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Trevon Tate might not have had this game circled — but he admitted there is some extra motivation this week as the Saskatchewan Roughriders take on the Calgary Stampeders.
“You want to be like, ‘I told you so,’ but there’s really no hard feelings with that organization,” said the offensive tackle who had asked for his release from Calgary earlier this season. “In life, things just don’t work out sometimes. It’s all fine but come game day, I’m going to show the people who gave me a chance that giving me a chance was the best thing possible.”
Tate signed with the Stamps in the offseason after spending three seasons with the Toronto Argonauts. He only played one game for Calgary before his release. He was then signed by the Riders and head coach Corey Mace, who was the defensive co-ordinator in Toronto during Tate’s time there.
“It’s just another game for me. I’m not looking to prove anyone wrong, I’m just looking to prove people right,” Tate said.
Kickoff for Friday’s game is set for 7:30 p.m.
The Riders are currently in a seven-game winless streak (0-6-1) and have fallen from first to third in the CFL West Division.
In practice before the game against Calgary, Mace stopped practice twice on Tuesday to give a profanity-laden speech, at one point telling the players to get off the field.
Tate said they view this next stretch of games as the next step the team needs to take to be great.
“No one remembers what you’ve done last week as long as your next week is worth talking about,” Tate said. “The past is the past. If our last game is a win, that’s a great start. If the last game of the season is the Grey Cup and it’s a win, then no one is going to remember any loss we took.”
The Riders will see some lineup changes ahead of the game. Both running back Frankie Hickson (healthy scratch) and defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr. (personal) will not play and were added to the one-game injured list. Linebacker Nick Wiebe (knee) and defensive end Malik Carney (ankle) were put on the six-game injured list.
Ryquell Armstead, who was signed earlier this week after being cut by the Ottawa Redblacks, will start at running back.
“I think (Armstead) is a great fit for the team,” Tate said.
Defensive back Amari Henderson will come back into the lineup for Milligan while former Edmonton Elk Eric Black will join the defensive line rotation.
