Saskatchewan Roughriders head coach Craig Dickenson has named Isaac Harker the team’s backup quarterback to start the 2021 season.
Harker retains his spot behind franchise man Cody Fajardo over former first-round NFL pick Paxton Lynch.
“It’s going to be Isaac Harker, he’s going to be our number two. He’s outplayed him and he’s more ready now. The offensive staff feels good about him, I do as well. He’s a guy that’s won games for us in the league before,” Dickenson said.
“The reality is Harker is our best option to win games right now, so he’s the number two and he’ll stay that way until proven otherwise.”
The 25-year-old Harker dressed for all 18 regular season games as a rookie in 2019. He started in Week 21, completing 23-of-28 passes for 213 yards in a 23-13 win to help the Roughriders earn first place in the West Division with a 13-5 record. Overall, he connected on 66 percent of his passes for 467 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions last season.
“We have a great quarterback room. There’s been a lot of times, especially in 2019, when I’ve come to the sideline and Isaac is like: ‘Hey man, I saw this.’ And we watched it on tape and the next time we got that call, I throw it where Isaac said and the guy was open,” Fajardo said.
“There’s a lot of give and take. You gotta put your pride aside and ask those guys. When you have incredible backups like we do here, guys who are just willing to do anything to help this team win, it really helps you as the starter to gain trust in guys.”
Harker is entering the last season of his three-year CFL rookie contract. He’s scheduled to earn $65,000 in base salary plus $3,000 in housing on his first pro pact, signed in April 2019.
In the NCAA, Harker played for the Colorado School of Mines. During his senior season for the Orediggers, Harker completed 65.5 per cent of his passes for 3,858 yards, 39 touchdowns against 12 interceptions and rushed 61 times for 142 yards and three touchdowns. The six-foot, 195-pound pivot earned Division II All-America honourable mention.
The Lebanon, Indiana native was a graduate transfer for the 2018 season in Colorado. Harker played 22 games, 15 starts, at Indiana State University from 2015-2017, passing for 3,259 yards, 22 touchdowns against 14 interceptions with a 56 per cent completion rate.
Fajardo’s trusted sideline mate will be right there whenever he needs a second set of quarterback eyes.
