Trevor Harris missed six games during the 2024 CFL season due to what was originally reported as a sprained MCL in his left knee but it the injury was much more significant than anyone let on.
“I actually partially tore my ACL during the year and had a big chunk of my MCL torn,” the 38-year-old told 3DownNation. “Played the rest of the year with it and we took care of it this offseason with some PRP shots and whatnot. It was early on this offseason that I started feeling like myself, so I’m excited to be able to head into a season fully healthy.”
The six-foot-three, 212-pound passer suffered the injury against Hamilton in Week 3, which marked a third-straight win for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He returned to the lineup against Montreal in Week 11 and ended the year with 3,264 passing yards, 20 touchdowns, and nine interceptions, producing a 7-4 win-loss record as a starter.
If his injury had taken place a few years ago, Harris believes he may have undergone season-ending surgery to repair the ligaments in his knee. Instead, advancements in treatment have made it possible for players to avoid undergoing a procedure after suffering partial tears.
“It was more or less old-school thinking a few years back — partial ACL tear, they were gonna do full surgeries for it,” he said. “New research has shown that partial tears under 50 percent are healing on their own, and so we rolled the dice to see if it was going to heal on its own and it did — it healed up pretty good.”
Saskatchewan’s equipment manager, Gordon Gilroy, recently encouraged Harris to wear Caddix Cleats, which have been popularized by 40-year-old NFL quarterback Joe Flacco. The shoes are designed to mitigate wear and tear on the ankle and knee, which can be especially valuable for players of a certain vintage.
“They’re called ‘old people cleats,’” said Harris. “I guess I am to that point now, but I don’t feel like that. I don’t feel old.”
Harris spent last offseason rehabilitating a tibial plateau fracture he suffered early during the 2023 season, which ended his year. He also needed to learn the new system under Marc Mueller, who had just been hired as Saskatchewan’s offensive coordinator. With Mueller back for another year, Harris doesn’t have to worry about learning yet another new playbook.
“Having a healthy offseason means I can start throwing earlier, I can really start honing in on the things I want to hone in on,” Harris said. “It’s the first time I’ve gone into a season knowing the system that I’m in since 2018, so I’m going to be able to hit the ground running physically and mentally, which allows us to really work on a lot of different things and build our foundation even stronger.”
The Waldo, Ohio native rushed for 71 yards last season, his lowest-ever production as a starter. With his knee back to 100 percent, he joked that he might become a dual-threat passer in 2025.
“I wasn’t able to move like I wanted to but this year, Trevor Vick will be back.”
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