Riders sign national quarterback Brandon Bridge
REGINA — The Saskatchewan Roughriders and national quarterback Brandon Bridge have agreed to a contract, the team confirmed Wednesday.
The 24-year-old Mississauga, Ont. native was believed to have worked out with the Riders on Monday more than a week after being released by the Montreal Alouettes on Aug. 1.
CFL.ca’s Rod Pedersen was among those who initially reported the signing Wednesday morning, while Herb Zurkowsky of the Montreal Gazette reported that Bridge chose the Riders over the Ottawa REDBLACKS, the other team rumoured to be in the running.
A fourth round pick (31st overall) of the Alouettes in the 2015 CFL Draft, the 6-foot-5, 235-pound Bridge likely fits in as a developmental quarterback for first-year head coach and general manager Chris Jones — a role the Alouettes seemingly had him pegged for in Montreal before his release.
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Brandon Bridge was released by the Alouettes on Aug. 1 (David Chidley/CFL.ca)
Last season Bridge dressed for 11 regular season games, completing 26 of 40 pass attempts (65.0 per cent) for 282 yards and two touchdowns while adding 18 carries for 59 yards. He dressed for four 2016 games for the Als, registering three carries for two yards.
Injuries to Jonathan Crompton and Dan LeFevour in Week 1 of 2015 put Bridge in the spotlight early in his career, when he entered the game for the second half of a season-opening loss to the Ottawa REDBLACKS. Bridge was an option to start the following week, but Rakeem Cato earned the nod and remained ahead of Bridge on the Alouettes’ depth chart.
The 24-year-old South Alabama graduate earned his first career start in the season finale of last year on Nov. 8 2015, becoming the first Canadian quarterback to start a CFL game since 1995. In that outing, a loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Bridge threw for 220 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 21-of-30 passing.
Where Bridge would fit in on the Riders’ depth chart is unknown; Darian Durant continues to hold down the starting role and has thrown seven touchdowns and no interceptions through four starts in 2016. Mitchell Gale meanwhile has gone 1-1 in two starts and is likely locked in as the team’s No. 2 option.
The team announced the release of B.J. Coleman on Tuesday, meaning Bridge would join Durant, Gale, G.J. Kinne and Vad Lee in the Riders’ quarterback huddle.
The Riders currently sit last in the West Division with a 1-5 record and are back in action on Saturday when they host the Calgary Stampeders in the back half of a home-and-home.
