Fajardo, Riders ink extension through 2021
REGINA — The Saskatchewan Roughriders announced on Monday that they have come to terms on a contract extension with quarterback Cody Fajardo. The deal will keep Fajardo in green through 2021.
“I’m super excited for Cody and his family. Super excited for our team as well,” Riders general manager Jeremy O’Day told Riderville.com. “It’s a big day for our organization to get Cody to commit to our team for a few more years, and we’re excited about that. We started this process probably a couple of months ago when we started discussions with Cody and his representation.
“Very early in the process, we had a touch base discussion and as time went on, (we) increased those talks with them and really came to the determination that both parties wanted to try and get a deal done, which was exciting for us.”
Fajardo is in his first season with Saskatchewan. He had previous stints with the Toronto Argonauts at the BC Lions. The 27-year-old came in to relieve Zach Collaros after he was injured on the team’s opening drive of the season in Week 1 against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Since then, Fajardo has been trusted behind centre by head coach Craig Dickenson and the Riders’ staff.
“The last couple of years have been tough because I’ve been living on a one-year contract. Going into the offseason, you never know where you’re going to end up; it’s been hard on my family,” Fajardo said. “Going into the offseason, I was kind of like ‘well, this could be my last season playing football,’ or a team could take a chance on me.
“I’m fortunate enough that the Riders took a chance on me and JO took a chance on me. I got an opportunity and I didn’t want to regret it. Being locked in for two years, it feels good to know there’s still more football in my life.”
In 16 games this season, he’s thrown for 3,873 yards and 16 touchdowns while completing 71 percent of his passes. Fajardo also sits second in the league behind only Winnipeg’s Chris Streveler with 610 rushing yards on 106 carries. He’s gotten into the end zone on 10 occasions while running the ball.
Following a run of games as the starter, the Riders decided to move forward with Fajardo, trading Collaros to Toronto.
Fajardo is trying to help the Riders capture the West Division crown for the first time since 2009. They’re still contending with the Calgary Stampeders, but the team will be back in action on Saturday when they travel to Commonwealth Stadium for a showdown with the Edmonton Eskimos. Kickoff is slated for 7:00 p.m. ET.
– With files from Riderville.com
