Roughriders get boost at WR ahead of Touchdown Atlantic against Argonauts
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The Saskatchewan Roughriders saw a slew of wide receivers return to practice on Tuesday ahead of their Week 8 game against the Toronto Argonauts at this year’s Touchdown Atlantic at Huskies Stadium in Halifax on Saturday.
TSN Football Insider Farhan Lalji reports that wide receiver Brayden Lenius is expected to start while CTV's Brit Dort adds that Jake Wieneke and Kian Schaffer-Baker also returned. Their statuses for kickoff have not been announced yet.
Lenius, a Regina native, has been sidelined since the Roughriders' final preseason game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers with a lacerated kidney.
“It has been a long six weeks, including the bye week,” said Lenius to Roughriders senior journalist and team historian Rob Vanstone. “It has been testing. There has been a lot of self-reflection, but a lot of building as well.
“I can’t wait, because my family’s going to be there. A bunch of people are going to be there supporting me, so it’s going to be a good time," Lenius said on the upcoming game.
Lenius returned to the Roughriders in August after he was signed and later waived by the NFL's Atlanta Falcons.
The former 15th overall pick in the 2019 CFL Draft played in 19 games his rookie season, catching two passes for four yards.
In his sophomore season, Lenius amassed 37 receptions for 471 yards and four touchdowns in 14 games.
Wieneke, 28, played in three games for the Roughriders this season before being placed on the six-game injured list.
The Maple Grove, Minn., native has 12 receptions for 109 through eight weeks in his first season with the Green and White.
Schaffer-Baker underwent a procedure to repair a torn labrum in May and was projected to miss the first three months of the season.
The 24-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., hauled in a career-high 68 passes for a team-best 960 yards in his second season with the Green and White. He was the Riders' nominee for the Most Outstanding Canadian Award in 2022.