Cody Fajardo will start at quarterback for the Riders on Friday, just two days after the birth of his son Luca.

Timing is everything on and off the football field.

Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Cody Fajardo and his wife Laura proved that with the birth of their son, Luca, on Wednesday. With that momentous day in the books, Fajardo is now scheduled to start Friday’s game (7:30 p.m., TSN) at Mosaic Stadium against the Edmonton Elks.

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“We were a little bit worried when we were past (Monday’s) due date,” Fajardo said after Thursday’s walk-through. “If it came down to having the baby (Thursday) or sometime (Friday) or even later on Wednesday, I was in jeopardy of missing the game. I said from the get-go that I was going to miss no matter how much time there was to be with my wife and child.”

But then Luca arrived Wednesday at 1:42 a.m.

“He’s definitely a football fan,” Fajardo said. “We have a bye week after this, so that will help us get into the routine of things.”

Fajardo may have something to look forward to after the bye week that’s not family-related. He’s hoping to be able to shed the brace that he has been wearing for nearly three months since injuring the medial collateral ligament in his left knee.

“I’ll talk to the doctor after the bye week and hopefully I’ll feel like myself for the stretch run,” Fajardo said.

The Riders, meanwhile, dropped receiver Jake Harty (foot) and cornerback Nelson Lokombo (shoulder) from the active roster. Harty is on the one-game injured list. Lokombo has been added to the six-game injured list.

Regina-born receiver Mitchell Picton and defensive back Jordan Beaulieu have both been added to the active roster for Friday’s game.

Twice a year, the league releases 10 players from each team’s top-secret negotiation lists.

The first list was released Thursday and the second instalment is due in December. The CFL’s by-laws allow teams to claim the exclusive rights of up to 45 players by placing them on their negotiation lists. Players on the negotiation lists can be added, removed or traded from the lists at any time. The majority of the players on negotiation lists aren’t aware that they have been claimed.

All but one of the nine teams released lists that featured players in multiple positions. The B.C. Lions, however, listed 10 quarterbacks from their negotiation list.

Here are the Riders’ negotiation list players:

• Ryan Anderson, defensive end, Alabama

• Antoine Brooks, defensive back, Maryland

• Jack Coan, quarterback, Notre Dame

• Jake Dixon, offensive line, Duquesne

• Christian DiLauro, offensive line, Illinois

• Jerald Hawkins, offensive line, Louisiana State

• Zack Johnson, offensive line, North Dakota State

• Adrian Killins Jr., running back, Central Florida

• Tanner Mordecai, quarterback, South Methodist

Riders slotback Duke Williams will miss his fourth consecutive game while dealing with an ankle issue.

“It’s one of those injuries that might take longer to heal than expected,” Dickenson said. “We’ve got something going on with a tendon or a ligament in his ankle that is giving him some pain and causing some issues.

“We’re hopeful that he can be back next week, but we’ve been hopeful for the last couple of weeks and it just hasn’t worked out. We’ll see where he is the week after the bye week.”

Williams has dressed for eight games this season, registering 29 catches for 480 yards and four touchdowns.

The sports world is ever-changing, as are the times. Supplement your steady diet of sports coverage by subscribing to the Regina Leader-Post’s 306 Sports Fix newsletter. Each week, sports editor Rob Vanstone will provide additional commentary on the Roughriders, Pats and other teams/sports of interest, along with a peek behind the curtain. Click here to subscribe.

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