RIDERS LOOKING FOR RUNNING BACK

By Ian Hamilton, Leader-PostJune 25, 2009


REGINA — The CFL's transaction wire was buzzing Thursday — and the Saskatchewan Roughriders were watching right along with everyone else.

"Certainly we have interest and we'll look and see if there might be somebody we may be interested in," Roughriders head coach Ken Miller said after practice at Mosaic Stadium.

"I think probably Eric (Tillman, Saskatchewan's general manager) is doing that already."

Miller suggested the Roughriders may look for running backs because of his team's relative lack of depth at that position. Veterans Wes Cates (shoulder) and Neal Hughes (leg) were put on the injured and nine-game injured lists, respectively, as the Roughriders got down to the 46-man roster limit.

Around the league, some familiar names were among those released. That included ex-Roughriders linebacker Reggie Hunt (by the Montreal Alouettes) and former CFL rushing leader Joe Smith (by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers).

Three members of the University of Regina Rams — defensive end Stan van Sichem (Montreal), offensive lineman John Hashem (Calgary Stampeders) and receiver John Kanaroski (Calgary) — were released. The Als also cut Regina-born University of Saskatchewan defensive end Ivan Brown.

In Hamilton, the Tiger-Cats put former Saskatchewan running back Kenton Keith on the nine-game injured list.
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Miller has indicated before he doesn't like cutting players. That was the case again Wednesday night.
"It's one thing to take a player out of a game and sit him on the bench," Miller said. "It's another to call him in a room and tell him he's going home. It's emotional for them and it's not a walk in the park for me."
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The most surprising move by the Roughriders may have involved Hughes.
The Rams product hasn't practised in weeks — and Miller described his injury as "a mystery."
"We don't know what it is, but he continues to have severe pain and it affects him when he just tries to walk . . .," Miller said. "Right now it looks like it's going to be an ongoing thing. With that, we decided to put him on the nine-game. If we're able to get the situation resolved and we have a particular need, then it's possible that we could bring him off the nine-game."
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With the release of rookie quarterback Juan Joseph, the Roughriders have nothing to show for the trade that sent defensive end Kitwana Jones to the Edmonton Eskimos.
"Any time you make a trade, you can be second-guessed on that," Miller said. "It was a situation where we were getting a young quarterback. Really, Juan showed us that he's very bright and could make good decisions. It's just that he's a developmental person. He maybe will be a CFL quarterback down the road, but not immediately."
With Joseph gone, Miller was asked if a potential emergency QB is currently working as a guest coach with the Roughriders — Marcus Crandell.
"Marcus has done a great job in the role that he has," Miller replied. "We feel he'll continue in that role and don't have any plans that he would be our fourth quarterback or higher than that at any time, really.
"We have talked about other people who might be available but don't have anyone scheduled right at this time."
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Among the players released were Brandon Childress and Casey McGahee, who were competing for the job as Saskatchewan's main return man.
Instead, the Roughriders will go with Eric Morris and Johnny Quinn.
"The thing that Morris and Quinn have shown is that they're going to catch the ball consistently," Miller said. "We had some great returns, particularly with Morris, so we're going to go with consistency there."
McGahee let a punt go right through his hands in Tuesday's 27-19 pre-season loss to Calgary. The fumble was returned for a game-clinching touchdown by Juwan Simpson.
ihamilton@leaderpost.canwest.com