The Saskatchewan Roughriders resumed training camp with a very light walk through on Sunday.
Head coach Craig Dickenson wanted to rest his players after Green and White Day on Saturday at SMF Field.
“You got to get the game out of them,” Dickenson said about avoiding a day off after Saturday’s scrimmage.
“Often times, some guys would like to go out after the game and have a few beers, so we want to run them just enough to sweat out whatever we need to sweat out of them.”
The light workout also served as a transition from week one of camp to week two.
Zach Collaros ended his first week of training camp with a poor showing in front of fans, completing one of 10 passes during the green and white scrimmage.
“We’d like him to complete more (passes), obviously,” Dickenson said. “His timing with the receivers isn’t great right now and he was a little high on some throws, but we’re hoping another week will correct that.”
Collaros wasn’t worried about his performance. He focused on becoming more comfortable with teammates instead.
“It’s always ongoing, trying to get that chemistry with the guys. That’s the beauty of this game: things continuously change,” Collaros said.
The Riders’ first preseason game against Calgary on Friday will test the team’s preparation after spending roughly a week together as coaches and teammates.
“We still need to get the timing down of a lot of things. That’s why every rep is important. You got to soak up as much as you can with the limited time that we do have to prepare for the season,” Collaros said.
Reaves out for the season
Dickenson shed some light on the injuries that have slowly been piling up throughout training camp.
Jordan Reaves is expected to miss the entire season after going down with a knee injury on the second day of training camp.
“Unfortunately, we’re going to lose probably one our best guys on special teams so that’s a void that needs to be addressed,” Dickenson said.
Reaves is awaiting surgery on his right knee after suffering a “significant injury” to his ACL.
“It’s been a rough couple days accepting my season ending injury,” Reaves said on his Twitter profile Sunday. “I’ve come to terms with the injury but am not at peace with not being on the field going to war with my brothers.”
Notes
Solomon Elimimian was seen on the sidelines of Saturday’s scrimmage. He is expected to practice on Monday.
Dan Clark was another injured player putting in some work over the weekend. He is expected to suit up after Friday’s game.
National receivers Justin McInnis and Mitch Picton are also on the comeback trail as they hope to participate in a few practices before the preseason begins.