Evans still a few weeks away from returning to Riders’ lineup

Shaq Evans is getting closer to returning to the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ lineup.

The receiver posted a video on Twitter on Monday of him jogging for the first time since suffering a broken foot in a CFL game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Aug. 14.

On Tuesday, he was also out catching footballs thrown from a machine on the sideline during practice at Mosaic Stadium.

But Riders fans shouldn’t expect him to suit up right away.

“I think it’s steady as she goes. I don’t know where he is at on the six-game (injured list) but he’s not able to practise yet. He’s catching some balls but I think he’s two to three weeks away from being able to run on it like he needs too,” said head coach Craig Dickenson.

The Riders are to play back-to-back games against the Calgary Stampeders before heading on a bye week.

After that bye week is when Dickenson expects Evans to at least start practising again.

While the team has been able to find production from players like wide receiver Kian Schaffer-Baker and recently slotback Ricardo Louis in Evans’ absence, Dickenson admits the offence has lost a bit of a step without Evans.

“He was a vertical threat out there. I do think the other guys have stepped up and played well but getting him back will add a little bit of juice to our offence,” Dickenson said.

While the Roughriders have been able to beat everyone in front of them not named the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in Evans’ absence, the passing attack hasn’t been striking fear into the hearts of opponents.

The Riders have thrown for a middle-of-the-pack 1,733 yards this season with seven touchdowns — only three of which have come without Evans in the lineup.

In 2019, Evans and quarterback Cody Fajardo emerged to become one of the top duos in the CFL. During Evans’ breakout season, he caught 72 passes for 1,334 yards and five touchdowns.

Fajardo said he’s excited about getting back his top passing option from the previous season.

“A bunch of the QBs and receivers went out and had a bite to eat and he was there and he was excited about his progress,” Fajardo said. “Depth is going to help you win games later in the year and we know that and we’ve already dealt with a lot of injuries and had to see how much depth we had at a lot of positions.”

And while Fajardo has been impressed with how the receiver room has stepped up in Evans’ absence, he also feels the offence will get a boost with the third-season wide receiver back in the lineup.

“I think Shaq’s a guy where you can force feed him two or three and he’s going to come down with at least two and maybe get a (pass interference call) on the third,” Fajardo said. “(You can) look his way and maybe get the offence ignited. That’s what he brings.”

The Riders take on the Stampeders on Saturday at 5 p.m. The Green Zone pregame show gets underway at 3 p.m.

Notes: Fajardo was named a CFL top performer for the week after his performance in Friday’s 31-24 win over the B.C. Lions. Fajardo completed 24 of 31 passes for 279 yards and a touchdown while also orchestrating a 56-yard game-winning drive that ended with him scoring on a quarterback sneak. This is the third time this season Fajardo has been named a weekly top performer … Defensive backs Nick Marshall and Loucheiz Purifoy were given Tuesday off.