Arthur Ward/CFL.ca
REGINA — Saskachewan Roughriders head coach Chris Jones knows exactly who he’s going to name as his team’s starting quarterback, but he’s not ready to let it slip just yet.
“Yup,” Jones told members of the media after his team’s final pre-season contest against the Calgary Stampeders.
“But I’m not telling you.”
Both Zach Collaros and Brandon Bridge saw playing time during the Riders’ 39-12 loss on Friday night, but it was the team’s newest addition to the quarterback room that left Jones wanting more.
“Collaros looks a little bit rusty,” said Jones. “The ball didn’t come out of his hands as quickly as I’d like and he missed two deep throws.”
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The former Hamilton Tiger-Cat connected on just six of his 16 passes for 41 yards and no touchdowns while Bridge completed two of his five tosses for 21 yards.
After the contest, Jones confirmed that his starting quarterback should be announced early next week, that way he has time to prepare for the team’s first regular season game on June 15 against the Toronto Argonauts.
“We’ve got to have a guy that knows he’s going in as the starter,” said Jones when asked if he would announce the No.1 pivot by Monday.
“I’ve got the luxury of having a guy that helped us win 10 football games last year so if a guy is struggling then Brandon Bridge will play or it would be opposite. Collaros has started a lot of games (and has) been a good football player for a long time. He’s won too many football games to be rusty forever. He’ll knock it off. And again, (this was) the first time he’s been in our offence in a couple, three years, so that’s going to be the tell-tail thing is next time he gets an opportunity, is he a little sharper than what he was tonight.”
Collaros was acquired from the Tiger-Cat this off-season in a trade and was assumed to become Saskatchewan’s No. 1 quarterback. The 29-year-old went 0-8 last season with Hamilton before being benched for Jeremiah Masoli and then eventually traded to Riderville. Injuries have plagued Collaros over the last few seasons and he is looking to get back to his 2015 form, where he was in the conversation for MOP.
Bridge played in all 18 regular season games last year for the Riders and completed 92 of 138 for 1,236 yards, 10 touchdowns and four interceptions. He also rushed 20 times for 127 yards and a major score. While he only started one game, he earned the trust of his head coach and stepped in many times during the final stretch of the regular season and took meaningful snaps in important games.
– With files from Riderville.com
