At 38 year’s old Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive end Charleston Hughes is one of the Canadian Football League’s elder statesmen.
His 14-year CFL career had stops in Calgary and Toronto in addition to Saskatchewan where he’s registered 136 career quarterback sacks, placing him fifth all-time behind Grover Covington’s 157.
This season, his second stop in Saskatchewan has seen Hughes deployed in spot duty, only dressing in 11 of the teams games. Despite the competitor’s desire to be on the field, he’s found a positive way to make an impact on his team whether or not he’s wearing his pads.
“It’s one of those things where it’s the best decision for the team, you can’t really argue that,” Hughes said. “The coaches have to make their judgment and their call about what’s best for the team and what’s the best decision to win the game.
“If that means me being on the sideline and coaching guys up and helping them put their best foot forward, then that’s what needs to be called.”
“The reality is we’ve been moving guys in and out on the defensive line all year,” head coach Craig Dickenson explained. “He keeps working and he keeps showing up to work each day, so I’m happy to tell you he’s going to play this last game and hopefully he plays well.”
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Throughout the team’s tough second-half of the season, Hughes has made a point to be a vocal, focal point of positivity whether it’s at practice, on the sideline, or on social media. It’s something he’s learned through dealing with a similar situation earlier in his career.
“It was important, especially because I dealt with same situation with a previous team that I was with. I didn’t take a lot of the stuff that was going on there so well,” he explained. “So, I made a good conscious decision to learn from that experience and change my ways.
“I’ve learned to embrace whatever chances I get and whatever moments I get on the field and make the best of it.”
At 38, many gridiron greats are well past hanging up their cleats, but not Hughes, who is looking forward not only to his team’s season finale, but to next season.
“I still (have) a lot of stuff I can do on the field, I felt like I played great when I was on the field, I’ve got the stat line to prove it,” he explained. “So, if you look at the amount of plays that I played this year, compared to the amount of plays that I made on the field, man I still got it.”
“I think he does,” echoed Dickenson. “If you ask him, he’ll tell you he does, I know that. So, I think he’s going to play next year, as far as I know.”
As to what a potential suitor could expect from a 39-year-old Hughes coming blazing off the defensive line in 2023, “(There isn’t) a doubt in my mind that I’m one of the best defensive ends in this league. Maybe if I was fortunate enough to play as much as other guys, I’d be leading the league in sacks,” Hughes chuckled.
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