After injuring his foot in Saskatchewan’s Week 2 matchup in Hamilton, the Canadian receiver won’t play Friday night in Toronto.
Taylor Shire
Regina Leader-Post
As it turns out, running back Ka’Deem Carey won’t get a chance to play his former team this week.
With the Saskatchewan Roughriders (2-0) set to visit the Toronto Argonauts (0-2) on Friday (5:30 p.m., TSN) in Week 3 of the CFL season, the Green and White issued their official depth chart on Thursday with Carey left off the roster.
After being cut by the Argonauts following training camp, Carey signed with Saskatchewan and got into the Roughriders’ lineup in Week 2 against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats due to an injury to backup running back Thomas Bertrand-Hudon.
With Bertrand-Hudon, a Canadian, able to play this week, Carey has been placed on the club’s practice roster as the team wasn’t able to justify having two American running backs on the roster due to the ratio. American A.J. Ouellette will start for a third straight week.
Meanwhile, Canadian receiver Samuel Emilus has been placed on the one-game injured list as he deals with a foot injury suffered in Week 2 against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
“Not anticipating anything long term, which is good,” Roughriders head coach Corey Mace said this week.
After leading the Riders with 133 receiving yards in the season opener against Ottawa, the 27-year-old Emilus — who has recorded back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons — was injured during Saskatchewan’s Week 2 matchup in Hamilton.
Against the Tiger-Cats, the Montreal product hurt his foot early in the contest and was forced to leave the game briefly before returning to the field later on. However, the injury prevented him from finishing the game, as he ended the night with four catches for 37 yards.
“He pushed through a lot of stuff,” said Mace. “He still made a few plays actually, even after being banged up.
“Then later in the game, it got to the point where it was too much. He’s a warrior kind of type of guy, so that doesn’t shock us but ultimately, we want to make sure, obviously, for the long haul, that he’s going to be fines o we’re just being cautious with that.”
American Joe Robustelli, who was getting reps with the starting offence in Emilus’ spot during the team’s only non-closed practice this week on Tuesday, will start at wide receiver for Emilus this week.
“We have a deep room,” said Mace. “(Robustelli) had a heck of a pre-season, and he flashes every day at practice here for us.
“If he’s the one that has to go out there and make plays, we have faith that he can do that and at a high speed.”
KeeSean Johnson, Dohte Meyers, Dhel Duncan-Busby and Mitch Picton will be the other receivers with D’Sean Mimbs and Mario Alford listed as the backups.
Road trip
While the Roughriders will be looking to start 3-0 for the second straight season, the Green and White are looking for their first win in Toronto since beating the Argonauts on Sept. 28, 2019 at BMO Field.
Last year, Saskatchewan lost 20-19 in Week 12 which was Toronto’s fourth straight home win against the Riders.
“We took a loss there last year,” said Roughriders quarterback Trevor Harris. “We know it’s a tough place to play.”
This season, after starting 0-2, the defending Grey Cup champion Argonauts will be looking for their first win of the 2025 season. Toronto has not started 0-3 since 2019.
“They started 0-2 so they’re not where they want to be and we know they’re going to come out with fire,” said Harris. “They’re going to come out like an animal caged and they’re going to be excited to play, especially in front of their home fans.”
Meanwhile, the Argonauts will be without a few regular starters on Friday as linebacker Wynton McManis, receiver DaVaris Daniels, running back Deonta McMahon and defensive tackle Demarcus Christmas. Former Rider Anthony Lanier II is set to start at defensive tackle.
tshire@postmedia.com
