Naaman Roosevelt has been down this road before.
The CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders have activated Roosevelt off the six-game injured list, just as they did on Oct. 6. On that occasion, however, the slotback practised just once before being put back on the list the next day after his ailing knee didn’t respond well.
“We tried to give it a go and see how it felt,” Roosevelt said Wednesday in reference to that situation. “It just didn’t feel right and I was trying to fight through it.
“I had to wear a brace and it was kind of hard to run and do all the things I wanted to do. Now I’m feeling a lot better. I don’t have to wear a brace — I’m just out there running free — so it definitely feels a lot better than it did.”
It’s to the point where Roosevelt hopes he can play Saturday when Saskatchewan entertains the B.C. Lions at Mosaic Stadium (5 p.m., CKRM, TSN). It’s the Roughriders’ final regular-season game; they have a bye in the last week of the campaign.
Roosevelt suffered a sprained knee ligament in the second quarter of the Roughriders’ game Sept. 22 against the host Toronto Argonauts, but he finished the contest. He then was put on the six-game injured list prior to Saskatchewan’s game with the hometown Montreal Alouettes on Sept. 30.
He returned to the practice field on Oct. 6 with a brace on his right knee and worked with the starting offence as it prepared for a game Oct. 8 versus the Edmonton Eskimos. But one day later, Roosevelt was returned to the six-game injured list — and he has remained there for four games.
“It was definitely difficult,” he said. “You want to be with your team and you want to go into the playoffs hot, in a rhythm and ready to go.
“For me, it’s important to work on the things I need to work on and work as hard as I possibly can. I think I’ve been doing that the past couple of weeks.”
Roosevelt practised Tuesday, but head coach-GM Chris Jones said after the workout that the Roughriders would see how Roosevelt’s knee responded during the week before deciding if the veteran would play against B.C.
On Wednesday, Roosevelt proclaimed himself ready.
“I think I’m going to go,” he said. “I’ve been feeling good at practice, so we’ll see what happens.”
Roosevelt worked with the Roughriders’ trainers to improve the strength in his right knee since suffering the injury, and the fact that he has been able to practise without the brace is proof that the ligament has healed.
But that’s not to say the coaches will give Roosevelt the green light Saturday. They may decide to sit him until the playoffs begin.
“I believe in the coaches, their plan and what they have going on,” Roosevelt said when asked how he’d react if he wasn’t active Saturday. “I just have to be ready. If they feel like I can play, I’m definitely going to play.
“Whatever happens, happens, but I’ve been feeling good this week and ready to go.”
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If Saskatchewan wins Saturday and the Calgary Stampeders lose their final two regular-season games, the Roughriders would finish first in the West Division and would earn a bye into the Western Final.
Given that they have a bye in the final week of the regular season, that would give the 
Roughriders three weeks between games.
“There’s always a risk of rust, but I don’t think we’ll be rusty,” wide receiver Shaq Evans said. “Those three weeks would be great for me personally and for the team, just getting rest and recovering after playing 11 weeks in a row.
“If we could get another week off, it’d be all for the better.”
Jones said the Roughriders will get five days off next week during their bye before they return to work to prepare for the playoffs.
“It’s out of our control at that point,” he said. “We just need to handle our business this week and play a very good B.C. team.”
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Tailback Tyrell Sutton has been a spark for the Lions since being acquired from the Alouettes on Sept. 25 — and Jones has noticed.
“What (Sutton’s presence) does is you don’t even have to block anybody and you end up in about second-and-four,” Jones said. “He’s a tough back. I don’t know this stat, but his yards after contact have to be tops in the league.”
Sutton has rushed for 203 yards in two games with the Lions, who also have Jeremiah Johnson in reserve. Both can pose problems for the Roughriders’ defence if they play Saturday.
“If you give (Johnson) a crease and fail to tackle him, you look up and he has got 50 yards,” Jones said. “They’re a tough out. It doesn’t matter which one you’ve got.”
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Jones has spoken glowingly this week about Lions head coach Wally Buono, who is slated to retire at the end of the season. If he follows through, Saturday’s game will be the final regular-season contest Buono coaches in Regina.
On Wednesday, Jones admitted he pilfered something from Buono when Jones was in his early days in the CFL.
“I work out basically before the game now because I was in Montreal and I saw Wally getting a workout before the game,” said Jones, who began his CFL coaching career with the Als in 2002 when Buono was coaching the Stamps. “I didn’t ask him why he did it, but I thought, ‘Hell, if he’s doing it, I should do it.’ It’s something that I’ve kind of copied from him.
“People aspire to be as good as what Wally Buono is.”
