Jordan Williams-Lambert rejoins Riders; won’t play Saturday

Jordan Williams-Lambert is once again in Green and White.

The 2018 CFL West Division most outstanding rookie signed an extension with the Saskatchewan Roughriders earlier this week that will keep him with the team through the 2020 season.

Williams-Lambert had an opportunity to try out with the NFL’s Chicago Bears after filing a grievance with the CFL in the off-season. He was among the Bears’ final cuts ahead of the 2019 season.

“We all know football careers and how they go. There’s ups and downs,” Williams-Lambert said after practice Wednesday at Mosaic Stadium. “The goal is to be playing on the field and reach your goals but sometimes it doesn’t always work out that way.

“I’m fortunate enough to be back here and be able to join a good Riders team and go on a playoff run.”

But Roughriders fans are going to have to wait a few weeks before they get a chance to see the talented receiver on the field.

Head coach Craig Dickenson has said Williams-Lambert will not suit up for Saturday’s game against the Montreal Alouettes. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m.

Williams-Lambert was a bright spot in what was a tough year for the Roughriders’ passing attack in 2018. He recorded 764 yards and four touchdowns in his first CFL season.

While he was unable to land with an NFL team, Williams-Lambert believes he will get another shot at it at some point.

“The opportunity will be there in the future so this was where God has taken me so I’ve kind of taken that route with a grain of salt so I’m going to make the most of this opportunity (in Saskatchewan),” Williams-Lambert said.

Williams-Lambert said his agent and Roughriders general manager Jeremy O’Day had been in discussions for a few days to bring the receiver back to Saskatchewan.

“There’s great people in the locker room so it’s always a great opportunity to be a part of the team,” Williams-Lambert said.

Receiver Kyran Moore, one of Williams-Lambert’s roommates last season, said he had talked to Williams-Lambert on Monday so he wasn’t surprised to see him walk onto the sidelines Tuesday at practice.

“It feels real good to have him back,” Moore said.

Williams-Lambert will join an offence that has struggled for the most part over the past four games. Outside of a 40-18 win over the Ottawa Redblacks on Aug. 24, the Roughriders’ offence has scored only one touchdown in three of its past four games.

Moore expects the addition of Williams-Lambert to help the offence put up big numbers once again if he cracks the lineup.

“Everybody knows what (Williams-Lambert) can do and, in my eyes, he got better,” Moore said. “He can add to the deep game, he can add to the blocking game and he adds to the intermediate game.”

Dickenson has said that the Roughriders will not be changing the ratio, so for Williams-Lambert to get an opportunity to get on the field, he will compete with the other American receivers on the team — Moore, Shaq Evans, Emmanuel Arceneaux, Naaman Roosevelt and Kenny Stafford.

While they might be competing for playing time, Moore said he doesn’t think about it as a competition.

“I don’t look at it as pressure, I just look at it as another clapping hand for me,” Moore said.

Notes: Defensive lineman Micah Johnson was fined by the CFL for a high hit on Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Chris Streveler in Saturday’s Banjo Bowl … Wide receiver Justin McInnis (shoulder) missed his second straight day of practice. Dickenson said if McInnis is unable to play, Brayden Lenius and Mitch Picton would split snaps at the position … Defensive end A.C. Leonard was back at practice after leaving early Tuesday … The Green Zone pre-game show gets underway Saturday at 3 p.m.