Payton Collins back along the Riders’ offensive line

The man known as “Clifford the Big Red Dog” is back along the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ offensive line.

Payton Collins, the red-haired rookie in the group, is back after suffering a knee injury in a Week 1 win over the Ottawa Redblacks. He has been taking the first-team reps at left tackle this week at practice.

“It feels amazing to be back out there with my teammates and just working every day with them and a big credit to the training staff for everything they did for me. I feel amazing right now and a big thank you to them for getting me back out here and the strength coach as well for getting me back out here pretty quickly,” Collins said.

It was tough timing as Collins finally got the chance to suit up for a pro football game in the CFL.

But he wasn’t going to dwell on it.

“That’s life. Stuff is going to happen and adversity, but you just have to bounce back from it and understand the sport we play, you’re going to deal with some injuries. Just try to come back as fast as you can and come back healthier and better than you were before,” Collins said.

The 6’7″, 301-pound offensive tackle is expected to return to an offensive line that has done a good job thus far when it comes to keeping quarterback Trevor Harris upright. The Riders have only allowed nine sacks this season—tied for the third-fewest in the CFL.

Saskatchewan also features one of the top rushing attacks in the game, averaging 106.7 yards on the ground per game.

Collins is one of three players who have had to rotate through the offensive tackle spot this season. Collins started Week 1 at the position, but then Daniel Johnson started the next four games with Darius Washington playing in the last two contests.

Collins credits the leadership of the offensive line for the team being able to consistently overcome injuries to the group.

“They make sure everyone is prepared every week, so that’s why everyone feels so confident. I think they do a great job of having everyone prepared and stuff like that,” he said.

The Riders will look to keep that going and improve on their CFL-best 6-1 record on Saturday as they travel to Montreal to take on the Alouettes. Kickoff for the game is set for 5 p.m. The Green Zone pregame show begins at 3 p.m.

Saskatchewan did see a few players return to the field for day two of preparations for Montreal.

After having nine players not participate in Tuesday’s practice, that number was down to five for Wednesday. Mario Alford (hip), Sam Emilus (knee), Daniel Johnson (shoulder), Lake Korte-Moore (knee), and Aubrey Miller Jr. (knee) did not participate.

Malik Carney (ankle), Dhel Duncan-Busby (shoulder), Zack Fry (head), and C.J. Reavis (foot) were all limited in practice ahead of the game.