Today’s announcement that Shea Emry, eight year CFL veteran and two-time Grey Cup champion, is retiring leaves a huge hole in the middle of the Saskatchewan Roughriders defence. Those are big shoes to fill.

Emry played for three CFL clubs in his tenure in the league. The Montréal Alouettes, the Toronto Argonauts, and most recently the Saskatchewan Roughriders were fortunate enough to have had Emry on their rosters.

Players and fans from around the league have offered their good wishes for Emry:

https://twitter.com/nikel18/status/694920188949495808

https://twitter.com/lemonadesosa/status/694951028362358784

Picked seventh overall in the 2008 CFL draft, Emry was both an eastern and league all-star in 2012 after a dominant season at middle linebacker for the Montréal Alouettes. That year, Emry also represented the eastern division in the defensive and Canadian categories at the Gibson’s Finest Player Awards (now that was a great format, and sponsor–not sorry, Shaw).

That group of Rider fans who can only see as far as their noses are upset today – they claim that the Riders should never have acquired Emry. But the only real negative thought that any fan should have is to wonder why Jim Popp didn’t talk with Chris Jones about a one-day contract to allow Emry to retire a Montréal Alouette.

Emry used his fame for good, and has become a leader in men’s health and mental health initiatives. He plans to continue his work in these fields now that he has retired. More info here.

Emry was traded to the Riders by the Toronto Argonauts in early 2015 for national DE Ricky Foley. He was injured in the first quarter of the first game of the year, and didn’t play another snap all year due to the concussion protocol. Rookie middle linebacker Jake Doughty filled in admirably, but didn’t set the world on fire either.

Questions remain about the apparent incumbent, Doughty, and there are a number of ways the entirely new Riders staff could go. Saskatchewan’s general manager, head coach, and defensive coordinator Chris Jones will likely look at training camp as the competition for the spot. Salary cap space is not an issue – which we knew from the exodus out of Regina after the organizational changes in December.

JC Sherritt (Edmonton), Greg Jones (Toronto), Rennie Curran (B.C.), and former Calgary Stampeder Juwan Simpson are the top-end free agents available to take the spot. Simpson is the elder statesman in this class, and the most accomplished. He’s 31, while the others are all 27 years old with plenty of snaps left in them.

It would be no shock to anyone if JC Sherritt made his way to the Queen City, considering virtually the entire Edmonton defensive coaching staff moved to the Riders this off-season. Speculation early in the off-season was that Sherritt would like to finish his career as an Eskimo, but if the numbers were anywhere close, surely they would have signed him by now.

My feeling is that the Riders will sign Rennie Curran, who was more of an injury replacement signing with the Lions last year. Chris Jones and his defensive staff know him well. He has big shoes and was on my most-coveted list last year.

The Riders will also have to look at outside linebackers to fill the spot vacated by the release of weak-side linebacker Weldon Brown. Some or all of Winston Venable (Montrea), Frederic Plesius (Hamilton), Alex Hoffman-Ellis (B.C.), Cory Greenwood (Toronto), and Keon Raymond (Calgary) will be available when their contracts expire in a week.

Then there is the Canadian draft, which is sometimes an option for finding a first-year starter, as in Emry’s case. But looking through the list of draft-eligible linebackers, it’s too hard say whether any could accomplish that feat. Let that speculation die.

The Riders also have had national linebackers Kevin Regimbald and Dan West in past seasons, neither of whom seem ready to play full time in the middle. Both will become free agents on February 9th if not re-signed before then.

One thing we know for sure is that the Riders are set on the strong side of the ball with Jeff Knox Jr. His stellar play as a rookie indicates that he’ll be a big part of the Rider linebacking corps in 2016. No matter who fills the other two spots, the Riders will hope for good health and improved play from their linebackers this season, something Shea Emry himself could look at and be proud of. Congratulations to Emry and his family on an outstanding career.

Main Photo: