Taylor Shire
Regina Leader-Post
KeeSean Johnson is three-for-three.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders receiver — who wears No. 3 for the CFL club — has caught touchdown passes in three straight games and is looking to make it four in a row when the Roughriders (5-6-1) visit the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (6-6) on Saturday (1 p.m., CTV) in the Banjo Bowl.
“If that helps us get the win,” Johnson replied when asked if he can continue the streak. “My goal is to obviously go out there and do my job at the best of my ability and try to help the team win each week.”
After catching his first career CFL touchdown in Week 11 against the Montreal Alouettes, Johnson followed that up with another score in Week 12 against the Toronto Argonauts.
Last week in the Labour Day Classic — a 35-33 loss to Winnipeg — the rookie receiver had a season-high eight catches for 84 yards and another touchdown.
The recent string of success for Johnson coincided with the return of quarterback Trevor Harris, who missed six games with a knee injury before returning in Week 11.
“Trevor is tremendously smart,” said Johnson. “He just tells you ‘Be at the right spot at the right time.’
“He’s going to go through his reads; it could be you, it could be any player on our team in the right spot.
“With the defence that they give, he’s just going out there and reading and has happened to find me three weeks in a row.”
The only downside is that the touchdown receptions have all been in losses, as the Roughriders winless streak has reached six games.
“The biggest thing is go out there and get the W as a team,” said Johnson. “So before any personal success, that’s the main goal here.”
After putting together an impressive training camp with the Riders, Johnson earned a starting spot with the club right out of camp. However, injuries have kept him out of the lineup for five of Saskatchewan’s 12 games.
In seven games he has played, the 27-year-old has 31 receptions for 361 yards, which ranks him fourth on the team in receiving yards behind Samuel Emilus (693), Shawn Bane Jr. (517) and Kian Schaffer-Baker (442).
“If you ‘re an opening-day starter as a rookie, you’ve got something to you,” said Harris, who has thrown six touchdowns in his last three games. “You’re starting to see what he’s capable of.”
“You start to get more comfortable with the waggle,” Johnson said about his adjustment in his first CFL season. “We practised it a lot during camp obviously but now as the season progressed and weeks go on, you start to get more and more comfortable with that.
“And just defence-wise, seeing what’s out there and seeing what the teams are giving you.”
Before coming to the CFL, the 6-foot-1, 202-pound receiver spent a few years in the NFL.
Following a college career at Fresno State, Johnson was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft.
The California native played 10 games in his rookie season — recording 21 catches for 187 yards and a touchdown — before playing eight games in 2020.
After being waived by the Cardinals, Johnson had stints with the Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, Atlanta Falcons and Buffalo Bills before signing with the Roughriders in February.
“He’s shown to be that (playmaker) at an extremely high level in college,” said Riders’ head coach Corey Mace. “Even some of his NFL tape was really good tape to watch and certainly we saw it right out of the gate in training camp.
“In his first year getting comfortable in the CFL game, I think he’s found his groove.”
Now set to play his eighth career game on Saturday when the Roughriders visit the Bombers on Saturday, Johnson wants to do his part to help the Riders pick up a win for the first time since July 19.
“If you’re not mad about the situation, we have a problem,” said Johnson. “We’re all competitors in here and we all want to win.
“You’ve got to get mad; you’ve got to have some type of fire lit under you to go out there and play that much harder.”
Injury update
Fellow receiver Dohnte Meyers, who has 349 receiving yards this season, has been ruled out for Saturday due to a shoulder injury suffered in the Labour Day Classic. In that game, Meyers caught his first career touchdown pass.
Centre Peter Godber (ankle) and guard Zack Fry (elbow) have also been ruled out of Saturday’s game as Logan Ferland will start at centre, Nick Jones at right guard and Noah Zerr at left guard.
National linebacker Melique Straker (hip) has also been ruled out while fellow Canadian linebacker Nick Wiebe (knee) and defensive back Jaxon Ford (wrist) are available and could both be on track to make their season debuts.
Brown fined
On Thursday, the CFL announced it has fined Riders defensive lineman Miles Brown an undisclosed amount for delivering a high hit on Bombers’ quarterback Zach Collaros.
After taking a hit late in the second quarter of the Labour Day Classic, Collaros sat out the entire second half but has returned to practice this week and is available to play in the Banjo Bowl.
Riders add lineman
The Riders also added an American offensive lineman to the mix on Thursday as the Green and White signed Tairiq Stewart.
The 6-foot-5, 300-pound Stewart, 24, comes to Saskatchewan after starting the season with the Edmonton Elks.
Prior to his time in the CFL, he played three seasons at North Carolina A&T (2021-23), one season at West Virginia University (2020) and two seasons at ASA Brooklyn College (2018-19). He also participated in the New England Patriots NFL rookie minicamp in 2024.
tshire@postmedia.com
