Cauchy Muamba hasn’t played any football this season, but he has been involved in what others have found can be a tough competition.
Muamba and Joelle Ruhana have been planning their wedding. They’re to tie the knot Dec. 8.
“We’re doing the wedding preparation together, which is really fun and gets us to communicate even more,” Muamba said Thursday, when it was announced that he had joined the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ practice roster. “Every hour and every minute, we’ve got to know what we’re doing.
“It wasn’t really too much of, ‘Where am I going to be playing?’ but the preparations kept my mind busy. It’s fun. It’s stressing, but it’s fun.”
Muamba, 31, is a veteran of eight CFL seasons, having made stops with the B.C. Lions (2010-12), Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2013) 
and Edmonton Eskimos (2014-17). The 5-foot-11, 195-pound defensive back attended training camp with the Lions earlier this year, but was released at the end of camp.
“I’ve been in the game for so long that I could see it coming,” Muamba said of being cut. “I was mentally ready and, as the days and the weeks went on, (not playing) wasn’t bothering me.
“But the more it went on, I realized I wanted to still do it. Then, once I got the call, I realized I can do it all (in terms of playing football and planning a wedding).”
Muamba had been travelling back and forth between Toronto and Houston (where Ruhana lives) while also keeping himself in shape in case a CFL team called. That team turned out to be the Roughriders, whose head coach and general manager was the Eskimos’ head coach when Muamba played in Edmonton.
As a result, Muamba has been reunited with Chris Jones.
“It’s amazing,” Muamba said. “We’ve always talked and when he asked me if I was healthy and if I wanted to join the team, I told him, ‘Yeah. Definitely.’ ”
Muamba has recorded 146 defensive tackles, 25 special-teams stops, 10 interceptions, three sacks and a forced fumble in 108 career regular-season CFL games.
The Roughriders currently have just one national defensive back in Mike Edem, so Muamba’s addition provides some depth in that area.
“What it (gives) us is a guy who knows our system, who we know is a good guy, and who will come in, work hard and not rock the boat,” Jones said. “If we need him — if something were to happen to Edem — then we’ve got some insurance.”
In addition to coaching Muamba in Edmonton, Jones also had Muamba’s two brothers (Henoc and Kelvin) in Saskatchewan at times in 2017. Both have since been released.
While Cauchy admitted he would have liked to have played with his siblings in Saskatchewan, he’s eager to do whatever he can to help the 2018 Roughriders down the stretch.
“Right here right now, it’s my veteran leadership and being able to know the system even this late in the season,” he said when asked what he offers the Roughriders.
“Some of the guys’ bodies are deteriorating and they’re hurting right now, so if anything ever happens, I can be the insurance. That’s why (Jones) can rely on me.”
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In addition to Muamba, the Roughriders announced the additions of three other players to the practice roster.
Running back Shaq Murray-Lawrence spent the previous three seasons with B.C., which selected him in the third round (23rd overall) of the 2015 draft out of UNLV.
The 25-year-old product of Scarborough, Ont., rushed 47 times for 148 yards and three touchdowns, caught 13 passes for 73 yards and returned 60 kickoffs for 1,288 yards in 39 career games with the Lions. The 5-foot-8, 202-pounder signed as a free agent with the Montreal Alouettes in February, but was released.
Quarterback Drew Powell, who attended the Roughriders’ mini-camp in Bradenton, Fla., as a defensive back, returns to the team as a QB.
The 6-foot-3, 220-pounder out of Livingstone College was named the Indoor Football League’s most valuable player in 2018, when he helped the Iowa Barnstormers win the IFL title.
The 23-year-old from Upper Marlboro, Md., completed 154 of 226 pass attempts for 1,604 yards with 34 touchdowns and four interceptions for Iowa and also rushed for an IFL-high 945 yards and 23 touchdowns.
Reggie Hall, 23, also is in his second stint with the Roughriders. The defensive back signed with Saskatchewan in June and played in one pre-season game before being released.
The 6-foot-3, 208-pounder out of Opelika, Ala., spent four seasons at Jacksonville State University before signing with the Roughriders.
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Slotback Naaman Roosevelt was put on the six-game injured list prior to Saskatchewan’s game Sunday in Montreal, but the widely held belief was that he would be ready for Monday’s game against the visiting Eskimos.
That may not be the case, however. Roosevelt didn’t practise Thursday, so Kenny Shaw — who started in Roosevelt’s absence in Montreal — once again worked with the starting offence.
Roosevelt suffered a knee injury during the second quarter of Saskatchewan’s 30-29 victory over the Toronto Argonauts on Sept. 22, but he finished the game. He subsequently was placed on the six-game injured list and his return date is unknown.
“He was deemed to have an injury that was almost identical to Caleb Holley,” Jones said, referring to the slotback who has been on the shelf since Aug. 19. “We’ll see where (Roosevelt) is at, and when he’s able to possibly get back on the field, he’ll be back on the field.”
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The conditions in which the Roughriders pract
ised Thursday featured the chilliest temperatures so far this season.
Surprisingly, it didn’t go too badly.
“It’s like the first time you put on the pads or the first time that you do anything different,” Jones said. “When it’s a little bit cold, they’re going to be a little more jovial. Now tomorrow, it won’t be as jovial as what it was today.”
