fighting for a roster spot<\/a>, making plays in the pre-season and trying to prove he belongs in green and white. Now, with final roster decisions looming, all he could do was wait for a phone call.<\/p>\nRead more:<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s definitely some nerves, for sure,\u201d Sexton said. \u201cIt\u2019s a little bit of anxiousness, you know, just because it\u2019s the unknown.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 28-year-old has spent time bouncing around professional football, including making stops in the NFL, and understands better than most how quickly opportunities can appear and disappear.<\/p>\n
Still, he said he tries to view the situation as a privilege rather than a burden.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people feel like that\u2019s a negative, but it\u2019s not,\u201d Sexton said. \u201cIt\u2019s a blessing to be in our position. I don\u2019t take it for granted.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sexton helped his cause during camp by showing versatility.<\/p>\n
While receivers are often judged by catches and touchdowns, Sexton believed one of his biggest strengths came on special teams.<\/p>\n
\u201cI take a lot of pride in that,\u201d he said. \u201cI like special teams a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
The former college defensive player laughed as he explained that he still enjoys the physical side of football.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like hitting people. I like tackling people,\u201d Sexton said. \u201cNot only returner, I like to run down on kickoff, punt. I did all through college.\u201d<\/p>\n
That versatility may prove valuable as coaches work through difficult roster decisions.<\/p>\n
The CFL game also suits his style.<\/p>\n
Unlike American football, where players can signal for a fair catch, CFL returners are expected to make plays.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no fair catch, so it gives us as returners a lot of opportunity every game,\u201d Sexton said. \u201cI love it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those opportunities have become even more meaningful in recent days as Sexton earned chances to work alongside Saskatchewan\u2019s starters.<\/p>\n
The experience provided a glimpse of what life on the final roster could look like.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been honestly a fresh breath of air,\u201d he said. \u201cWith everybody kind of knowing what\u2019s going on and stuff like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
His NFL experience also helps ease the transition to Canadian football. Sexton said that moving between organizations taught him to absorb new playbooks, terminology, and offensive systems quickly.<\/p>\n
Now, all of that preparation rested in the hands of the coaching staff.<\/p>\n
And if the call goes his way?<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would mean the world,\u201d Sexton said.<\/p>\n
He paused before looking around Mosaic Stadium.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love it here. It\u2019s a great place. Look at the place we\u2019re standing in right now. It\u2019s a beautiful place, beautiful area. I love the people out here. It\u2019s a great fan base.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rosters must be in by 10 p.m. local time Saturday.<\/p>\n
Read more:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For Saskatchewan Roughriders hopeful Matthew Sexton, the waiting is just beginning. The receiver and return specialist spent the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":704600,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-704599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/704599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=704599"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/704599\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/704600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=704599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=704599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=704599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}