Riders dealt another blow to O-line, Terran Vaughn possibly out for season

And then there was one.

Centre Dan Clark is the only member from the 2019 starting Saskatchewan Roughriders offensive line who will play in Week 1 for the 2021 version of the team.

Head coach Craig Dickenson said that tackle Terran Vaughn, who started 15 games for the Riders in 2019, has a tear in his shoulder which could end his season. This comes one day before the Riders open their season on Friday against the B.C. Lions at Mosaic Stadium.

“We were hoping he could play but from early in training camp — I think he hurt it like day two or three — and that was it,” Dickenson said. “We tried our best to strengthen it and see if he could go but a couple days (into) practice and it was obvious it wasn’t right. We made the decision, and he was supportive of it, to go ahead and shelf him and try to fix it and get it strong and get it ready for next year.

“We don’t expect him back. I think he’s got a pretty significant tear and we will have to get it fixed and move onto the rehab part of it as opposed to trying to get him ready to play.”

The loss of Vaughn is another blow to the team, who has become well acquainted with loss since 2019 — where the depth of it was a strength for the team.

But Dariusz Bladek and Philip Blake signed with the Toronto Argonauts, Dakoda Shepley is with the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers, Takoby Cofield and Braden Schram retired before the season started and perennial all-star Brendon LaBatte chose to sit out the 2021 season.

Quarterback Cody Fajardo says losing Vaughn is a big one for the Green and White.

“Everyone knows our offensive line, numbers-wise, we’re very thin. Probably the thinnest in the CFL but I believe in everybody in that room,” Fajardo said. “Vaughn is so tough and he tried to gut it out.”

With Vaughn out, Brett Boyko will slide over to the left-side tackle. American Cam Jefferson, who was on the 2019 practice roster, will start at right tackle.

“(Cam) has been with us a couple years, he had a pretty good camp. He’s an experienced guy, he’s played in a lot of different leagues and went to a good University,” Dickenson said.

“We know him fairly well but we don’t know him extremely well in the fact he hasn’t played a lot of football for us game wise … We’re excited for Cam and he’s a big guy and he’s strong and athletic and I’m hoping that he shows all the work he has put in over the past few years pays off because he’s being given a chance.”

Prior to coming to the Riders in 2019, Jefferson played for the Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills and the Washington Football Team.

Boyko joins the Riders after spending 2019 with the Lions. Boyko’s play was criticized during his tenure with B.C. and he was benched partway through the season.

Logan Ferland, who joined the team in 2019 as a territorial junior, will play left guard on Friday. In the past, he’s split time with the Riders and Regina Thunder.

Evan Johnson will play the right guard position after spending the past three seasons with the Ottawa Redblacks.

Josiah St. John, who the Saskatchewan Roughriders took first overall in the 2016 CFL draft, will be the sixth offensive lineman on the roster.

Kickoff for the clash against the B.C. Lions is at 7:30 p.m.

The Green Zone pregame show gets underway at 5:30 p.m.