“It feels really good to be back out there” | Richardson returns to practice

It certainly isn’t how Steven Richardson pictured spending the last month-and-a-half of his summer. The sturdy Winnipeg Blue Bombers defensive tackle was injured in the club’s season opener – partially tearing the plantar fascia ligament in his foot – just as he seemed poised to put together a bust-out campaign.

Instead, the man nicknamed ‘Stove’ by his teammates went from watching practice in a walking boot to regularly dragging an exercise bike out to the sidelines in the next stage of his rehab to patiently waiting to get clearance for a return, possibly this Friday in Vancouver against the B.C. Lions.

“It feels really good to be back out there,” said Richardson after practising with the No. 1 defence on Monday. “I think I’m most excited about being able to see myself on film again. It gets so boring in the film room and your jersey number never shows up so you’re just sitting there watching. Overall it was refreshing. It was a beautiful day today, like, what 75 and sunny? Overall just good vibes.”

Sharing defensive tackle reps with Drake Nevis and Jake Thomas in 2019, Richardson managed 25 tackles and two sacks as a CFL rookie. And as camp opened this year, it was Thomas who pointed at his teammate one day as yours truly walked by the defensive linemen and said, ‘Watch out for this guy… he’s going to have a huge year.’

Then came the injury in Week 1 and the long wait afterward as his teammates have posted some gaudy numbers in a 6-1 start.

“It’s always really good to watch those guys,” said Richardson. “I’m always telling them, ‘You might as well get your sacks in now because I’m coming for them.’

“It’s always a competition with those guys and I truly believe we’re one of the best D-lines in the league. For me to bring even more to the table… I’m looking forward to it, they’re looking forward to it. There’s just so much chemistry within that room and I know we’re a very dominant group on the field when all of us are healthy together.

“I will be ready to go,” he added later. “It’s been a long time. Being able to be out there with my teammates is just a different feeling. Let alone if I had been playing this entire time, coming off a bye week is just a different feeling because you know it’s like, ‘OK, we had this week off and now it’s time to play.’ But now coming back from my seven-week bye week just adds so much fuel to the fire. I’m ready to go. Friday can’t some soon enough.”

Richardson wasn’t the only familiar face back at his post on Monday. Receiver/kick returner Janarion Grant was busy fielding punts and getting the occasional rep on offence, while linebacker Kyrie Wilson also got a lot of work on defence, intercepting a pass late in the session. Their potential return doesn’t just help a team already rolling on a four-game win streak, but also provided a surge in the energy level at practice.

“It’s a big boost,” said defensive back Nick Taylor. “You see those guys and they’ve been working the whole time. They’ve been in the training room getting it in and trying to get back as soon as possible. So, to see those guys out there… I mean, coming off a bye week and you’ve been off football for a week you’re kind of happy. Then you see those guys and they bring a whole another energy and our practice is ramped up because everybody got a little boost from seeing those guys.

“We’re 6-1 without them but everyone knows the key to the CFL or any football is just injuries. We’re getting people back and if we can keep everybody else happy that would be a big, big, big win for us as a whole team to keep going and finish strong.”