Anyone who has followed any kind of professional football knows that most players will battle through almost any kind of injury if it means a chance to hit the field on game day,
You can add Saskatchewan Roughriders linebacker and special teamer Jayden Dalke to that list. The fifth-year veteran has missed the past three games with an injury to his left hand but has apparently decided enough is enough, as he’ll be wearing ‘the club’ when the Roughriders take the field on Sunday night against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
The conglomeration of a cast, tape and padding will allow Dalke maximum protection to his injured paw while still allowing the Leduc, Alta., product to get the job done on the field.
“I was happy that docs finally agreed that we were able to play, so I'm happy to be back,” Dalke said during the team walkthrough on Saturday. “We're practicing all week with it, and it’s something when it's hot out, man. No airflow to it, but it's a challenge, evolve or die, so we're good.”
While Dalke had some use of his fingers during that no-contact session, it’ll be a different situation come game time.
“They want to protect me, obviously if my fingers are out like this, it's a high speed game and lots of collisions,” Dalke explained. “So they want to protect those and also protect others, it'll be padded and then taped. It'll be all clubbed up.”
While wrapping up and tackling the opposition shouldn’t be too difficult, there is a non-zero chance Dalke could find the ball come his way through the air at some point. While he has a single interception to his credit – that coming back in the 2023 campaign – Dalke is confident he can get the job done should an errant pass come his way.
“With the full club, it was a little difficult, restricted to only the right hand,” he said.”But the last two days of practices, as soon as I have the claw out, I think I'm like 80 percent on catches. So, you know, not bad.”
As one might expect, the situation has been less than ideal for the 30-year-old veteran, but keeping a positive frame of mind and doing what he can to help the team in any way while he was down has kept Dalke on an even keel.
“I just had to approach it as like, ‘what does the team need from me right now?’” Dalke said. “I know my role when I'm active, but what's my role if I'm sidelined, and really leaning into that. But it's really easy because I love all these guys. I've been playing with some of them five years, and honestly, the coaching staff, they've really helped me along.
“And at the end of the day, I'm still being paid to play football. So it's pretty awesome. Pretty grateful for that.”
Beyond the injury and dealing with that situation is what Dalke and crew might face from Hamilton’s kick and punt return game, led by the always dangerous Isaiah Wooden. Wooden currently has the sixth-highest return yardage total in the CFL despite having played a game fewer than his higher-ranked opponents.
“It comes down to communication,” Dalke said. “It's the fine details. Like when we're running downfield, you have to communicate with the guys because obviously if you're behind them, they don't know where you're at, so they can feel like they're on the island. So letting them know that you're there clears up which lane they have to fit into. And thankfully we have a hell of a punter, he'll give us a chance.”
The Rider Broadcast Network will have the pre-game show beginning at 2 p.m. on Sunday, with Dave Thomas and Luc Mullinder bringing you the game call at kickoff at 5 p.m.
