Chris Jones wouldn’t name his starting quarterback for Thursday’s CFL game against the Edmonton Eskimos when quizzed about it Tuesday.
But the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ head coach and general manager did name two quarterbacks who will play in Edmonton.
“It doesn’t matter (who starts),” Jones said after the Roughriders’ closed practice at Mosaic Stadium. “I know for sure Zach Collaros will play and Brandon Bridge, I’d say, will probably play a little bit, too.”
In fact, Jones said Collaros is “going to play a bunch.”
The Roughriders activated Collaros off the six-game injured list Monday, a move that virtually guaranteed the veteran quarterback would play Thursday.
Taking him off the list two games before he was due to come off means Collaros’ salary for the four games he missed will count against the Roughriders’ salary cap. If he had stayed on for all six games, his stipend would have been exempt.
“We put ourselves in a really good position (in terms of the cap),” said Jones, who credited his two assistant vice-presidents of football operations — Jeremy O’Day and John Murphy — and manager of football administration Mike Davis for their work on the matter.
“They did a really good job of putting us in a position to where we had the ability to pull him off.”
Collaros hasn’t played since leaving in the second quarter of Saskatchewan’s 40-17 loss to the host Ottawa Redblacks on June 21. In his absence, Bridge and David Watford operated the Roughriders’ offence.
Collaros admitted Monday that he initially had suffered a concussion in a pre-season game against the Calgary Stampeders on June 8, but he hid the symptoms from the Roughriders’ training staff and doctors. A couple of hits in Ottawa exacerbated the situation and Collaros was sidelined.
“Certainly we don’t ever want any of our players to (hide symptoms),” Jones said. “Quite honestly, the game is important — it’s my job (and) it’s my livelihood — but at the same time, these guys are people.
“I would want my son treated with a lot of care if it was my son playing for me. We’ve warned all of our guys against (not reporting symptoms).”
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While the Roughriders pulled Collaros off the six-game injured list early, they’re still wrestling with the idea of activating cornerback Nick Marshall early as well.
Marshall has been sidelined since injuring a hand in Saskatchewan’s regular-season opener on June 15. He still has one game left on the six-game list.
“We’ll see,” Jones said when asked about Marshall’s availability for Thursday’s game. “He is a guy who certainly has played some good football for us, but we’ll see if he’s going to have the ability to do that that quickly.”
If Marshall is activated, that could mean a return to offence for Duron Carter. The receiver has started at corner in each of Saskatchewan’s past five games.
“Duron, we’ll make a game(-time) decision on,” Jones said. “A lot of it hinges on whether Nick can play.”
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Carter isn’t sure what’s in store for him Thursday.
As he put it Tuesday: “We’ll just have to see when the game comes. No telling how Coach Jones is going to feel when he wakes up.”
Carter has recorded 13 tackles, two pass knockdowns, one interception and one tackle for a loss in his five games on the corner. Going back to receiver could allow him to get his hands on the ball more — “I love that,” he said — and would allow him to try to bring something to the offence.
“It’s not that I’ve missed (playing receiver),” said Carter, who has five catches for 52 yards this season. “I just always like bringing energy to the game. The offence has been struggling in a sense, so I feel like I can help and bring energy to everybody, not only with catching the ball but with celebrations and everything.
“Sometimes it seems like we get kind of lax out there. What we’re looking for this week is to come out with a bunch of energy.”
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A quick perusal of the CFL’s statistical package shows that the Roughriders are in the lower third in many key offensive categories.
Stephen McAdoo knows exactly where his squad sits.
“I look at stats more than you guys (in the media) because I’m always trying to understand what we do well and what we don’t do well,” the Roughriders’ offensive co-ordinator said. “I don’t let that bother me as much.
“I can’t sit here and tell you that it doesn’t (bother him), but my goal is to make sure that this team wins ball games and however we get that done, then that’s my job to make sure we do it.
“Stats are mainly for people who are looking for that glorification. I was raised an offensive lineman, so glory comes by way of touchdowns for me.”
Saskatchewan has just six offensive TDs this season, including only two through the air. The Roughriders are trying to use a ball-control offence to move the chains and keep opposing offences off the field.
That philosophy wasn’t greeted well by some of the patrons during Saturday’s 34-22 loss to the visiting Stampeders. The fans’ boos reached McAdoo’s ears.
“I don’t ever get caught up with that,” he said. “That’s for the people who are sitting in the stands. My job is not that.
“I love these fans and everything, but everybody’s got an opinion. Until they’re here coaching and understand what our offence is and what we do, our strengths and our weaknesses, that never concerns me.”
