Durant holds nothing against 1st overall pick St. John

The business side of football can be a messy place sometimes.

Josiah St. John, the Roughriders first overall pick, has requested a trade after not being able to come to terms with Rider management on a contract.

The news enraged Roughriders fans, but if St. John ever dons the green and white, quarterback Darian Durant said he wouldn’t hold the contract dispute against him.

“That’s his livelihood, it’s not for me to comment on what he thinks is best for him and his family,” Durant said on Friday.

“We’re not worried about that, that’s the business side of things and each and every guy in that locker room has been through the business part of football, that’s not our concern.”

General manager and head coach Chris Jones remained tight lipped on any specifics regarding the St. John negotiations. He said he prefers to talk about the players who are with the team right now.

“We’re just not going to comment on the situation. We’re going to worry about the guys that we have and you know this is our football team and if and when he ever gets here then he’ll be part of our team too,” he said.

On Thursday, Chris Jones said he’d love to have his first round pick at camp “but unfortunately his representation has made it very tough on us.”

Josiah St. John was drafted by the Roughriders on May 10.