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All eyes are on the health of Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Cody Fajardo ahead of the CFL’s West Division final.
The 27-year-old has been dealing with an oblique injury he suffered during a closed practice on Oct. 30. While he didn’t throw many passes during practice on Wednesday at the AffinityPlex, he did toss a few 10- to 15-yard passes to wide receiver Shaq Evans off to the side during drills.
“(It felt) as good as I think it will feel at this point. It’s not going to be 100 per cent. That’s what I’ve got to know going into this game,” Fajardo said.
“I’ve got to walk this fine line between getting myself ready for the game and not overworking it. If you overwork yourself and regress, you find yourself in a tough situation.”
Fajardo, who is the West Division’s nominee for the league award as most outstanding player, once again said he will be playing in Sunday’s playoff showdown with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Mosaic Stadium. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m.
“We have six months to recover after this (playoff run) so it wouldn’t be very smart of me to shut it down now knowing that I have that six months off to rest and recover,” Fajardo said.
“I don’t want to leave my teammates out there to dry. I want to be out there for my guys, I want to be out there for the fans (and) I want to be out there for myself just to play and start my first playoff game.
“You can go through a 10-year career and not have this great opportunity (to play in the Grey Cup) so I don’t want to squander an opportunity like this and if it’s a little bit painful, so be it. I want to be out there with my guys.”
Head coach Craig Dickenson noted Fajardo has said he’s feeling good after getting an extra week off.
Fajardo didn’t play in Saskatchewan’s final regular-season game and then had another week of rest thanks to the first-round bye the Roughriders had in the playoffs.
“(Fajardo’s) starting to do some things that indicate that his range of motion is coming back. I know he wants to play,” Dickenson said. “The advice we’ve given him is, ‘Just make sure you’re ready on game day and don’t do anything beforehand that might jeopardize that.’ “
Dickenson also said Fajardo will be dressing for Sunday’s game.
“There’s no doubt so he’ll be on the sideline in gear,” Dickenson said. “Whether he starts or not, a lot of it depends on how he does this week but he will be dressed and ready to go.”
If Fajardo starts for the Roughriders, he will do battle with the quarterback he supplanted as the starter in Saskatchewan, Blue Bombers pivot Zach Collaros.
Collaros was traded by the Roughriders to the Toronto Argonauts, who then traded him to Winnipeg.
“Only in the CFL can you get traded twice and end up starting a playoff game,” Fajardo said. “(It’s) pretty remarkable what he has been able to do over there and credit to Winnipeg for welcoming him with open arms.
“I’m excited to go against him.”
Notes: Evans (toe) didn’t participate in many drills at practice Wednesday. Dickenson said Evans is “a wait-and-see guy.” If Evans can’t go, either Kenny Stafford or Jordan Williams-Lambert would start in his place … The Green Zone pre-game show gets underway Sunday at 1 p.m.