FAJARDO PROVIDES STABILITY UNDER CENTRE FOR ROUGHRIDERS
In 2020, the Saskatchewan Roughriders will leave it up to their pass rushers to chase a quarterback.
The pursuit of a premier pivot is no longer a priority for the general manager.
Jeremy O’day saw to that in October, when he signed Cody Fajardo to a contract extension that carries through the 2021 season. Fajardo would go on to be named the West Division’s most outstanding player and the CFL’S all-star quarterback.
The Green and White has not enjoyed such stability behind centre since 2014, when Darian Durant signed a new deal a few months after engineering a home-field Grey Cup victory.
The Roughriders are preparing to enter a season with an all-canadian QB for the first time since 1991. Back then, Kent Austin was coming off a banner year.
Yes, quarterback Kerry Joseph was named a CFL all-star following the Roughriders’ championship season of 2007 — during which he was also named the most outstanding player in Canadian professional football.
But the personable passer’s peak production did not deter the Roughriders’ GM of the day, Eric Tillman, from trading Joseph to the Toronto Argonauts on March 5, 2008.
That transaction, shocking at the time, was the catalyst for a chain of events that eventually resulted in the installation of Durant as the Roughriders’ No. 1 quarterback.
Durant guided the team to
Grey Cup appearances in 2009, 2010 and 2013, winning his first championship as a starting quarterback in ’13. He was duly rewarded with a new contract.
The subsequent five off-seasons were not as blissful for the Roughriders, who endured a protracted period of uncertainty with regard to quarterbacking.
Durant suffered a torn tendon in his right elbow Sept. 7, 2014, against the host Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The season-ending injury created doubts as to his effectiveness in 2015.
He proceeded to throw two touchdown passes in the first half of the 2015 regular-season opener, only to suffer a ruptured left Achilles tendon near halftime.
Durant was the Roughriders’ starter for most of the 2016 season, only to be dealt to the Montreal Alouettes the following January. Former NFL and University of Texas Longhorns star Vince Young was signed, amid much fanfare, in March of 2017. His comeback attempt was a flop.
Kevin Glenn, with assistance from Brandon Bridge, handled the quarterbacking in 2017. Glenn and Bridge combined for a Cfl-best 35 touchdown passes, but that arrangement was nonetheless deemed unsatisfactory.
Glenn was released Jan. 4,
2018, one day after veteran Zach Collaros had been acquired from the Hamilton Tiger-cats. Collaros arrived with a credible resume, but a history of injuries. Some caution was advisable.
Collaros performed respectably in 2018, but two more concussions created doubts as to his future.
O’day wasn’t overly concerned. After unsuccessfully wooing Calgary Stampeders star signal-caller Bo Levi Mitchell on Day 1 of free agency in 2019, O’day re-signed Collaros.
Three plays into the season, Collaros sustained a concussion that ultimately concluded his active duty as a Roughrider.
Fajardo took over and became a sensation. Collaros, after a non-playing stint with the Argonauts, was dealt to Winnipeg and piloted the Blue Bombers to their first title since 1990. And everyone lived happily ever after.