Moore a consistent option in Riders’ passing attack

While the Saskatchewan Roughriders have seen a lot of different faces in their receiving group this CFL season, slotback Kyran Moore has been a constant contributor all year.

Moore and slotback Brayden Lenius are the only Day 1 starters in the group to start every game in 2021, with Moore becoming quarterback Cody Fajardo’s favourite target. Through 10 games this year, Moore has caught 63 passes for 571 yards and three touchdowns.

The return of wide receiver Shaq Evans and the addition of slotback Duke Williams seems to be good news for the third-year slotback, with Moore scoring his first touchdown since Week 2 in the first game both were in the lineup — last Saturday’s 20-17 victory over the Calgary Stampeders.

“Kyran has been good all year and maybe with those two guys to the boundary, maybe it freed him up to get a little more space in his routes,” Riders head coach Craig Dickenson said ahead of Saturday’s game against the Montreal Alouettes, which is to kick off at 5 p.m.

“He’s tough to guard in man (coverage). He’s very smart and knows where to be and knows the offence well. To me, it was just another good game by Swerve.”

Moore admitted having the two CFL all-stars in the lineup had a positive effect on his game.

“It takes a lot of the pressure off of me. I’m thankful that they are back healthy and doing what they do,” Moore said.

While he had to step up as an on-field leader in an even bigger capacity than anticipated with Evans dealing with a foot injury, it was something Moore was prepared to do.

“At all my teams I’ve been with, I’ve been a leader on the team. When Shaq went down and the young guys came to me, I gave them advice freely,” Moore said.

One of the most noticeable parts of Moore’s game is his positive attitude on the field and in the locker room.

“He’s one of our favourite players, not only with the coaches but with the players,” Dickenson said. “They really respect him a lot and enjoy being around him.”

Ryan expected to miss rest of season

The Riders will be missing the leg of punter Jon Ryan for the rest of the season.

The team added him to the six-game injured list after he injured an ankle in the win over Calgary last week.

“It’s going to be a while. He’s got a pretty good ankle (injury) so it’s going to be four to six (weeks) no matter how you slice it. So he’s probably done,” Dickenson said.

“It’s an impact in a lot of ways because not only is he an outstanding punter, but I think he’s the best (field-goal) holder in the league.

“It’s a bad ankle sprain and he might have even cracked a bone in there so it’s pretty severe. (The trainers) think it’s going to be a six-week injury minimum.”

With Ryan out, global punter Kaare Vedvik is to make his CFL debut in Montreal. The 27-year-old punter signed with eight different NFL teams over four years before coming to the CFL just weeks ago.

“What makes me nervous is this will be his first game in the CFL, but he has had other games and he has played in pro football,” Dickenson said. “He’s a smart kid and good athlete. I think he’s going to do just fine.

“He’s going to have his bumps just like everybody, but I don’t think it’s going to be too big for him.”

Notes: Wide receiver Mitch Picton has been listed ahead of fellow Canadian receiver Kian Schaffer-Baker on the depth chart, but Dickenson expects both to get a lot of playing time … Slotback Justin McInnis will miss the game as he deals with an illness … The Riders announced Friday they had signed defensive back Tyree Robinson. The 27-year-old signed with the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2018 and spent the season there before signing with the San Francisco 49ers in 2019. Robinson was in training camp with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats this summer. Robinson played college football at Oregon, where he made 201 tackles while recording two sacks and six interceptions over 52 games. He will be moved to the suspended list while he completes his quarantine.