Saskatchewan Roughriders’ linebacker Jayden Dalke had a scare when he had to leave midway through the second quarter in the 60th Labour Day Classic against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers due to a neck injury.
"I went down, got blocked in the back. I hit the turf awkwardly, it was on kickoff, so I was going pretty quickly and then didn't really know what happened. I got up, started to try to get back into play, then all of a sudden it was like my arm was numb and I was experiencing a burning sensation in my neck. Finally got assessed. We did some strength-like tests with the doctors in the tent and they were feeling around on some vertebrae — it was painful," Dalke recalled to the voice of the Green and White, Dave Thomas.
"They had to do a preventative CT scan, so the tent went down, gave the thumbs up to my mom and then we walked underneath into the locker room. They put a neck collar on, left my helmet in my locker, the doctor and I had to run over to the hospital. Luckily, he pulled some strings, knew some people, it wasn't too busy, so we got in and out in less than 20 minutes and came back. I saw a bunch of the guys leaving the locker room for the second half. We had to wait until I got my CT scan back, it got cleared, I was able to take the brace off and then I was ready to return."
When he got hurt, Dalke thought it was not a problem at first.
"Initially, I didn't think it was going to be very serious, so I was definitely surprised when he said that we're going to have to put a collar on you. That's a first for me, but then he followed it up pretty quickly. If everything comes back good, you're able to go back, so it wasn't like a huge dip. I was concerned when was he's like: ‘Yeah, we have to put a collar on. Do you want to do it out on the sideline or underneath?’” Dalke said. "The answer would be not to do it in front of everybody, teammates, family, fans, so try to keep that away. I felt like I was going to be coming back, so I was trying to stay locked in watching the game in the locker room, seeing how the flow of the game was going. Then, hopefully, there's no fall off when I come back in."
When the doctor gave Dalke the thumbs up to return to action, he was energized.
"All right, Doc, said I was good, I'm good for everything," Dalke said. "Then, trainers and coaches were like: ‘Well, we know where we want to use you and we've got some other guys that we already subbed in. So we'll keep those ones in there, but I was ready to go play every position I was supposed to be at.'"
Saskatchewan defeated the Blue Bombers 34-30 in the 60th Labour Day Classic. Dalke was rewarded as the special team player of the game by coach Kent Maugeri.
Some real game changers ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/Ia8l6jdjKi
— Saskatchewan Roughriders (@sskroughriders) September 1, 2025
The six-foot-one, 200-pound Dalke was initially a defensive back but transitioned to be a linebacker and is in his fourth season with the Green and White. This year, the 29-year-old has suited up 11 times for Saskatchewan, registering two defensive tackles and seven special team tackles.
The Riders travel to Winnipeg to take on the Bombers in the Labour Day Classic rematch on Saturday. Teagan Witko, Justin Dunk, and Wes Cates bring you the pre-game show at 11 a.m. Dave Thomas and Luc Mullinder have the game call at 2 p.m. Listen to our thorough coverage on 620 CKRM Co-operators Rider Broadcast Network.
