Vince Young sidelined by injury
Quarterback’s comeback attempt with Roughriders could be over before it began
The focus of Vince Young’s comeback attempt underwent a dramatic change on Monday.
The initial emphasis was on whether the former NFL and NCAA star quarterback could adjust to the CFL while attempting to resurrect his football career with the Saskatchewan Roughriders at age 34.
On Monday, however, Riders head coach and general manager Chris Jones said Young could be sidelined four to six weeks with a torn hamstring. He suffered the injury during training camp on June 6.
The Roughriders now have to decide what to do with Young. They could place him on the sixgame injured list and see what he is like when he has had an opportunity to recover. They could also release Young, effectively ending his comeback bid.
Despite Young’s extensive NFL experience, he’s still considered a CFL rookie and the Riders can release him without any obligation on their part.
“He’ll have to take it easy and we’ll see where he is at when he gets it well,” Jones said Monday.
Young hasn’t practised since the injury. He didn’t dress for Saturday’s 25-25 pre-season tie with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Mosaic Stadium.
“It’s disappointing that we didn’t get to see (Young) in the pre-season game because that’s the easier time to evaluate him in a real game situation,” Jones said.
“It’s unfortunate because it didn’t look like he was running really hard (when he injured the hamstring). When we had the MRI in Toronto the other day it was actually torn. It was a lot worse than what we envisioned.”
Young hasn’t taken a snap in a regular-season game since 2011, when he was with the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles. He retired from football in 2014 after being released by the Cleveland Browns.
“You never know with these things and exactly what it might be,” Jones said. “He’s a tough guy and he didn’t even grab his leg and he had torn his hamstring. He didn’t even reach for it, which was a weird deal seeing him go down that way.
“He’s a proud guy and he’s going to meet it head-on. When he’s in the training room, he’s doing everything the trainers are asking of him, trying to get well and trying to compete.”
The Riders added Young to their negotiation list in February after hearing he might be interested in a comeback. Amid a great deal of fanfare, the Riders announced Young’s signing on March 9.
Young ’s comeback garnered interest from media outlets across Canada and the United States. It also generated additional exposure for the Riders in American markets.
“The exposure, I could care less about that,” Jones said. “In fact, I would have liked a little less exposure. The fact we didn’t get to see him in the games was why we brought him here to see if he could compete at the quarterback position. That is a position that we wanted to identify guys who could help us win football games and that’s why we’re here. It was unfortunate that the injury happened.”
Young has been sincere in his comeback attempt. He practised with Canadian footballs before attending the Riders’ mini-camp in Vero Beach, Fla., and performed well enough to earn an invitation to the main camp.
Young was inconsistent at training camp while adapting to the nuances of the Canadian game. Overall, he had been outplayed by two younger quarterbacks — Brandon Bridge and Bryan Bennett.
Veteran Kevin Glenn, who turned 38 on Monday, has been the front-runner to start at quarterback even when Young was healthy. Young, Bridge, Bennett and Marquise Williams were battling to be Glenn’s backup.
Bridge moved into second on the depth chart after an impressive performance in Saturday’s game. He completed 20 of 26 pass attempts for 201 yards and a touchdown.
“All of those spots are available, but right now Kevin Glenn is our starter and we’ll see as we go,” Jones said.
“Brandon Bridge did some really good things and he played against B.C. in the final regular-season game last year.
“It doesn’t take a genius to figure out when someone plays well and someone doesn’t play as well, that’s the way we will line up. Brandon Bridge helped himself with the performance he put on the other night.”