Injuries to the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ receiving corps were oft-discussed even before Mitch Picton was concussed.
Sans Picton, the already decimated Roughriders’ offence encountered additional adversity during Saturday’s 19-9 CFL loss to the B.C. Lions.
“We didn’t have a backup receiver, so that’s why you saw a bunch of two-back (sets) in the second half, because that’s all we had left,” Head Coach Craig Dickenson said from Vancouver after the Roughriders’ record fell to 3-3.
Entering the game, the Roughriders had not one, not two, not three, not four, but five starting-calibre receivers on the six-game injured list — Kian Schaffer-Baker, Derel Walker, Jake Wieneke, Brayden Lenius and Juwan Brescacin.
Mario Alford, who was listed on the depth chart as a sixth receiver, is principally a return specialist.
“It’s hard to say ‘next-man up’ when there’s nobody else to be up,” Shawn Bane Jr. noted after registering a team-high 10 catches for 74 yards.
Some relief is in sight. Lenius, who has been sidelined with a lacerated kidney, is poised to come off the six-game list and make his 2023 regular-season debut next Saturday against the Toronto Argonauts in Halifax.
But as one Canadian receiver prepares to return for Touchdown Atlantic, another one (Picton) goes down.
Such is the story of the season for the Roughriders, whose inordinate injury woes extend far beyond a ravaged receiving corps.
Six games into the season, the Roughriders have already started three left offensive tackles (Brandon Council, Eric Lofton and Jerald Hawkins) and moved a guard (Logan Ferland) to that pivotal position for a considerable portion of another game.
Centre Peter Godber has missed the last three contests with a hand injury. His spot has been filled by Logan Bandy.
Oh, and there’s this … we have yet to mention the starting quarterback. You know, the most important player on the team.
Trevor Harris could miss the rest of the 2023 season after suffering a tibial plateau fracture of his right knee on July 16 against the visiting Calgary Stampeders. Some damage to the lateral meniscus was also discovered when Harris underwent surgery nearly a week ago.
Harris was the most prominent free agent to be wooed away from a rival team during the off-season.
The list of open-market additions also included Wieneke (injured), Walker (injured), Brescacin (injured), Godber (injured), offensive lineman Philip Blake (injured) and defensive tackle Micah Johnson (who registered one of the Roughriders’ four sacks on Saturday).
“We’re going to keep fighting for each other, no matter who’s in the lineup,” Johnson said. “That’s what Coach preaches and that’s what Coach harps on — for us to just execute.
“This is professional football so, if you get your opportunity, you want to do as well as you can. You’ve got to do as well as you can.
“We’re going to keep on grinding. The injury bug has hit us early, but no excuses. We’ve just got to keep going.”
Johnson is part of a defence that limited the Lions — who improved their West Division-leading record to 5-1 — to one touchdown, 12 first downs and 231 yards of net offence.
The Lions’ offence was tamed even though the Roughriders began the game without defensive lineman Anthony Lanier II and defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr., both of whom are among the league’s best at their positions.
Matters worsened when defensive end Bryan Cox Jr. was helped off the field after suffering a left leg injury early in Saturday’s second quarter. As if that wasn’t enough, starting safety Jayden Dalke was limited by game’s end due to a shoulder injury.
“I told the men in the room that they just kept playing hard,” Dickenson said. “I feel like there’s a lot of toughness and resiliency in that group.
“We’ve got to get healthy. We’re going to give them two days off and hopefully we can get healthy.”
That respite could be beneficial for the players who are dealing with shorter-term injuries, or for those who are on the verge of returning.
But the schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Roughriders, whose next opponent just happens to be the 5-0 Argonauts.
So, in the space of one week, the Roughriders are to play two games on different sides of the country — Vancouver and Halifax being nearly 4,500 kilometres and four time zones apart.
And the Roughriders will have to face another division-leading opponent without their offensive leader.
With Harris sidelined, the reins of the offence have been handed to Mason Fine.
Fine went 32-for-41 for 284 yards on Saturday, when he threw two fourth-quarter interceptions.
The offence as a whole was impeded by the lack of a running game. The Lions made it a priority to render the Roughriders one-dimensional and assuredly succeeded.
Saskatchewan managed just 14 yards on 13 handoffs, with the consequence being a succession of second-and-long predicaments.
On the night, the visitors were limited to three Brett Lauther field goals.
“Obviously, we didn’t score as many points as we wanted to,” Fine said. “I thought we shot ourselves in the foot a couple of times early in the first half. I felt like we were moving the ball, but then something would happen and kind of throw our rhythm off.
“We were executing the game plan pretty well early, but then we obviously can’t take sacks or turn the ball over. Obviously, there’s things we’ve got to work on. We’ve got to go back and watch the film and stuff.
“But you’ve got to win games. That’s what we’re here for. We’ve got to do better.”
There is the accompanying imperative of getting better, from a health perspective, but the injury bug — a ravenous and relentless creature — keeps dining out on the Roughriders of 2023.
