After the Roughriders beat the Edmonton Eskimos 31-24 at Commonwealth Stadium in their first preseason game the dreaded cut day was soon to follow and for Yorkton's Jordan Matechuk, one of the Raiders training camp invitees that will be on the bubble to make that regular season roster, it is the most nervewracking day of the week.
Luckily Matechuk made the cut as the Riders dropped eight players this Monday and added two of their key players to the IR as Corey Chamblin and the Riders prepare for their home preseason date with the Calgary Stampeders on Thursday night at Taylor Field.
With Pat Neufeld and Mike McCullough being placed on the nine game injured reserve, the Riders huge loss at the front end was a blessing for those looking to make the team as two nine game roster auditions were put up for grabs as the top offensive linemen in Neufeld and McCullough at linebacker won't count towards Chamblin's final roster number until after their ninth game of the regular season.
Cuts for the Riders after their game in Edmonton included; Import QB Levi Brown who was the Riders third stringer last season, Non-Import LB Aaron Crawford, Import WR Phillip Livas who fumbled a punt return that led to an Edmonton touchdown, Import LB Anthony Heygood, Import RB Stephfon Green, Import DB Chip Vaughn, Import DL Kenny Rowe, Non-Import DL David Rybinski.
With six of the Riders cuts being Import players from the United States the Yorkton born Matechuk has an inside track over other players trying to crack the roster as his Canadian status means he would be a roster asset as the Riders would not have to burn an import spot on him if they were to bring him on as a special teams player or emergency longsnapper.
With McCullough out that also means that room has opened up in the linebacker role, a spot that Matechuk is hoping he gets to showcase his abilities at as he has shown great vision in the open field in his CFL career, registering a high number of special teams tackles while playing for the Tiger Cats in his first regular CFL gig.
Saskatchewan will be playing host to the Stampeders this week as Jon Cornish's return to the Queen City will likely receive some good old fashioned boos from the Riders crowd even during a preseason game. A playoff rematch between two teams that don't like each other will be a fun way to continue the preseason as the Riders prepare to make a Grey Cup run in 2013.
