Jamie Nye: Signing Fajardo was right for Green and White

Cody Fajardo signing on with the Saskatchewan Roughriders for another season is a perfect fit.

Fajardo just fits in. He’s a hard-working, appreciative leader who has done it the hard way. He was a practice-roster guy and a third-string, short-yardage specialist until finally getting his shot — albeit because of injury — to try and prove he can lead a CFL team on his own.

And lead he did.

His personality allowed fans to get to know him quickly and I haven’t seen a guy jump to fan favourite that quickly since Weston Dressler did it in 2008. Of course, winning helps.

But the contract itself is a good one for Saskatchewan in a business sense. The Roughriders believe Fajardo is the right guy, but after one year, you can’t put all your chips in. Another season like 2019 and you’ll be looking for much more than a one-year extension, of course.

But for right now, Fajardo and the Riders do seem like a perfect fit and, with most of his weapons returning from his breakout year, there should be confidence we could start to see the rise of the next great franchise quarterback in Saskatchewan.