Rider Nation took a lot of hits this season. Last year’s press conference at the end of a hard fought CFL season…the one where Fajardo let a few emotions slip, was nothing compared to what would transpire this year, but perhaps it acted like a wee bit of old fashioned foreshadowing, to use an old literary term.

Now this isn’t a Victorian era novel, but it was indeed a tragedy just the same…a tragedy for the team we love, the fans themselves, and for one Cody Fajardo.

We just recently went through the disaster of a decision by head coach, Craig Dickenson, to take Cody Fajardo out and put Fine in as a starting quarterback just last week, sending two horrible messages out on the megaphone to one and all: 1) He had very little faith in one of the better CFL quarterbacks, Cody Fajardo, and 2) Dickinson does not work well under pressure and second guesses himself; this resulting in bad decisions.

And no, perhaps they wouldn’t have won regardless, but Dickenson would have at least shown loyalty to the man that played injured for the entirety of the season and played with all his heart, had he stuck with him.

The phrase ‘I told you so,’ comes to mind.

These days in football, and across the board, the QB gets a lot of heat when things go badly, but what if the QB can’t run the plays he wants to run? What if by design, the QB is running a vision that the head coach has for the team and how they should play? What then?

It’s happening right now with the Green Bay Packers in the NFL…Aaron Rodgers taking all the heat for their recent string of losses, and meanwhile, Packers head coach, Matt LaFleur, is running plays the QB doesn’t at all, or rather, can’t get on board with.

Craig Dickenson has a lot of blame here. He didn’t handle any of the hiccups along the way well, whether it be disciplinary problems or pressure, as stated.

And now, the Riders will indeed miss the playoffs. It’s probably where it was going this season the whole time, but they will be missing the playoffs and for the first time since 2016, as TSN also reported.

And so what now?

What does the future hold? What of the 2023 season? Well, perhaps it will most definitely be a season without Cody Fajardo…and I guess, yeah I’ll say it…hopefully it will be a season without Dickinson, too. They need to restructure and restructure big. If you ask Dickinson what the future holds, he seemingly has a plan, and he plans to be there for that aforementioned future, if you look at statements made during a recent press conference…

“I think the guys are still hungry to get out there and work…we’ll get a chance to see a couple of different guys…got some guys we want to play that maybe we see in our future…”

via Riders on Twitter

What does Cody have to say about all of this?

“There’s a lot that’s going to be playing out (this off-season) but I think I owe it to myself to see what’s out there and take it to free agency and we will see what is going to happen from there…I’m not going to rule out any team — I want to play football a little bit longer…

I’m not sure what’s going to happen, but I’m focused on this last week and being as prepared as I can, helping Mason (Fine) as much as I can for this last week, and give it my all…I have no idea (if I’m playing). I’m just going to prepare like I am and see what happens from there. They might want to look at some guys but if they need me, I’m here for them…Back-to-back West (Division) finals, it’s not like every year that happens…I think that’s the tough part. When you’re in a results-driven business, it’s so easy to forget the past…

That has probably been the hardest thing about this year. You always envision yourself winning a Grey Cup and it’s something I’ve always envisioned, especially here. I can’t imagine what that would be like. It’s difficult to go out missing the playoffs like that. I’m not going to rule anything out, but it will be an interesting off-season for me.”

-via cjme.com

Indeed it will be. As always, a class act till the end. I mean, just look at those statements. He doesn’t even know if he’s playing in their last game; he doesn’t know what the future holds, but there he still is, dependable until the end. We wish him an epic off-season and hopefully he nabs a spot in a top team come next season. He most definitely deserves it.

*For all of your 2022 CFL Season News: CFL News HUB

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