The Saskatchewan Roughriders did the football equivalent of throwing Shemar Bridges into the deep end of the pool as soon as he put on his swim trunks.
With Sam Emilus (leg, six-game list) and Johnny Johnson III (head) both missing Wednesday’s practice, Bridges went from signing with the Riders on Tuesday to taking first-team reps in their first on-field session since Sunday’s 36-10 loss to the B.C. Lions.
Bridges feels like he’s set to start doing laps, er, running routes when the Riders face the Toronto Argonauts on Saturday.
“Very realistic,” he told reporters in Regina when asked if he can step in and play. “I think I’m smart enough. People that have been around me believe the same. As long as you can come in there and put the time in, which I have been doing, I’ll be fine.
“I’ve picked up on it pretty fast. Definitely still things to learn. But to be ready for the game, I’ll be ready.”
The Riders sure could use a boost.
They’ve scored just one touchdown in each of the last two games, recording just 19 and 16 points, respectively, in consecutive losses.
They’ve had a slew of injuries to their receiving corps. Kian Schaffer-Baker looks set to miss his fourth straight game Saturday with a knee problem. Emilus missed three games with an ankle injury but returned in Vancouver, only to get hurt again late in the fourth quarter. Now he’s out, and Johnson could be, too.
It’s no wonder the Riders reached out to him a couple days he was released from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats last Wednesday. The message was to stay ready because the Riders just might need him.
“I’ve been impressed mentally so far,” Riders offensive coordinator Marc Mueller said. “He’s came in and shown an ability to learn lots in a short period of time. He came very highly recommended from some people that we know over there in Hamilton and just excited to have him out here and see if he can help make us better – whether it’s playing right away or playing down the road.”
Whenever Bridges dons green and white, he’ll get a chance at redemption.
The Jacksonville, Fla., native was the East Division’s Most Outstanding Rookie in 2024 when he caught 83 of 120 passes for 933 yards and four touchdowns in 15 games. However, those numbers nosedived last season as the Ticats bolstered their receiving corps by adding Kenny Lawler.
Bridges pulled in 34 of the 51 passes that came his way for 361 yards and two majors.
“Just a change of position, a change of a role. We’ve got a great player like Kenny Lawler coming in. It happens,” he said. “You’ve got great players over there. It happened. I just played my role and tried to be ready for my time when it came. I proved to everybody that I can do that. I went from a lot of targets to a couple targets and still being ready and still being the same me.
“That was the biggest thing for me, to show people the kind of person I am that I can handled any kind of situation I’m put in.”
Bridges began this season on the six-game injured list because of a hip issue. The 28-year-old had been practicing with the Ticats before his release, which he said surprised him.
“I’m always thankful for my time in Hamilton and for them giving me an opportunity, so I can have this opportunity,” he said. “They gave me a shot to be able to play, to show my talents. That’s what set me up for this.”
How quickly that opportunity comes remains to be seen. But it could come very quickly – as early as this weekend.
Mueller believes having a quarterback like Trevor Harris could help overcome the big ask of joining a new team and stepping right in to play.
“It is difficult on offence,” Mueller said. “There’s lots of different things, lots of details, but that’s pro football. It’s not like he’s a true rookie. He’s played at a high level in Hamilton in a good offensive system.
“He can lean on some of that that he’s already learned. He can lean on some of our guys that have been here to help him. Trevor’s played in both those systems, the Hamilton system, and now he can do some word association … to get him up to speed as fast as we can, so, if he is set to play at some point, he’s ready to go when he’s out there.”
Bridges knows he’s already ready. There’s little doubt in his mind.
“It’s a good bit of learning, but I’ve been around the block – a couple years in the NFL, Hamilton,” he said. “In my younger years, it would have been more complicated for me. Being that I’m older now and I can plug in concepts and compare it to what I’ve learned in the past, it makes it easier.”
