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The Roughriders have a new quarterback after trading a second-round draft pick to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats for quarterback Zach Collaros.
The Tiger-Cats announced the trade on its website Wednesday morning with the Riders confirming the deal on Twitter shortly after.
ICYMI » We have acquired int'l QB Zach Collaros from the @Ticats, in exchange for a 2nd round selection in the 2018 #CFL Draft.#RiderPride pic.twitter.com/ZqHiRa3jrk
— Sask. Roughriders (@sskroughriders) January 3, 2018
The Riders gave up the 10th overall selection in the 2018 CFL Draft for the six-year CFL veteran.
Collaros is 29 years old and had recently lost his starting position to Jeremiah Masoli.
Collaros won a Grey Cup as the backup quarterback in Toronto in 2012.
Over the last four seasons with Hamilton, Collaros has completed 930 of 1,396 passes for 11,342 yards and 66 touchdowns. He also started two playoff games and the 2014 Grey Cup.
Vice-president of football operations, Jeremy O’Day addressed the media on Wednesday morning to answer questions about the trade.
O'Day says they've started re-negotiations of the contract and feel like they're going positively already.
— Arielle Zerr (@arielle_zerr) January 3, 2018
Jones spoke to Kevin Glenn and Brandon Bridge this morning to tell them this was happening.
— Arielle Zerr (@arielle_zerr) January 3, 2018
O'Day said he felt Hamilton struggled to protect Collaros last year and the Ticats turned it around after the changes to the O-Line. The change to Masoli happened before that. They considering his whole body of work not just last year.
— Arielle Zerr (@arielle_zerr) January 3, 2018
Trade met with mixed reaction from fans
On Wednesday Rider fans were still letting the news sink in that yet another quarterback was being brought into the team.
“I’m stunned, that’s all I can say, I’m stunned,” commented Shelley Johnson.
Ken Miller has been a Riders season ticket holder since the 1970s and wasn’t too excited about the trade.
“I’d prefer to have Brandon Bridge as starting quarterback with Kevin Glenn as the backup,” Miller said. “Zach is a 50/50 type.”
However, Pat Zatylny is excited to see what Collaros can bring to the table.
“I was kind of impressed with him when he was playing some of the games I managed to watch when he was the sole man,” Zatylny said. “He was sort of the light in Hamilton, I’m not sure what happened over there.”
Some fans also commented that they believe this could open the door to Kevin Glenn taking a coaching job with the team.
Check back for updates on this developing story.