Redblacks’ Rose eyes return to field in 2020
The 2019 football season hurt for Ottawa Redblacks defensive back Jonathan Rose.
It wasn’t just what happened on the field as the Redblacks finished as the worst team in the CFL with a 3-15 record. For the 26-year-old Rose, it was the pain he felt in his neck/back.
While the Redblacks finished off their season Friday night with a 4232 loss to the Montreal Alouettes, Rose’s season came to a crashing halt July 5, after Ottawa’s third game. He said he was feeling pain — he wasn’t specific about where — and didn’t want to put himself at further risk. He’s hoping his football-playing days aren’t over.
“I don’t think it’s over, but that’s me being hopeful,” said Rose on Sunday. “From what I know about it, I think I can play. People who have gone through similar scenarios, they come back and can still play at a high level. I feel like I could play for another five or six more solid years. No doctor has officially told me I’m done. It’s going to be on me and how I feel.”
After four years with the Redblacks, Rose is a potential free agent heading into the 2020 season. He will get a better handle on what’s ahead when he goes to see a doctor next week.
For now, surgery is not on the table.
“It just got to the point where I needed to rest,” said Rose. “It was my decision.
“I know my body. I’ve been playing this game for a long time. When I made contact with a person in a game and I felt this, I knew I needed to get it checked out. Over the years, you take contact — but it was contact I felt like I could bounce back from. This, I feel like I needed somebody to take a look at it.
“My play was good. People didn’t understand the severity (of the injury). I could have performed, but maybe something happens and makes something small worse. I feel I can do contact, it’s not that I’m shying away from it.”