The Saskatchewan Roughriders have been vocal about the team’s stated goal to repeat as Grey Cup champions in 2026.
If the Riders are going to go back-to-back, it will be done with a slightly different roster. Saskatchewan had a league-high 44 free agents, but general manager Jeremy O’Day and his football operations staff, including assistant GM and director of player personnel Kyle Carson, assistant GM Paul Jones, football operations director Jordan Greenly and assistant director of player personnel Larry Dean, were able to re-sign half, 22 from that group, plus bring back seven more from the practice roster.
“Free agency was pretty unique for us this year. Pretty much every position that you looked across the board, our free agents were top targets. It was a challenge managing who would we get back and who we would be able to offer. You have a salary cap to use, and we’re not saving money for down the road,” O’Day said.
“We had a game plan going in, but you don’t really know how it’s going to go until you start talking with the players’ representatives. We had quite a few guys on the roster at the end of the year due to injuries and whatnot. We had an abnormal number of free agents because we had a lot of guys on the roster at the end of the year.”
Despite being able to retain many starters, there were some key contributors who left Riderville. Every CFL franchise has a limit to what can be spent on players, $6,280,514 per team in 2026, which means not everyone’s full value can be met. Among others, see the checklist below, Malik Carney and A.J. Allen signed big money contracts with Edmonton and Ottawa, while Jake Maier went to the nation’s capital as the highest-paid backup QB in the league. West Final hero Tommy Nield was given a large raise as was Habakkuk Baldonado. Defensive stalwart C.J. Reavis was a salary cap casualty.
“Our players were sought after. I assume everyone wanted to be back, but it also had to match financially. Some of those decisions were made for financial purposes. We did have some players that left money on the table with other teams that decided they wanted to come back and try to win back-to-back Grey Cups,” O’Day said.
“They took less than what they could have got with other teams. There’s other guys that are at different points of their careers where they’re ascending, and you don’t fault them. Everyone’s in a different chair for what they want. Some guys, it was important to be back on the team, some guys are looking at it from a financial aspect — I totally understand both sides of it.”
The Green and White added return specialist James Letcher Jr. in free agency, along with veteran defensive end James Vaughters, American linebacker Josh Woods, and Global linebacker Tyron Vrede. That’s 33 new contracts, not to mention the entry-level agreements the Riders have finalized with past draft picks and incoming rookie Americans.
“Every year, there’s positions that we’re going to be younger at; they’re players that most people haven’t heard of yet, and they’re going to battle it out in camp. We’ll have multiple positions that are battling,” O’Day said.
“One of the keys to us having success last year was the depth that we had. You can see it when you have so many guys that are signing with other teams and so many that you can bring back.”
When you look at the team’s depth chart following free agency, it’s easy to spot what positions will be up for grabs in legitimate competitions.
Antoine Brooks Jr. played so well that it caused the team to move forward with him at strong-side linebacker. His minimum rookie salary played a role, but the 27-year-old seems to have more upside than he displayed last year when he registered 21 defensive tackles, nine special teams stops, two sacks, and two interceptions, one returned for a touchdown.
“Antoine Brooks has earned his opportunity to be a starter in this league. Every time he’s gotten an opportunity, he’s done great things. He makes plays every day at practice. He’s going to get his shot to play SAM,” O’Day said.
After Allen signed a contract to become the highest-paid linebacker in the Canadian Football League, Saskatchewan has a starting spot at weak-side linebacker to fill. Aubrey Miller Jr. and Woods appear to be the favourites, but it could be a national spot if Nick Wiebe or Seth Hundeby earn the role.
“We’ve done a decent job with our ratio, so we have some flexibility with A.J. moving on. We can actually continue to use that as a Canadian spot, or we can go American,” O’Day said.
“Aubrey Miller got an opportunity to play a little bit last year and did well, so we’re happy to get him back. We’ve signed Josh Woods, who has a lot of experience and has a lot of length. We’re excited about the linebackers; I know everyone’s probably worried about it.”
