‘I want to be there’: Evans to return to Saskatchewan in 2021

There was only one place Shaq Evans wanted to play football in 2021.

“My heart is (in Regina) and I was never really swayed by anything and I was always hoping and desiring to be back in Saskatchewan. I just always had faith I would be back in the team,” Evans said from his home in California on Tuesday.

“It was tough not having a season (in 2020 due to COVID-19) and something definitive to look forward to, but at the end of the day, I have faith that 2020 is gone but 2021 is going to happen because I feel like it is an important league and people love it.

“As long as the Riders are going to be there, I want to be there because I’ve fallen in love being there because it’s the first place as a professional I’ve been able to find success.”

The Roughriders announced the star wide receiver had extended his contract to keep him in green and white for the next season. He could have become a free agent in February.

Evans was one of the CFL’s breakout stars in 2019, recording 1,334 yards and five touchdowns on 72 catches.

Evans said general manager Jeremy O’Day has been open and transparent with him when it comes to contracts and players and staff having to take pay cuts. Evans said he also has talked to other players about the same thing.

“You understand that things are going to be different,” Evans said. “It’s your job and you try to excel at (football) and continue to make more and more money every year. It was definitely tough to not reap the benefits of my previous season in (2019) but everything happens for a reason and you’ve got to keep a positive mindset.”

O’Day said he and the staff knew Evans was someone they wanted to keep on the team long term ever since a free-agent camp in California in 2018, when Evans fought through multiple injuries.

“He fought through every injury that he had in that camp and you could tell that he was out there for a purpose and that it meant a lot to him. He worked his butt off in that camp and won the staff over with his work ethic,” O’Day said.

“When you have a guy like that who has gone through some injuries and challenges in his football career and then has success, it brings everyone in the room closer.”

Now that he knows where he’s playing in 2021, Evans’ focus turns to getting ready for the season. He said he spent most of 2020 working out and training.

“When it comes to the conditioning part, it’s definitely going to be tough taking a year off and then trying to get back into football because football’s a game where you need a lot of rhythm and your body needs to acclimate to it,” Evans said.

Evans is one of the players who knows first-hand what being out of football for a year can do to an athlete. He didn’t play for a team in 2017.

“Coming in 2018 with the Riders, I kept getting little muscle injuries because my body was still reacclimating so hopefully that’s not the case this year because you know that’s going to happen so you can prepare your body,” Evans said.

Evans will also try to keep the chemistry he found with quarterback Cody Fajardo in 2019.

“I’m going to definitely try to get down to Nevada and work out a couple times with him before this season comes up because we definitely need to get that chemistry going a little bit,” Evans said.

“The thing that’s crazy (is) before he ended up starting … all of us had so much chemistry from the first week he played and we had no reps with him prior to that. In my career I’ve never got to play with one quarterback consistently.”

Riders announce other signings

The Roughriders have been busy, continuing to announce signings over the past few days.

The team announced Monday it has re-signed American defensive back Blace Brown and Canadian linebacker Micah Teitz. American defensive back Hamp Cheevers and American defensive lineman Chris Livings also opted back into their CFL contracts with the team.

On Tuesday, the Roughriders announced American defensive linemen Keion Adams and Freddie Bishop III had been signed. American linebacker Matthew Thomas opted back into his contract.

Previously, Saskatchewan had reported it had re-signed offensive linemen Brendon LaBatte and Dan Clark, cornerback Nick Marshall, receiver Jake Harty and defensive end Jordan Reaves, among others.