CONSPICUOUS BY HIS ABSENCE
Riders’ top pick remains unsigned
It appears the Saskatchewan Roughriders will open training camp without their top draft pick under contract for the second consecutive year.
The Riders announced on Friday the signings of six of their nine selections in the 2017 CFL draft. Absent from the list was UCLA linebacker Cameron Judge — the second-overall pick.
Justin Dunk of 3downnation.com reported Friday that the Riders and Judge’s representatives have made progress in their talks, but a gap still remains.
Josiah St. John, the first overall pick by the Riders in the 2016 draft, missed all of last year’s training camp and the team’s first regularseason game due to a contract holdout.
The Riders open training camp Sunday at the University of Saskatchewan’s Griffiths Stadium.
Receiver Antony Auclair, who was selected in the fourth round (30th overall) and offensive lineman Danny Sprukulis, picked in the sixth round (46th overall), were also unsigned as of Friday.
Auclair has signed a rookie contract with the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, therefore it’s unlikely the Laval product will sign with the Riders in the near future. Sprukulis is finishing a program required to complete his studies in engineering at the University of Toronto.
The Riders’ draft picks whose signings were announced Friday were Bethune-Cookman offensive lineman Dariusz Bladek (second round, 11th overall), Western offensive lineman Eddie Meredith (fourth round, 32nd), Regina receiver Mitchell Picton (fifth round, 37th), Sherbrooke linebacker Alexandre Chevrier (seventh round, 55th), Carleton defensive tackle Emmanuel Adusei (seventh round, 57th) and Montreal offensive lineman Marc Glaude (eighth round, 64th).
The Riders also announced the free-agent signings of national defensive linemen Albert Awachie and Emile Charron-Ligez, international defensive lineman Davis Tull and international defensive back Sammy Williams.
Offensive lineman Brendon Philogene and running back Johnathon Thebaud, both of the PFC’s Regina Thunder, have been invited to training camp as territorial juniors.