The Saskatchewan Roughriders knew tailback Cameron Marshall was going to be out for some time with a knee injury.
Now the CFL team has a better idea of how long Marshall will be sidelined.
“He’s at least, I’d say, another two (or) three weeks away,” head coach-GM Chris Jones said after Wednesday’s practice at Mosaic Stadium.
Marshall, who’s leading Saskatchewan in rushing yards (490) and combined yards (788) this season, was injured late in the second quarter of Sunday’s 38-24 victory over the visiting Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Labour Day Classic.
On Tuesday, Jones said Marshall was to have some imaging tests done to determine the severity of the injury. On Wednesday, Jones wouldn’t disclose the extent of the damage, but he did put a timeline of two to three weeks on Marshall’s return.
In Marshall’s absence, Kienan LaFrance will start Saturday’s rematch in Winnipeg, with Greg Morris and Aaron Milton as his backups.
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Marshall was the Roughriders’ only international running back — until Wednesday.
The club announced it had signed Josh Harris to the practice roster. A 26-year-old from Duncanville, Texas, Harris played collegiately at Wake Forest University.
The 5-foot-10, 210-pounder had nine carries for 16 yards in five games with the Pittsburgh Steelers during the 2014 NFL season. He was released by the Steelers in September of 2015.
Harris signed with the B.C. Lions in October of 2016 and was put on their practice roster. He re-signed with the Lions in February and spent the first six weeks of the 2017 regular season on the injured list before being released July 26.
“I thought it was going to be a certain way and the team made it seem like it was going to be a certain way, but then when we got to the season, I saw the way that we had had a talk about wasn’t what it was going to be,” Harris explained.
“I’m not the kind of guy to be OK with not trying to help a team. I felt I could really help and it kind of hurt me to not be able to. It just got to the point where they felt like, ‘OK, well, if he wants to go somewhere else, then sure.’ ’’
Harris will spend the week learning the Roughriders’ offence and he expects to be up to speed by next week. Even so, he felt comfortable enough Wednesday to take some repetitions with the offence.
“I just want to help,” Harris said. “I just want to feel like when the head coach sees me and when all of the guys on the team see me, they say, ‘He’s a guy who can help us.’
“I know what I can do, I know how I can help out, so I feel like I can really help this team.”
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Jones reported that defensive tackle Nick James also won’t play in Saturday’s game.
James has appeared in three games with the Roughriders and has recorded seven tackles. He has yet to practise this week.
Potential replacements for James in Saturday’s game are Tavares Bingham and Royce LaFrance.
“(James) has done a really good job for us, no doubt about it,” Jones said. “But we’ll put somebody else (in his spot) who’s very capable as well.”
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The Roughriders cranked things up Wednesday.
The team piped in crowd noise during practice to prepare for Investors Group Field, where opposing teams have to contend with very vocal fans.
“I just kept telling (staff members) to turn it up where it would mimic exactly what we’re going to experience,” Jones said.
The head coach reported that the offence took only one time-count penalty in 54 snaps during the practice. The biggest issue with the noise was letting the players know when one period was over and another one was to start.
At one point, Jones couldn’t make himself understood when he appeared to be angry with something he had seen.
“There were two balls over on that far sideline,” Jones explained. “We had Duron (Carter) catching the ball over there and we’ve got coaches just standing around letting him run near two balls that are just lying there on the sideline.
“We’ve got to be cognizant of what’s around us so we protect our players.”
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Like Willie Jefferson before him, Tobi Antigha is a little distracted these days.
Antigha hails from Tampa, Fla., and that state could be in the path of Hurricane Irma. That storm’s predecessor, Hurricane Harvey, recently battered Jefferson’s home state of Texas.
“My thoughts and prayers are with everybody in Florida right now — my friends, my family,” Antigha said. “(I’ve been) talking to them, hoping that they find shelter and a safe place to harbour up in.
“Hopefully by God’s grace, this storm passes Florida and we live to see another day.”
Florida is often struck by hurricanes and tropical storms, but Irma is expected to be one of the most powerful storms ever.
“We’ve hunkered down in Category 3 storms and we’ve been fine, but this is a Category 5 unlike no other,” Antigha said. “It kind of puts a little doubt in my mind about how easy it is to weather this storm.”