Up front, the Roughriders have to find at least one defensive end who can start and ideally two that prove capable enough to be involved in Corey Mace’s defensive line rotation. Mace routinely dressed seven, eight or nine defensive linemen in 2025. Aaron Patrick, who dressed at defensive end in the 112th Grey Cup alongside Carney and Baldonado, could earn the first chance with the first-team defence.
Flipping over to the offensive line, the left guard spot should have some fierce competition. Daniel Johnson seems to have the most upside, but Zack Fry has been steady when called upon and can fill in at centre if required.
“We’ll probably have another offensive lineman that will be an open position,” O’Day said.
The Riders are looking for one American receiver to grab a starting job. With Dohnte Meyers signing an NFL contract, Joe Robustelli leaving for Edmonton, and the team not re-signing Shawn Bane Jr., there’s a job opening with some intriguing talent from various levels in the United States signed to compete: former NFLers, players from big-time NCAA Division I programs who have flashed here and there, along with small school athletes such as Collin Brunstein.
“We’ve done a decent job with our ratio, so we have some flexibility with A.J. moving on. We can actually continue to use that as a Canadian spot, or we can go American,” O’Day said.
“Two years ago, everyone was in here asking who KeeSean [Johnson] and Dohnte Myers were. Then all of a sudden, you can’t lose those guys. It does have some consideration when you’re looking at a proven guy in our league versus a guy that’s stepping in. We have a pretty veteran receiver core, so for us to try to find one is not too big of a task.”
Is it May yet? Let’s keep a close watch to see how the battles shakedown in training camp.
Saskatchewan Roughriders 2026 CFL free agency checklist
Re-signed:
QB Trevor Harris (A)
QB Jack Coan (A)
QB Tommy Stevens (A)
RB A.J. Ouellette (A)
RB Thomas Bertrand-Hudon (N)
FB Albert Awachie (N)
REC KeeSean Johnson (A)
REC Samuel Emilus (N)
REC Kian Schaffer-Baker (N)
OL Jermarcus Hardrick (A)
OL Jacob Brammer (A)
DL Mike Rose (A)
DL Caleb Sanders (A)
DL Lake Korte-Moore (N)
DL Benoit Marion (N)
LB Aubrey Miller Jr. (A)
DB Tevaughn Campbell (N)
DB DaMarcus Fields (A)
DB Nelson Lokombo (N)
DB Jaxon Ford (N)
DB Jayden Dalke (N)
DB Kerfalla Exume (N)
Re-signed from practice roster:
REC Siaosi Mariner (A)
REC D’Sean Mimbs (N)
OL Darius Washington (A)
DL Chico Bennett Jr. (A)
DL Sylvain Yondjouen (G)
DL Kendy Charles (A)
K Michael Hughes (A)
Signed in free agency:
DL James Vaughters (A)
LB Josh Woods (A)
LB Tyron Vrede (G)
RET James Letcher Jr. (A)
Not re-signed:
QB Jake Maier (A) — signed with Ottawa Redblacks
RB Ka’Deem Carey (A) — retired
REC Dohnte Meyers (A) — signed with Cincinnati Bengals
REC Tommy Nield (N) — signed with Winnipeg Blue Bombers
REC Joe Robustelli (A) — signed with Edmonton Elks
REC Shawn Bane Jr. (A) — free agent
REC Mitch Picton (N) — retired
OL Trevon Tate (A) — free agent
OL Sean McEwen (N) — free agent
OL Philippe Gagnon (N) — free agent
OL Braydon Noll (N) — signed with Montreal Alouettes
OL Noah Zerr (N) — free agent
DL Malik Carney (A) — signed with Edmonton Elks
DL Shane Ray (A) — retired
DL Habakkuk Baldonado (G) — signed with Ottawa Redblacks
DL Micah Johnson (A) — retired
DL Charbel Dabire (N) — signed with Hamilton Tiger-Cats
LB A.J. Allen (N) — signed with Ottawa Redblacks
LB C.J. Avery (A) — free agent
DB C.J. Reavis (A) — signed with Ottawa Redblacks
LS Jorgen Hus (N) — free agent
RET Mario Alford (A) — signed with Hamilton Tiger-Cats
