The Saskatchewan Roughriders expect to add a veteran presence to their quarterback room ahead of training camp.
During an offseason update on Wednesday, head coach Craig Dickenson said the team feels it’s important to bring in a veteran to compete alongside quarterbacks Mason Fine, Jake Dolegala and Levi Lewis.
“It’s going to be wide open this year at camp for us. We expect to have at least one veteran, if not two veterans in camp, and then the young guys mentioned as well,” Dickenson said Wednesday.
Dickenson said he also had a conversation with Cody Fajardo recently. It comes after Fajardo made remarks that he was upset the team hadn’t been in contact with him since the end of the season.
“I contacted him after that. In reality, we have our year-end meetings with everyone and most of them only talk after the holidays. But, I called him and told him wished happy holidays and kind of told him where we were at with our search for an offensive coordinator,” Dickenson said.
“There’s going to be input from the offensive coordinator on where we’re going in free agency and I think he knows he’s going to test it.”
Dickenson also spoke about the recent hiring of Kelly Jeffrey and why the hiring process seemed longer than usual.
“If you can, avoid the temptation to feel rushed. You can do really thorough work and we felt like we did. We kept coming back to the fact that he was a strong candidate, an inside guy, who kind of already knows how we do things,” Dickenson said.
“He has the respect of the room. Players really like playing for him and he has done that. He has been a head coach at the college level and in the ranks of the NCAA. He was a playmaker and offensive coordinator.
However, the move from running back coach to offensive coordinator means the Riders still have gaps to fill in their coaching staff.
“We have irons in the fire. The thing is, you have to ask permission from the team the current manager is on, and then go from there. We have permission from a few teams to talk to a few of their guys. There are a few coaches still coaching in the United States. We have two positions that we’re really looking to fill: receivers (coach) and running backs (coach),” Dickenson said.
Jeffrey wasn’t the only announcement made on Tuesday. The Canadian Football League (CFL) has also unveiled its schedule for the 2023 season.
“I haven’t looked very closely at the schedule top to bottom, but I see we have a bye week, it feels like week four. Usually you don’t need it soon enough, but it gives us a chance to focus on the first three weeks and make any corrections or changes,” Dickenson said.
Dickenson knows the pressure is on given the coaching overhaul and questions surrounding the quarterback position following poor performances in the 2022 season.
“I think this year is just a great opportunity. It feels like this year is a new beginning. I’m very motivated and excited,” he said.
“I don’t think a lot of people expect a lot from us. I think the guys are ready to get down to business and prove to the league and to the doubters that we have a good team, good personnel, and we are going to be a team to be reckoned with.
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