Key free-agent signings finally able to hit the field
Linebacker and defensive back suffered torn Achilles tendons in camp last year
Their first seasons with the Saskatchewan Roughriders were over for Nelson Lokombo and Larry Dean, but not their careers.
Dean, Lokombo, defensive end Freddie Bishop III and running back Jonathan Femi-cole suffered season-ending torn Achilles tendons during a players-only pre-training camp workout on May 8, 2021, at Mosaic Stadium.
Only Dean, a middle linebacker, and Lokombo, a defensive back, were with the Riders as the Green and White were on the field Friday for the second day of main training camp. Bishop didn't re-sign with the Riders after becoming a free agent. Femi-cole retired on May 9.
“It's nice to get back on the field because it was really tough,” Lokombo said Friday at the University of Saskatchewan's Griffiths Stadium. “My year off was tough mentally at the beginning. I jumped over that hurdle and just went to work. I just did what I could do to get back.”
Dean and Bishop were high-profile free-agent signings who were expected to start at their respective positions.
Lokombo was selected second overall by the Riders in the 2021 CFL draft out of the U of S. Femicole was picked in the sixth round (53rd overall) of the 2020 CFL draft out of Western.
The injuries took place within a span of six minutes during a scripted drill at Mosaic Stadium. Lokombo, 23, said he was the fourth player to tear an Achilles tendon.
“After three people blew their Achilles, I didn't think it could happen to me,” he said. “Then, sure enough, it happened, but you can't control what happens.
“We did have quarantine before we went out there so there could have been some tightness, but I really couldn't tell you why it happened. I felt good that day and there wasn't any indication of anything before.”
The session was one of the first workouts for the Riders' first since the 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We certainly evaluated what we were doing, but we underestimated the time off and the impact it had on the guys,” said Riders head coach Craig Dickenson. “They had been working out, but really they weren't. What I've learned is until your eyes are on them, you don't know if they are in good enough shape. I've learned to be a little more cautious at the start of training camp.”
Dean looked back on what happened to him as a journey. It started with the tear that was followed by a gruelling rehab that ended with him being on the field slightly more than a year later.
“It's one of those things that you want to ask why, but it's really about `what's the next step' ” he said. “We knew what the injury was and now what was my recovery time and how do I come back? Now I'm standing here.”
Dean described the rehab as a week-by-week process. He progressed from being immobilized to being in a walking cast. He then focused on strengthening the injured area, which included completing something as simple as a calf raise.
“They worked hard,” Dickenson said. “They rehabbed and they have strengthened their bodies. They were really hungry to get out here and show that they've got something. To see Larry and Nelson flying around — and they looked great — was really a joy to see.”
Dickenson said the Riders tried to convince Femi-cole to return, but he was set on retiring.
“We're hopeful that at some point Jonathan changes his mind and wants to come back,” Dickenson said. “He has some family things that he wants to take care of. Of the four Achilles that were torn, three were coming back and coming back at full strength.”
Lokombo said his Achilles felt about “90 per cent” during Friday's practice.
“I still have a little bit of work to do in terms of regaining muscle mass,” he said. “I felt good and I felt fast. It's exactly where it should be.”