Riderville.com
VERO BEACH, FLA. — One more sign another CFL season is upon us arrives on Sunday, as the Saskatchewan Roughriders kick off the first mini-camp of the season on Sunday in Vero Beach, Fla.
Historic Dodgertown is the site of the Riders’ annual three-day mini-camp, as quarterbacks Darian Durant and Brett Smith take the field with rookies and negotiation list players in various tests and one-on-one drills.
For Head Coach and General Manager Chris Jones, the next few days bring the Riders’ off-season full circle. Jones has been busy along with Assistant General Manager Jeremy O’Day attending free agent camps and evaluating potential future Riders.
“We started way back in January down here in Florida in West Palm and had our first workout early January, and we’ve gone across the country and now we’ve come all the way back,” said Jones.
Jones and his staff were already on the scene Saturday in Vero Beach holding another free agent camp, which he said will likely produce 12-14 additional players to take part in this week’s mini-camp. That will begin on Sunday and culminate Tuesday.
The free agent tryout, Jones added, sets the tone for what he expects will be a fast-paced few days for everyone involved.
“I thought it was very productive,” said Jones. “We did a good job, we were very efficient with our time. We did all of our testing within an hour and a half and we had 100 guys show up and it was one of those deals where we had some really good players and hard decisions to make.
“There’s no doubt, there are going to be some great looking kids here and we’re looking forward to pitting them against each other.”
Most of the Riders’ regulars won’t be in action this week, while the most impressive players will earn a chance to compete in training camp come the beginning of June. Two familiar faces that will be on hand belong to the quarterbacks Durant and Smith.
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The return of no. 4 for the Riders is particularly noteworthy, as Durant hits the field for an organized team activity for the first time since suffering a season-ending injury in the season opener last season.
“I’ve gone against Darian for so long,” said Jones. “He’s quite the leader, he’s the field general. He’s tough as nails.
“It’s unfortunate the last two years he’s had injuries so it’s going to be good to see him get back on the field.”
For the Riders it’s the first step of a long journey on the road to redemption following a forgettable three-win season in 2015, while for fans it’s the first sign of football in 2016.
“It’s going to be really exciting,” said Jones. “It’s like Christmas Day for the coaches.”
Stay tuned to CFL.ca for continuing coverage of the Riders’ mini-camp, including a live stream from Riderville.com that will begin at 12:30pm ET on Monday.
– With files from Riderville.com
