Roughriders starting QB Trevor Harris to miss games with 'moderate' knee injury

For the second year in a row, Saskatchewan Roughriders's starting quarterback Trevor Harris will miss games due to a knee injury.

Harris suffered a moderate MCL injury in the Riders' last game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on June 23. He is being placed on the six-game-injured list.

Roughriders head coach Corey Mace said the team will be cautious with Harris's return.

"The good news is it's not a it's not a season ender, but we're going to be smart with it as it is a long season and we're still early into it," Mace said in an interview at practice on Sunday.

"We're going to put him on the six for now. If he ends up being able to come off of that, we'll roll with that."

Harris got injured by a tackle by Tiger-Cats  defensive lineman Nick Usher during the second quarter.

Backup quarterback Shea Patterson replaced Harris, completing four of 10 passes for 41 yards. The former Ole Miss Rebels and Michigan Wolverine quarterback is expected to make his first CFL start on Thursday against the Toronto Argonauts.

Patterson said he has more to offer to Riders' offence than his performance against Hamilton.

"Nowhere near my expectation at all," Patterson said. "It's a weird situation to go into, I was just trying to go in and manage the game and not do anything too crazy."

Patterson said he's learned a lot from Harris on how to lead the team.

"I think he's [Harris] is the best QB in the league right now," Patterson said. " So anytime you get a chance to kind of see that day in day out in practice and then kind of put your own spin to it, it just adds that much more."

The Riders also signed Eric Barrierre — who attended training camp with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers — on Sunday to bolster the team's quarterback depth. 

Barriere had a prolific college career south of the border where he left Eastern Washington Eagles as the school's all-time passing leader and won the Walter Payton Award as the top player in FCS football in 2021.

Mace said Harris not playing is a big loss but he will continue to help the Riders other quarterbacks develop during his recovery. 

"He's constantly going to be around, you know what I mean? So that's a plus, we won't lose that from that standpoint," Mace said. "He's heavy in a guys' ears … if anything, we just got another coach."

The Riders look to improve to 4-0 in Thursday's matchup against the Argonauts at Mosaic Stadium in Regina. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. CST.