Trevor Harris back with the first-team offence at Riders’ practice

Trevor Harris is back with the first-team offence at Saskatchewan Roughriders practice — but the decision if he will start this week remains up to the coaches.

“That’s going to be up to (head coach Corey) Mace and the doctors and everybody but shoot, I’m always going to say yes,” said the 38-year-old quarterback on Monday.

So does Mace expect the veteran quarterback to start this week against the Montreal Alouettes? Kickoff for the game is set for 7 p.m. on Friday at Mosaic Stadium.

Trevor Harris returned to practice last week but appears set to return to starting action this Friday.

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“If you want to say that, sure,” Mace said. “He’s taken reps today. Shea (Patterson) took some reps today as well. We will see. Nothing is promised but there’s a shot for that but ultimately I’ll make the decision by the end of the week.”

Harris hasn’t played since Week 3 against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats when he suffered a knee injury. He returned to practice last week.

“It was an MCL and a partial, small ACL. It was one of those things that needed time to recover because if the ACL is loose at all, you’re at risk of a full tear and that would be super long-term. Everything is tightened up and rock solid now so we’re good to go,” Harris said.

“It was a little bit more than I had hoped for in terms of what the damage was but it ended up being one of those things where you just have a timetable you have to wait for for the ligament to heal. I was trying to push back to get back early but the doctors were pretty hard-headed and strong about it in terms of what timetable needed to be in terms of long-term health situations.”

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This is the second season in a row Harris has suffered a knee injury; a tibial plateau fracture ending his season last year.

But this time around, not only is Harris set to return to action but he does so for a team that went 2-3-1 in his absence and is currently sitting atop the CFL West Division.

“Heck yeah, you have to love it,” Harris said. “It doesn’t feel like (we’re in first) but we are and the table is set for us. We control our own destiny moving forward so that’s all you can ask for and I think Shea came in and improved every week.

“I thought he did a good job in terms of handling the offence and doing what he needed to do and playing through some things. I was proud of him, and here we are. We will see how things go.”

Before his injury, Harris had thrown for 872 yards, seven touchdowns, and three interceptions. Patterson threw for 1,558 yards, six touchdowns, and five interceptions in his six starts this season.

Notes: Linebacker Jameer Thurman (elbow) was limited in practice while running back A.J. Ouellette (hip) logged a full practice … Right tackle Jacob Brammer (hamstring) was added to the six-game injured list … Slotback Ajou Ajou left practice early due to a finger injury.

Read more

• Opinion: CFL command centre is an embarrassment
• ‘Rollercoaster’ clash between Riders, Redblacks ends in a tie
• Riders’ Amari Henderson is excited to be back on the field