Darrell Davis: Saskatchewan’s obsessed chase of NFLers continues

This obsession the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ brain trust has for troubled NFLers is truly puzzling.

Terrell Owens, the 44-year-old Hall of Fame receiver who worked out for Riders boss Chris Jones, is just the latest in a long list of NFLers who have appeared brightly on the Roughriders’ radar. Quarterback Vince Young was 34, out of shape, six years removed from playing and unfamiliar with Canadian football when he got a short-lived tryout with the Roughriders last year. Jones was among the first CFL bigwigs to explore the possibility of bringing quarterback Johnny Manziel to Canada . . . and got fined for tampering.

Running backs Tre Mason, who’s still with the team, and Trent Richardson, were NFL flameouts recruited by the Riders. Their much-publicized falls from grace didn’t dissuade the Roughriders from pursuing them, despite the questions that followed them and Young and Owens and Manziel. The theory must be: If they’re good enough for the NFL they’ve got to be good enough for the CFL. That’s a flawed theory. Maybe they’re just doing it for publicity.