Saskatchewan Roughriders receiver Shemar Bridges finds himself in a far different position with the team compared to when he made his on-field debut a little over a month ago.
Bridges signed with the club on Aug. 25, had a couple days of practice and was in the starting lineup for the Riders’ Week 13 game against the Toronto Argonauts.
That’s not a lot of time to learn an offence or anything even whatsoever about the tendencies of the players around him, and it was a major adjustment for a player who only a couple weeks earlier had been in a completely different system on a completely different team.
And while Bridges wasn’t overly busy on the field in his first two outings against the Argos and Winnipeg Blue Bombers — three catches on eight targets for 23 yards — it’s a much different situation as he prepares to return to the starting lineup against the Montreal Alouettes.
Bridges will slot in for the injured KeeSean Johnson at wide receiver when the team hits the field at Percival Molson Stadium on Monday morning.
“It's nice, it’s much more comfortable in the system, knowing the guys,” Bridges said after practice earlier this week. “I mean, when I first got here I didn't even know everybody's name. I didn't even know how to get around the building, the facility. Now I know where to go, I know who everybody is and I'm just comfortable in the system. I've got my legs up under me, my conditioning and everything, so I feel great.”
Despite his lack of familiarity with the Green and White in his debut, Bridges impressed quarterback Trevor Harris with his diligence in not missing any assignments and generally getting the job done dispute his ultra-short time with the team.
That was a product of plenty of hard work as quickly as possible, Bridges said.
“A lot of studying and learning from the things I could have done better in practice, and then learning from the coaches and the players and everybody helping me,” he continued. “Even on the field, just kind of asking this question, that question. Now I understand what I'm doing completely, I have no excuses, that's the standard. I want to stick to that.”
The familiarity with the offence for the former East Division rookie of the year has Bridges hoping to almost run on autopilot as opposed to having to process what he was doing in his first games.
“I feel like I can just be fully myself and just play,” he said. “Before I was trying to make sure I was doing this right, not messing up. Now I can just be me, think less and play fast. The big thing for me also is just the relationship with the guys. Understanding who they are on and off the field has made everything much easier, too.”
That’s a unique situation, Bridges said, especially with how close everyone on the team is.
“Just a lot of unity here. I've always noticed that from being on other teams, just seeing how together everybody was. So just being a part of that and having a relationship with the guys is special. I didn't have a relationship with anybody, now I spend time with them and stuff. So it's different.”
Now, it’s down to business on the field. As revealed by Riders historian Rob Vanstone during the post-practice scrum, Bridges had 17 catches over two games the last time he faced the Alouettes in back-to-back games as a member of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. A similar performance could go a long way to helping the Riders get the crucial win they need in their playoff push.
“Hopefully we can get something like that, definitely hope to get that type of success,” Bridges said. “Whatever I got to do to help the team win, that's what I'll be ready for. I've done it before, so let's do it again.
Monday’s contest features a very early start, with the Rider Broadcast Network pregame show with Teagan Witko, Wes Cates and plenty of special guests beginning at 8 a.m. Dave Thomas and Luc Mullinder will then have the game call at kickoff at 11 a.m.
