Emotionally and psychologically, the Saskatchewan Roughriders have bared their souls while dealing with the painful loss of veteran linebacker Jayden Dalke.

Now they face extra challenges, specifically playing a CFL game against the first-place Edmonton Elks. How can they possibly focus on the Elks?

“Just be where your feet are,” said Riders quarterback Trevor Harris. “You know, two things can be true at once. You can be focused on a goal that Dalke would want us to be focused on.

“And we can also mourn his loss.”

Edmonton visits Mosaic Stadium on Thursday (7 p.m.) sporting a 5-1 record against 4-1 Saskatchewan.

Although the Elks were among the CFL teams to send condolences to the Roughriders in the aftermath of Dalke’s passing, they won’t be as compassionate for the first meeting of a home-and-home set between the West’s top squads. The teams meet again Aug. 1 in Edmonton.

Teammates, head coach Corey Mace, general manager Jeremy O’Day and president Craig Reynolds have done media interviews about Dalke, a popular player who died Saturday night in a traffic accident.

They all spoke about Dalke’s toughness, commitment to his teammates and friendly personality. O’Day said the team would show a video tribute during Thursday’s game and add Dalke’s initials to the players’ helmets.

“He was the person that was the glue of our team,” said linebacker Jameer Thurman, before breaking down for a moment during a media scrum following a practice earlier this week. “He was able to relate where everybody was emotionally and just have a conversation.

“He never allowed anyone to do anything by themselves. And it’s a testament to him because even a lot of the new guys, they talked about, ‘Man, he made me feel welcome right away.’ He always was that type of person and he was always looking out for the team.”

RCMP said Dalke, evidently driving home from a bye week spent at his family’s home in northern Alberta, was heading northbound in the southbound lane of Highway 11 between Regina and Lumsden before crashing into another SUV driven by 22-year-old Bhishma Rajyaguru.

Both drivers died at the scene. The police report stated cannabis and alcohol were found inside Dalke’s vehicle and the RCMP is awaiting toxicology reports.

The loss of a teammate is rare in pro sports, difficult to comprehend and sometimes impossible to overcome. It can bind a team together or rip apart a locker room.

The NFL’s Dallas Cowboys last season dealt with the loss of Marshawn Kneeland, who had confrontations with police before dying by suicide, and subsequently learning he suffered from CTE.

Just recently, Canadian NBA player Brandon Clarke died in May of an apparent overdose. Jayden Adams, who played soccer for South Africa, died shortly after his World Cup appearance, allegedly by suicide.

Mace was an assistant coach with the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders when defensive back Mylan Hicks was shot outside a nightclub in 2016. He’s unfortunately familiar with a similar situation.

“This organization, that locker room, our support staff, it is a very tight organization,” said Mace.

“It’s sad that something like this, I think, will bring us even closer, which I didn’t really know was gonna be possible. Just being able to have everybody to lean on each other in times like this, we’ve got a bunch of people in the building who really care.”

The Roughriders last lost an active player during the 2015-16 off-season, when running back Joe McKnight was shot during a traffic altercation in New Orleans.

Last year the Regina Red Sox were starting their Western Canadian Baseball League season, eagerly awaiting the return of 22-year-old pitcher Jesse Lubiniecki. While driving home from his California college with his fiancée, Lubiniecki died in a single-vehicle rollover.

The Red Sox were devastated.

They attached commemorative black ribbons to their hats, wore his initials on their jerseys, fellow pitcher/friend Zander Oulie-Senger wrote “Jesse #33” inside his ball cap and the entire team pledged to honour their former teammate throughout the season.

Regina won the WCBL championship three months before the Roughriders won the 2025 Grey Cup.