Hold that thought.
After being activated early off the six-game injured list, slotback Naaman Roosevelt practised with the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday.
The team’s hope was that his injured right knee had progressed to the point where he could play in Monday’s game against the Edmonton Eskimos at Mosaic Stadium (2 p.m., CKRM, TSN). On Sunday, however, Roosevelt was put back on the six-game injured list — and the length of his stay there isn’t known.
“We brought him off the six and practised him and were hoping that he was a little farther along,” Roughriders head coach-GM Chris Jones said Sunday.
“If it was the Grey Cup, he could probably play, but we’re just going to try to give him some weeks to try to get a little more healthy before he’s able to help contribute to our football team.”
Does that mean Roosevelt might be out for a while?
“We’ll see,” Jones replied. “We’re going to take our time. We’ll lean on our training staff and on Naaman to be honest with us and let us know exactly where he is.”
Roosevelt suffered a sprained knee ligament in the second quarter of the Roughriders’ game Sept. 22 against the host Toronto Argonauts, but he finished out his team’s 30-29 victory. He was put on the six-game injured list prior to Saskatchewan’s 34-29 win over the host Montreal Alouettes on Sept. 30.
He returned to the practice field Saturday with a brace on his right knee and worked with the starting offence, suggesting that he would be ready to go Monday. That’s not the case.
“He would have played,” Jones said. “He’s got that big brace and it’s a situation where he won’t be able to play at 100 (per cent) and we don’t want to risk further injury.”
Kenny Shaw, who started in Roosevelt’s spot against the host Als, is slated to start at slotback again Monday.
Shaw worked out at wide receiver Saturday in place of a banged-up Shaq Evans, but Evans was on the roster that the Roughriders released Sunday. He’s slated to start Monday.
“As of yesterday, we didn’t know if that would be the case,” Jones said. “(Evans) bounced back this morning and said that he was completely healthy, ready to roll.”
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Roughriders defensive back Loucheiz Purifoy recently experienced a couple of career firsts, neither of which he enjoyed.
Purifoy missed a game for the first time in his three-year CFL career last Sunday. The reason he missed the contest in Montreal was a concussion — the first of his 14-year career in football. He suffered the injury during a practice Sept. 27 after he accidentally collided with Shaw.
As a result of the collision and its aftereffects, Purifoy was put on the six-game injured list.
“I was mad that I couldn’t play,” he said. “I’ve got a standard that I hold myself to. I felt like I let my team down because I couldn’t go. But that’s just me. That’s just the dog in me saying, ‘You’re better than that.’ ”
Purifoy has been activated off the six-game injured list and is to play Monday.
He has been a solid 
addition to Saskatchewan’s secondary since being signed Aug. 8 following his release by the Ottawa Redblacks. In six games with the Roughriders, Purifoy has recorded 19 defensive tackles, three special-teams stops and three interceptions.
He’s eager to build on those numbers Monday.
“It’s hard to watch the guys on TV and not be like, ‘Damn, I wish I was out there with my boys,’ especially being the competitor I am,” Purifoy said. “I want to be on the field at all times, so this week, I’ve got to turn it up a notch.”
Jones said that Purifoy was returning to the roster because he had passed the concussion protocol and had practised symptom-free.
Having never had a concussion before, Purifoy wasn’t sure what to expect from his first one. As it turned out, it wasn’t that bad.
“I just had a headache for two days,” he said. “I did what (the training staff) told me to do — stay in the dark with no sounds — and it went away.”
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The Roughriders are well aware of what they’ll see from Eskimos quarterback Mike Reilly, who’s coming off one of the worst games of his season.
Jones coached Reilly for two seasons in Edmonton (2014-15), so the Roughriders’ bench boss knows what the QB’s focus is like after a bad outing.
“It’s razor sharp,” Jones said. “I assure you that nobody is working any harder than him. He has got a lot of pride and you’re going to get his best shot tomorrow. That’s what I just told the football team.
“Everybody is talking all bad about (the Eskimos) like (people) were talking all bad about us a few weeks ago. We can’t get ahead of ourselves and we need to remember that (the Eskimos) are going to come out of that corner fighting and we’re going to get their best shot.”
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There’s an interesting statistical anomaly in the trenches for the Roughriders.
Saskatchewan’s offensive line has been penalized for holding more than any other team this season, yet the Roughriders’ defensive line has drawn the fewest holding calls against opposing O-linemen.
“We’ve been on our offensive line about making sure that they keep their hands inside,” Jones said. “You can’t really do anything about (the lack of calls) defensively other than just continuing to battle. Willie (Jefferson) and Charleston (Hughes) and that crew need to get up the field and make plays.
“That’s really all you need to really worry about is just making your plays. We trust the league that they’re going to do what they have to do with officiating.”
