Roughriders players adapt to lost 2020 season

Members of the Saskatchewan Roughriders are adjusting to a year without football.

The 2020 CFL season was cancelled on Monday, leading players to ponder not just their long-term futures but their short-term ones as well.

The CFL Players’ Association and the league continue to have talks about contract opt-outs for the players. CFL players will also be eligible for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy program.

While there are reports the union announced players in the last year of their contracts will be able to opt out to chase other opportunities, it said conversations are still ongoing about players with multiple years remaining.

If all players are able to opt out, quarterback Cody Fajardo said he won’t be one of them.

“I had about five or six NFL teams interested in me. I committed to the Riders for two years and my word is very strong and something I firmly believe in and I will honour my contract until the end no matter if NFL teams showed interest or not,” Fajardo said.

“I’m not knocking players that opt out because obviously you need to supplement income. I think the Riders have done so much for me and catapulting my career (that) I at least owe them that, to finish out my contract and not opt out of it.”

Fajardo signed a two-year contract extension in October, keeping him in green and white until after the 2021 season. He said NFL teams started to show interest near the end of the season before he signed on the dotted line.

“Obviously once I signed it, they were like, ‘Well we can’t do anything now,’ but they were talking about bringing me in and just having a guy now that I have tape. A lot of people really loved my talent and loved my upside but I just had no tape on me and I really had no experience,” Fajardo said.

“I was done real dirty in the NFL I felt like (before coming north) and the CFL has always welcomed me with open arms and the fans have been incredible.”

One player who has some more questions about his future is wide receiver Shaq Evans, who signed a one-year contract extension with the Roughriders in February.

Saskatchewan Roughriders receiver Shaq Evans. (File photo courtesy of the Saskatchewan Roughriders)

He said his agent is going to see if there’s interest from the NFL but that doesn’t mean he wants out of his contract early.

“I don’t want to opt out and then there’s no real opportunities that meet my needs and meet what I want,” Evans said. “I want it to be something guaranteed, something where I’m getting money up front.

“I don’t want to go to a team and be another roster guy competing for a spot. At this point in training camp, someone coming in right now wouldn’t have a good chance making a spot.”

Evans is set to become a free agent in February.

Like many others, Fajardo is disappointed there won’t be a CFL season in 2020. Fajardo said it’s frustrating because he feels Saskatchewan could have competed for a Grey Cup this year.

“On paper we were so talented and (general manager Jeremy O’Day) did a tremendous job,” Fajardo said. “The team probably won’t be the same next year just knowing the circumstances and guys on one-year contracts.

“That’s probably what’s going to hurt the most is knowing this 2020 team that was so talented won’t ever be in the locker room or on the field together.”

Evans shared that sentiment, believing the Roughriders were a team that could have been at the top of the league.

“I felt like a lot of guys were going to come back even better and when you come back better individually and you come collectively, you come back a better team. We felt like we were the best team last year and we just didn’t show up when we needed to and I felt like that lit a fire in our hearts,” Evans said.

Both players also need to determine how they will supplement their income without a season being played.

Fajardo said he teaches about 11 or 12 young quarterbacks a week and charges a sum, but likes to keep it affordable.

“My whole thing is money is always going to be there and if I have to get a second job, I have no problem with that but being out on the field and being with these guys, I never want to have a quarterback not be able to train because they can’t afford it,” Fajardo said.

Evans has also had to figure out a new way to get some income, which has included applying to become a food courier.

“It really put things into perspective because I really love football. I don’t want to do a regular job yet. I know eventually I have to, but that’s not where my mindset is,” Evans said.

Fajardo said he and the Roughriders’ starting receivers had a training session planned for Phoenix but COVID-19 put a stop to that. Fajardo said slotback Jordan Williams-Lambert spent a week with him working out and building a rapport.

As the CFL moves into a new era, Fajardo hopes the players can have more influence in the league. He hopes the CFL steps up and markets the players more, and not just in Canada.

“All the people that watch the CFL in the States that I know watch it because I play there and as soon as they watch it, they fall in love with it,” Fajardo said. “They say this is more exciting than the NFL. Each game goes down to the wire (and) the quirky rules make the game much more exciting to a lot of American fans.”