie in both Canada West and the CIS in 2009, the defensive MVP in the Canada West final in 2010, and a conference all-star and second-team CIS All-Canadian in 2011. In 2012, he was ranked as one of the top prospects for the 2013 CFL draft — and that proved prophetic when the Hamilton Tiger-Cats selected him first overall.
Less than a week after the draft, Gaydosh signed with the NFL’s Carolina Panthers. But he missed most of their training camp with a back injury and, in August of that year, had surgery for a herniated disc. He was put on injured reserve — a move that ended his 2013 season.
Shortly after Carolina released Gaydosh in August of 2014, he signed with the Tiger-Cats and appeared in nine regular-season games, a playoff contest and the Grey Cup game with them that season.
In April of 2015, Gaydosh tore an Achilles tendon during an off-season workout. The resulting surgery cost him the 2015 campaign.
Gaydosh once again went through the rigours of rehabilitation and returned to the Tiger-Cats in 2016. But he appeared in just one regular-season game before the disc he had hurt previously sidelined him again. He was on the Tiger-Cats’ six-game injured list when he was traded to Saskatchewan in October.
“(That injury) wasn’t quite as severe, so it didn’t require surgery,” recalled the 26-year-old product of Peace River, Alta. “A cortisone shot managed to take out all the inflammation. I’ve been symptom-free for the last six months, so I’ve been feeling healthy and feeling good.”
That wasn’t always the case — and the mental strain created by the injuries over the years has raised the spectre of retirement.
“Every time I’ve had a major injury, that thought has crossed my mind,” he said. “The first time the back happened, I thought I was done. I managed to rehab and come back and then the Achilles happened. Again, I thought I was done.
“I feel like I’ve been playing on a little bit of a fine line.”
Gaydosh spent the off-season working out in Calgary (with former Dino and current Saskatchewan teammate Mike Edem) in preparation for his first season with the Roughriders, who are rebuilding the interior of their defensive line.
During training camp, Gaydosh is battling other nationals like Makana Henry, Ese Mrabure and Eddie Steele for playing time at a defensive tackle spot.
On Monday, Roughriders head coach-GM Chris Jones said Gaydosh “will get better as he goes” while knocking off the rust associated with his inactivity. After not getting anything from Gaydosh in 2016, the Roughriders could be playing with house money if he produces in 2017.
“We know what we’ve got in him,” Jones said. “(The trade) was an opportunity to pick up a guy who did have a lot of experience in both leagues. He’s maybe even serviceable on the offensive side of the football. He and Eddie Steele, their versatility and leadership is kind of what you’re looking for.”
Gaydosh, meanwhile, is just looking for another chance to play football.
“It’s great; I love it,” he said of being back on the field. “The Riders traded for me, so they’re someone who wanted me, who believed in me even while I was injured — and that spoke volumes to me. They valued me at that point and would take me, rehab me and build me back to what I was.
“I’m happy to be here, I love the opportunity that I’ve got and I’m just happy to be playing again.”
And that applies even though he’s going through the physical drain that is training camp. On Monday, Gaydosh said the Roughriders’ camp was the toughest he has faced to date — and it felt good.
“It’d been a long time since I’d been on the field, especially in pads, so the first day was getting the legs and the lungs back,” he said. “Today, it was making sure everything is structurally sound. I feel great after Day 2, so I can’t complain.”
