Jamie Nye: Riders make the right call by giving Fajardo the ball

OK, Cody Fajardo, it’s all yours. What are you going to do with it?

Saskatchewan Roughriders general manager Jeremy O’Day said clearly that the trade of quarterback Zach Collaros was easier to make because of the play of Fajardo.

Talking to his teammates, the Riders love the new No. 1 guy. Ed Gainey stated the way Fajardo plays makes the hair stand up on the back of his neck and gives him goosebumps. Receiver Naaman Roosevelt says when Collaros went down, Fajardo showed up to work that week and took instant command of the huddle. Offensive lineman Dakoda Shepley said Fajardo is such a positive and outgoing teammate, you can’t help but want to protect him so much more.

Those are all good signs. When teammates believe, they’re the ones who get the sense of a special athlete.

But now Fajardo has to earn his keep and make O’Day look like a genius for first off signing him from B.C. and then making him the unquestioned leader just five starts into his CFL career.

It’s a great test tonight against maybe the best defence Fajardo has faced in his five previous starts. But it’s nice to know the Riders will ride the wave of a young QB and give him a chance, something they should have done three years ago when they traded the last franchise QB, Darian Durant.