The Saskatchewan Roughriders aren’t letting one of their key championship pieces get away.
On Sunday, the club announced that bruising running back A.J. Ouellette has signed a one-year contract extension, keeping the heart of their ground game in Green and White for the 2026 season.
And for a team that rode a balanced, punishing attack all the way to the 112th Grey Cup, this move feels less like housekeeping and more like doubling down on a winning formula.
Ouellette was nothing short of sensational in 2025. The 5-foot-8, 208-pound wrecking ball rushed for 1,222 yards — second-most in the CFL — while leading the team with nine touchdowns. His eight rushing majors included a highlight-reel 47-yard scamper that reminded everyone that he’s not just power… he’s burst.
Add in 35 receptions for 250 yards and a touchdown, and it’s easy to see why he was named the Wireless Age Player of the Year.
But Ouellette’s biggest moments came when the lights burned hottest.
In the Western Final at Mosaic Stadium, Ouellette shredded the B.C. Lions for 113 yards on 17 carries, helping Saskatchewan grind out a 24-21 win.
A week later in Winnipeg, the stakes got bigger and so did Ouellette’s fingerprints on the season. Seventeen more carries. Eighty-three more yards. One massive touchdown, a four-yard plunge that capped a punishing 11-play, 92-yard drive in the Riders’ 25-17 Grey Cup victory over Montreal.
Just as important is his presence in the pass protection game. With Ouellette helping seal the edges and stonewall the middle, the Riders didn’t allow a single sack in either playoff game.
Ouellette arrived in Saskatchewan in February 2024 after four seasons with the Toronto Argonauts, where he was a back-to-back East Division All-Star. His first season as a Rider gave a hint of what was to come: 558 yards in just eight games, plus three playoff scores — including two in the 2024 Western Semi-Final win over B.C.
His Toronto résumé was already impressive, highlighted by 1,009 yards and eight touchdowns in 2023 and two majors in the Argos’ narrow 2022 Grey Cup victory at Mosaic Stadium.
Across 62 career CFL games, Ouellette has:
- 700 carries
- 3,562 rushing yards (a stout 5.1 yards per tote)
- 21 rushing touchdowns
- 110 receptions for 949 yards and five more scores
The Ohio product’s production has been as steady as his personality — quiet, tough, reliable, and built for the Prairie grind.
