‘It’s nerve-wracking’: Riders prepare for final cuts

It’s a day that’s causing a few sleepless nights for some members of the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

The CFL team is to announce its final cuts Saturday.

“The reality is, you can’t keep them all. You want to, but (the CFL) won’t let you do it.” head coach Craig Dickenson said following Thursday’s 35-29 loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in Saskatchewan’s pre-season finale.

Despite being a first-time head coach, Dickenson said he doesn’t anticipate having a hard time telling a player he has been let go.

“You can be respectful and considerate; we’ve already had to do it three or four times,” Dickenson said. “We all have disappointments in our lives. I have them (and everybody does). You just say, ‘Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings but this is a decision we have to make for the best interest of the club.’

“You make sure you’re respectful and kind to them and tell them how much they were appreciated and how much you respect what they did and wish them all the best.”

The Roughriders’ locker room is currently filled with players who’ve dealt with many final cut days and some facing their first ones as professional athletes.

One of those players who has been through it time and time again is defensive end Lavar Edwards.

The 29-year-old has bounced around the NFL with stints with the Tennessee Titans, Dallas Cowboys (twice), Oakland Raiders, Chicago Bears, Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, Indianapolis Colts and Cleveland Browns.

“It’s always nerve-wracking,” Edwards said. “I’ve kind of been in this position pretty much my whole career but I felt like I had a decent camp (with the Riders). I don’t know if it was good enough to make the team or not but I feel like I showed what I could show and whatever happens, happens.”

Edwards, who joined the team in October, was the only Roughrider to record a sack in Thursday’s pre-season game.

But Dickenson said he noticed some things in the game that could work against the veteran.

“I thought he had some nice plays. I thought he got tired so we will have to look at that as well because defensive line is a tough position and we basically say you’re not allowed to get tired when you play D-line,” Dickenson said. “He stepped up and made some plays and he was the one guy who stood out a little bit in terms of those three (candidates for a job at defensive end).”

But since Edwards has been around many cut days before, he knows there’s no sense in overthinking things.

“It’s basically a waiting game,” he said. “I try not to think about it and I try to just focus on something that was on that day so I’m not down on myself or my mind’s not racing because I’m trying to figure out if I did good enough or if I did not do good enough. So I just keep a clear mind and see what happens.”

A player who might not be able to be so cool about cutdown day is first-year quarterback Isaac Harker. The pivot was battling for the third-string spot behind Zach Collaros and Cody Fajardo in Thursday’s game.

Harker was able to make an impression with the coaches and fans after an impressive drive highlighted by a 49-yard toss to Paul McRoberts. Harker soon followed that with a two-yard touchdown pass to McRoberts.

“It was a lot of fun and it’s a lot of trust in my teammates who are really good football players,” said Harker, a 23-year-old Colorado School of Mines product.

The Roughriders went two-and-out in his first series of the game but he was able to refocus and slow down the game.

“It’s a lot of credit to the other quarterbacks, the veteran guys on the team who helped me centre myself a little bit,” said Harker, who finished the game with five completions in nine attempts for 74 yards and a touchdown.

The player at the receiving end of the Riders’ biggest play also knew he needed a good game to help earn a spot.

McRoberts was mentioned by Dickenson as someone who needed to have a good showing to earn a spot.

“I feel like I gave my all (Thursday),” said McRoberts, who finished the day with four catches for 83 yards. “I definitely put my best foot forward. Now it’s up to the coaches at the end of the day.”

McRoberts, who has spent some time with the Los Angeles Rams, said it’s always tough when cutdown day comes around for any team.

“At the end of the day, you’re building a brotherhood and camaraderie with these guys,” he said. “It’s definitely going to be tough seeing some of these guys go.”