REGINA -- After taking a week to rest a good number of their starters on offence and defence, it’ll be mostly back to business for the Saskatchewan Roughriders heading into their final game of the Canadian Football League regular season.
The Riders have opted to make seven personnel changes heading into Saturday’s contest against the B.C. Lions at Mosaic Stadium, the majority of which see players returning to the line-up after sitting out the Week 20 loss to Winnipeg.
That includes quarterback Trevor Harris, who is back behind centre with Jake Maier as his back-up and Jack Coan at third string. A.J. Ouellette returns at running back and will be backed up by Thomas Bertrand-Hudon, with Mario Anderson Jr. moving to the one-game injured list. Saskatchewan has also made a change at kicker this week, with Michael Hughes getting his first CFL opportunity as Brett Lauther looks to rest his ailing back.
The receiving group sees one major change, as receiver Joe Robustelli moves to the one-game list with a knee injury suffered on Saskatchewan’s first series in Winnipeg. Regina product Mitch Picton -- who had one of his best games of the season against the Bombers with five catches for 71 yards -- takes over Robustelli’s spot as the weak-side wideout. Shawn Bane Jr. is the other receiver, with Dhel Duncan-Busby, Tommy Nield and Kian Schaffer-Baker as the slotbacks.
Thousand-yard receivers KeeSean Johnson (knee) and Dohnte Meyers (ankle) are both on the one-game injured list, as is fellow starting receiver Sam Emilus (load management).
There will be two changes to the offensive line starters, with Jermarcus Hardrick back in action at right tackle and Darius Washington taking over at left guard for Phillipe Gagnon, who moves to the one-game injured. Langenburg native Noah Zerr comes off the practice roster and will join Braydon Noll -- who received his first CFL start last week -- as o-line back-ups.
The defence welcomes back a potential key piece of the puzzle, as Nelson Lokombo returns at safety after missing the previous seven games with an ankle injury. C.J. Reavis, who played safety the last couple of games as Lokombo completed his recovery, moves to the one-game injured list.
Micah Johnson returns to anchor the defensive line after siting out last week, with Mike Rose getting the week off in his place.
One other change sees Melique Straker taking over as a back-up linebacker for Nick Wiebe, who has moved to the one-game with a back injury.
The Roughriders close out the regular season Saturday when Saskatchewan hosts the B.C. Lions at Mosaic Stadium. Teagan Witko, Justin Dunk and Wes Cates have all the pre-game action beginning at 2 p.m. on the Rider Broadcast Network, followed by the game call with Dave Thomas and Luc Mullinder at 5 p.m.
