A short week for Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Trevor Harris got even shorter on Tuesday, as he was held back from practice, with the Roughriders beginning a short week of preparation as they get set to host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Friday.
Harris began the afternoon without a helmet as he observed the offence. He would later race back into his locker room and throw on the side for the remainder of the practice. Mason Fine received the first team reps at quarterback as Shea Patterson took the backup snaps.
After practice, head coach Craig Dickenson said the training staff felt it would be best for Harris to be held out on Tuesday and that the expectation is that the quarterback will return to full status on Wednesday.
Dickenson also noted Harris was dealing with a hip pointer injury.
It appeared that the injury occurred on the Roughriders final offensive play of the game for the Roughriders, as the quarterback took a hit while he threw the ball out of bounds to drain the remaining time left on the clock.
Looking back at the decision to leave Harris in for the final play, Dickenson doesn’t regret it, but wishes there was better execution on the play.
“In hindsight, I wished that he threw it a little bit sooner, cause we weren’t going to kill all of the clock, we just got to block it better.”
Another area that Dickenson would like to see the offence be better in is finishing off drives. The Roughriders were limited to only one touchdown despite getting inside of the Edmonton 20-yard-line on multiple occasions. The Riders head coach believes the success in the red zone will come in time for the green and white.
“Down on the goal line we would just have one negative play where we went backwards, even if it was a yard or two, as we get better, you know, as we play together more, we will be more efficient in the red zone.”
Receiver Jake Wieneke also believes the offence is on the verge of experiencing more success at the end of their drives.
“Just room to improve, just continue to do our jobs, I know there’s a lot of plays I want back, and I’m sure there’s a lot of us on offence that feel like that, we just want to do our job a little better, the more we do that, the more we capitalize, just make some plays and score some touchdowns when we get down there.”
Wieneke was happy that Harris had a solid start as a member of the Roughriders.
“Any time you have him (Harris) behind centre, it’s just a special confidence he’s gives off to everybody, a calmness no matter what’s going on in the game and you’ve saw that time and time again throughout the game. ”
Wednesday’s practice is closed off before the Roughriders hold their final walkthrough on Thursday.
Practice Notebook
- It appears that the Roughriders will be without a pair of key Canadians for an extended period of time. Wide receiver Brayden Lenius is dealing with a lower back injury and Dickenson said that he will likely be out until the six-game mark.
- Offensive lineman Philip Blake is dealing with a pectoral tear and the Roughriders head coach noted Blake will be out for a significant amount of time.
- Wide receiver Derel Walker was absent from Tuesday’s practice with a knee injury.
- Defensive back Nic Marshall did not practice because of a shoulder injury and wide receiver Samuel Emilus also missed practice with a shoulder injury
- Derrick Moncrief was present at practice after missing the opening game in Edmonton.
