On Monday during his weekly appearance on the SportsCage with Michael Ball, Riders Head Coach Craig Dickenson hinted at some immediate changes on the team’s offensive line.
On Tuesday, the modification was revealed as starting right tackle Na’Ty Rodgers was released by the Roughriders following a season long struggle with discipline and sacks.
Dickenson said there were a couple of factors that led to the release of Rodgers.
“He wasn’t playing good enough, just taking too many penalties, that’s something we’ve been adamant from the get go, I know the new guys sometimes don’t believe me when I say that but it’s true we really emphasizing playing within the rules , clean and he wasn’t able to do that. ”
No replacement has been named for Friday’s game against the B.C. Lions. Dickenson said that either Andrew Lauderdale or Jamal Campbell would get the start.
During Tuesday’s practice, Campbell took the reps at right tackle with Lauderdale at left tackle since Terran Vaughn was absent from practice.
If Campbell gets the call on Friday, it would mark his first start since signing a contract with the Riders in the offseason after spending his entire career with his hometown Toronto Argonauts.
The Toronto product says even he started the season in a backup he worked on daily improvement during the first half of the season and is looking forward to a potential opportunity on Friday.
Campbell believes that growth is the key for the offensive line to solve their issues at stopping the pass rush.
“We’re going to practice, we’re going to develop and we’re just going out there and perform, and when we make mistakes we’re just going to get better and try and not make those mistakes again. ”
If Campbell assumes the starting role at right tackle this week, he will be protecting Cody Fajardo, his former teammate with the Argos. The national tackle is proud to see the QB’s career flourish in the prairies.
“He’s always been a team guy, he’s always been a great teammate, it’s good to witness him going from a different role back in 2017 having that franchise, guys believing in him, community believing in him, the organization believing in him, him going out there and ballin and him putting his body on the line. that’s what you look for.”
This week’s game is Purolator’s Tackle Hunger game at Mosaic Stadium, featuring the Grey Cup.
You can catch Friday’s game on 620 CKRM with Michael Ball, opening kickoff is 8:00.
