Riders trade Jerome Messam to Stamps...while he's at the Blue Jays' playoff game

The CFL's second-leading rusher changed teams during Wednesday's trade deadline, and he found out about it while attending the Toronto Blue Jays' epic Game Five ALDS win over the Texas Rangers. That would be Canadian running back Jerome Messam, who was sent from Saskatchewan to Calgary along with a fifth-round pick (which the Roughriders got from Montreal in exchange for quarterback Kevin Glenn earlier in the day) for a third-round pick and Canadian kicker Tyler Crapigna. Messam posted on Twitter and Instagram that he was "Just gonna enjoy the game and deal with life when it's over," and included a selfie from his seat at the Rogers Centre. Here's a screenshot of his Instagram post:

That's a rough distraction from the game, but perhaps the craziness that ensued took Messam's mind off it. Why was he there? Well, the Roughriders are on a bye week, and players often go home during those; he's from nearby Brampton, ON, so taking in a Jays' game makes sense. (Interestingly enough, at least one other CFLer was there, Argonauts DE Ricky Foley, who was Messam's teammate in Saskatchewan last year.) It may work out well for Messam, too; the Stampeders play against Toronto in Hamilton Saturday (thanks to those same Jays), so perhaps he won't even have to fly west to join them.

As per what this trade means on the field? It could be huge for Calgary. They now have two of the top Canadian running backs, and two of the top overall backs in the league, with Messam and Jon Cornish. There could be plenty of benefits to playing both, too, perhaps even at the same time; the 6'3'', 245-pound Messam is a punishing, powerful runner, while the 6'0'', 210-pound Cornish can run up the middle, but can also use his quickness and agility to make plays on the outside. That's going to add at least some depth and possibly yet another dimension to the Stampeders' attack. This could work for Saskatchewan, too, especially if they didn't think they were going to be able to keep Messam long-term; the third-round pick is nice, and Crapigna could turn into a valuable piece (and he had a hard time seeing the field in Calgary behind Rene Paredes and Rob Maver). It's a part of a larger offloading of talent by the 2-13 Roughriders, and that makes sense as they prepare for next year. It also could help the Stamps stock up for a playoff run. Messam may have found out at an inconvenient time, but this may not be a bad move for him at all. At the very least, it will let him see the 2015 playoffs...