Derick Roberson came to the Saskatchewan Roughriders with equal parts championship dreams and unfinished business in mind.
“I’m trying to get another one with y’all since I lost,” the defensive lineman said to reporters in Regina after Wednesday’s practice. “You feel me?”
Roberson officially signed with the Riders last Monday after falling in the United Football League’s final as a member of the DC Defenders on June 13.
The 30-year-old sees much potential in helping the Riders defend their Grey Cup title and getting that coveted ring.
“I got great teammates, great coaches, great facility. I love it here,” Roberson said.
“I mean, really, they’ve been hitting me up for a couple years. I still been here with the UFL for a couple years. So, agent reached out and said opportunity to make a couple bucks, so just came up.”
Roberson could be a boon to the pass rush considering his abundance of pro experience, which includes 16 games for the NFL’s Tennessee Titans from 2019 to 2021. The 6-foot-3, 250-pound lineman had 4.5 sacks over that period.
However, he’s not quite ready to help just yet.
Despite being in his second week of practice, there’s still work to be done with it comes to adjusting to the Canadian rules before he can get into game action.
Roberson said the contact point is the biggest thing he’s trying to get ironed out. Because there’s more space off the line of scrimmage, he’s noticed he’s not making contact with an opponent for three to five yards rather than two down south.
“It’s a little bit different, especially that yard off the ball, especially like with me and my pass, how I play the ball,” Roberson said. “I line up as close as possible, so that yard off the ball is kind of just being adjusted to it.
“I got to take a little bit more, a couple steps in the pass rush, a little bit more better timing. After a couple days of practice, you get that stuff, the timing down, it gets a little bit better. Right now, I’m rolling out.”
Riders coach Corey Mace likes what he’s seen from Roberson so far, but there’s no timeline yet for a first CFL game.
“He’s an aggressive player. Everything that you saw about the guy prior to coming here, he just validated all that stuff that you see,” Mace said. “True pro. He understands what it means. He’s been taking his time, learning stuff on the fly, trying to pick up as much stuff as he can in the event that he’ll get an opportunity to play.”
That first game can’t come soon enough for Roberson. He joked that he’s been on a month-and-a-half bye week.
“I’m itching to play,” he said.
