Latest news with #PhilippeGagnon
National Post
03-06-2025
- General
- National Post
Roughriders offensive line calls audible due to injuries
Article content Logan Ferland never let his guard down. Article content Article content Despite expecting to play the season at right guard for the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2025, the 28-year-old has already been forced to change positions along the offensive line. Article content With centre Sean McEwen suffering a torn ACL and his potential replacement Philippe Gagnon suffering a torn bicep in training camp, Ferland has made the move from right guard to centre for Week 1 of the CFL season. Article content 'You don't go into training camp expecting the play centre,' Ferland said ahead of Saskatchewan's season opener against the Ottawa Redblacks on Thursday (7 p.m., TSN) at Mosaic Stadium. 'You might be a backup. Article content 'In this case, I wasn't expecting it at all with the depth we had but you know, one thing leads to another.' Article content After starting last year at right guard, the 6-foot-4, 300-pound Melfort product was forced to play some right tackle and left tackle last year due to injuries before starting six games at centre after Peter Godber was injured. Article content This year, when the team signed McEwen in free agency, Ferland was expecting to move back to guard where he would play alongside McEwen. Now he'll be trying to learn as much as he can in the meeting room from the three-time all-CFLer. Article content 'I always train in the off-season to be ready for anything,' said Ferland, who was the only offensive lineman to start all 18 regular season and two playoff games last year. 'But (it's) very unfortunate. I was really looking forward to playing alongside McEwen and learning a lot from him. Article content Article content 'Just having that voice from a standard centre standpoint, always continuing to learn as much as I can just to continue to elevate my game, especially as a centre.' Article content Article content After what happened last year with the team — where 13 players started along the offensive line due to injuries — Ferland, a fourth-year starter, knew to be ready for anything this year. Article content That's why much of his off-season was dedicated to snapping the football, which makes the position change somewhat of a smooth transition. Article content 'You kind of have to expect something is going to go wrong at some point,' said Ferland, who signed a two-year extension with the Riders this off-season to stay with the club through 2027. 'It's a matter of who's going to fill in and if the right guys mesh well with the other guys.
National Post
22-05-2025
- Sport
- National Post
Roughriders suffer more injuries along offensive line
Article content The Saskatchewan Roughriders have lost a pair of offensive lineman for the foreseeable future due to injury. Article content Article content After it was revealed centre Sean McEwen will be out long-term with an unspecified leg injury, Roughriders head coach Corey Mace told media in Saskatoon on Wednesday during training camp that guard Philippe Gagnon will also miss a considerable amount of time after tearing his biceps on Monday. Article content 'We got the results back, man, and unfortunately he ended up tearing his biceps,' said Mace. 'It might not be season-ending — which is good for him, good for us — but similar to Sean, it's just unfortunate; it didn't look like much but that's just the way it went.' Article content Both McEwen, a former Calgary Stampeder, and Gagnon, a former Montreal Alouette, were signed by the Roughriders during free agency this off-season with McEwen slated to start at centre, replacing Peter Godber who signed with the Ottawa Redblacks, while Gagnon was battling for a starting guard spot. Gagnon was also a potential replacement for McEwen at centre before his own injury. Article content While the 2025 season hasn't even kicked off yet, the Roughriders are now forced to shuffle the deck along the offensive line already, much like they did last year when the team deployed 13 starters and 16 total offensive linemen throughout the 2024 CFL season. Article content Guard Logan Ferland, who started five games at centre last season while Godber was injured, is a candidate to fill the vacant centre role this year while fellow guard Zack Fry is another option. With the injury to Gagnon, it's expected Ferland and Fry will play in the interior of the line along with American Jacob Brammer. Fellow Americans Trevon Tate and Jermarcus Hardrick are expected to be the starting tackles. Article content Article content The Roughriders also have Americans Yoseph Carter, Payton Collins, Nick Jones, Brandon Kemp, Jahmir Ross-Johnson and Canadians Erik Andersen, Daniel Johnson, Brayden Noll, Noah Zerr still at training camp competing for roster spots. Saskatchewan had previously released Zerr on May 14 after three days of camp before re-signing him on Tuesday due to the injuries. Article content Article content The Green and White are set to play their first pre-season game on Saturday when they visit the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (2 p.m., CFL+) before returning to Regina on Monday for the final week of training camp, which wraps up with a home pre-season game on May 30 also against the Bombers. Article content
