They say you can’t go home again, but Brayden Lenius is more than happy to be back in Saskatchewan and suiting up for the green and white once again.
Lenius said it felt like old times being out at on the field at Mosaic Stadium for his first practice on Wednesday.
“Even with all the plays and being out here with the guys it feels like I haven’t skipped a step honestly, it just feels good to come back and be out here with these boys, can’t wait for Sunday, hopefully I can add a little more to the offence and help these guys keep rolling.”
The Canadian signed with the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons during the offseason after he had 39 receptions for 471 yards with four touchdowns with the Riders in 2021. While he played receiver in the CFL, the 25 year old attempted to make the Falcons as tight end, which required him to put on additional weight.
“I played here (Sask) at 220 and they wanted me at 240.” Lenius added “I got up to 235 and that was tough and from January until the end of July I had to get to as close to 240 as possible and it was uncomfortable cause I feel more comfortable at 219, slimmer being more receiver instead of the more traditional hand in the dirt tight end.”
He added that cutting weight is nothing new for him, as he explains that he has been down this road in the past.
“I’ve done it before, like that COVID year we had off, that was my main focus of slimming down, I got my diet and everything is dialed so it’s kind of clockwork, it’s just getting back to the regime and that mode and it was easy to cut.”
While in Atlanta, the Canadian receiver said he gained some valuable lessons that he plans on carrying with him for the rest of his career.
“Different game but I learnt a lot, especially how to be a pro, and being around some vet guys who are down there, just studying those guys each day, following what they do , how they recover, how they study how they approach the game, I took a lot from those guys down there.”
Now that Lenius is back in the CFL, he says that his focus will remain north of the border which is why he signed a two year deal that will keep him in Saskatchewan through February of 2024. With him transitioning back to the Canadian game, he feels the biggest things for him are timing and running.
“I just got to take all the reps that I can regardless if I’m tired or not, I got to push through and get my legs back.”
Teammate Kian Schaffer-Baker is happy to have Lenius back in the Riders locker room, adding that he’s provides a lot inside of the locker room.
“He’s a leader of our group so he’s someone we look to for answers, he has great experience, he’s going to help us lead.”
Even though he has only been back for a day at practice, Lenius feels like he can be a leader for Saskatchewan.
“I love those guys man, those are my brothers, and I’ll do whatever I can to take care of them, and just to be positive each day, I’m not a negative cat, I’m always yelling and screaming and picking guys up. ”
The receiver is already aware that the next game for the Riders is an important one against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, as Lenius calls the upcoming matchup a playoff like game.
“We got to win this game regardless of who we are playing, but we’re playing Winnipeg, we got to knock the big brother off, we got to claim it again and we got to win. ”
Last year Lenius wore #19 for the Riders, on Wednesday he was wearing #84 at practice.
Earlier in the week, Riders Head Coach Craig Dickenson indicated Lenius would have a 50-50 shot of playing Sunday, but after practice today, Lenius felt confident he would be in the lineup for the Riders on Sunday, he did add that it might be a case where he would be sharing reps in the receiving core for his first game back.
Sunday’s Labour Day Classic can be heard on 620 CKRM with an opening kickoff at 4:00.
