Davis: It's really no surprise temperamental Ryquell Armstead was waived by Saskatchewan Roughriders

Ottawa Citizen

28-04-2025

Raise your hand if you knew the Saskatchewan Roughriders were going to dump running back Ryquell Armstead.
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[Hand raised.]
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Although he had a 207-yard rushing debut with the Roughriders last season — after only three days of practices — Armstead's release has been coming since Nov. 10, when the Roughriders were eliminated from the 2024 CFL playoffs.
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After losing the West final 38-22 to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, the talented, temperamental running back got into an argument with a Riders coach. It was witnessed by teammates and media.
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It's rarely a secret in Regina when Roughriders don't interact well with their teammates, or how they behave when they're at restaurants, casinos, bars or concerts. Head coach Corey Mace is especially demanding that his players and coaches be good teammates while serving as respectable representatives of the community-owned franchise. Armstead evidently didn't fulfill his responsibilities. The mercurial running back arrived on the scene like a comet before burning up in the atmosphere.
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The Roughriders announced Armstead's release Friday. The only surprise was that it took five months to happen.
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From the Regina Leader-Post on Nov. 11 in the aftermath of the Riders' season-ending loss:
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'Saskatchewan's offence, under first-year co-ordinator Marc Mueller, seemed intent on running A.J. Ouellette on every first down. It was predictable, ineffective and an affront to unhappy, underused Ryquell Armstead, the other running back who likely made his last appearance in Saskatchewan's lineup.'
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Maybe the Roughriders tried to trade Armstead. But players with a reputation don't draw much interest.
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Maybe another CFL team will sign him, like the Roughriders did in mid-September. They were hoping he would fit into their family-friendly program and not resume being the disruptive hothead that convinced the Ottawa Redblacks to cut him even though he was the league's fourth-leading rusher at the time.
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'We felt this was in the best interests of the team,' Redblacks coach Bob Dyce told the Ottawa Citizen upon Armstead's release. 'We tried, as did he, to make this work. But in the end, it didn't.'