Ashley Messier builds hockey legacy with sights on PWHL, Olympics
1h ago
Mark Messier is her distant cousin, but this Sask. hockey product is carving her own path.
It’s Zach Collaros’ head. It’s his brain that decides whether he should continue playing football, whether the hits he has taken through seven CFL seasons with the Toronto Argonauts, Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Saskatchewan Roughriders have caused enough damage to force him into retirement.
Collaros told reporters Wednesday he never considered retiring, despite a couple of head injuries that sidelined him last year. The Roughriders reportedly paid Collaros $420,000 to be their quarterback in 2018, when he started 14 games, completed 61 per cent of his passes and tossed nine touchdowns and 13 interceptions. His contract was one of 200-plus CFL deals that expired Tuesday.
After coming away from free agency empty-handed in any efforts to sign a big-name quarterback, the Roughriders were left with limited options for 2019. They inexplicably never made an offer for former B.C. Lions starter Jonathan Jennings, deciding instead to give Collaros another shot, hopefully at a salary that’s commensurate to his success and durability. Collaros has a familiarity with Saskatchewan’s offence and personnel, so re-signing him was the easiest move to make, but also the riskiest.