Riders return after bye week looking for first win in seven games

The Saskatchewan Roughriders hope a bye week could help get things back on track.

The team entered the week off with a 0-6-1 record over their past seven games — the past four decisions have been losses.

“The energy was outstanding in the building prior to us getting to practice. During practice, guys were flying around and you could tell their legs looked a bit different,” said Riders head coach Corey Mace.

“You look at the results of how many guys had to play over that span. I thought the bye week was perfectly timed for us. We needed one.”

The Riders’ most recent loss came in a 26-21 decision in Winnipeg against the Bombers.

Quarterback Trevor Harris, who missed six games due to a knee injury earlier in the season, said the bye week came at a good time for him.

“My knee was bugging me a little bit so I was able to get some good treatment to where I can actually push off of it and run a little bit now which is awesome,” Harris said. “It was a good time for us to get out of the building and reset.”

Harris said during this stretch, the team has been finding ways to lose games rather than win them.

“Everyone took their turns,” Harris said. “There’s no more turns left.”

Offensive co-ordinator Marc Mueller said the bye week was good for a lot of things.

“Sometimes you might forget about certain things from four or five weeks ago. You try to refresh your memory of all the stuff you’ve ran throughout the year,” Mueller said. “When you look at stuff and you look at the numbers, you need to figure out the why of the numbers. It’s like anything in football — it takes a lot of time to get the job done.”

There don’t appear to be many changes coming to the lineup for the Riders. Defensive lineman Anthony Lanier II (knee) and offensive lineman Jacob Brammer (knee) were both limited in practice but didn’t participate in team drills on Monday.

Riders sign Ryquell Armstead

One change the team did make was to sign running back Ryquell Armstead.

Armstead started the season with the Ottawa Redblacks, where he rushed for he rushed for 623 yards and three touchdowns and made 35 receptions for 284 yards over 11 games.

On Sept. 3, it was announced the Redblacks had elected to release Armstead, who was kicked out of a Week 8 game due to committing two objectionable conduct infractions. He has also been fined twice by the CFL for breaking the CFL code of conduct when it comes to verbal abuse.

The New Jersey product was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fifth round (140th overall) in the 2019 NFL Draft. He played in 18 games for the Jaguars, contributing 348 total yards and two touchdowns.

The Riders enter their final five-game stretch currently third in the CFL West Division, but this pivotal part of the schedule begins with a showdown in Calgary against the Stampeders. Kickoff for the game is set for 7:30 p.m. Saskatchewan time on Friday.

Notes: Riders defensive tackle Miles Brown was fined the maximum amount for a low hit on Bombers quarterback Chris Streveler.

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