Darrell Davis: Jones and Durant weren't meant for each other

The forced marriage between Chris Jones and Darian Durant has ended, barely more than a year after they got stuck together with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

From the moment he was hired as the Riders’ football boss, Jones never seemed happy about having an aging, injured, high-priced legend as his team’s quarterback. Those aren’t good attributes for a rebuilding squad.

After shedding most of the CFL team’s veteran players, Jones retained Durant on a renegotiated, one-year, cheaper contract. Throughout their one season together there wasn’t much joy, and Jones was reticent whenever asked about Durant.

Durant had a decent season, suffered some minor injuries, and the Roughriders won five of 18 games. Jones alluded to the team’s record Friday when he announced the Riders had traded Durant, a pending free agent, to the Montreal Alouettes for two draft picks.

Never mind that Jones constructed  — or deconstructed — the team that won only five games. Durant wasn’t Jones’ quarterback, so he had to go.