As the Saskatchewan Roughriders set their season-opening roster Saturday to meet CFL requirements post-training camp, defensive back Malcolm Bell became the sixth player in the last four seasons to make the team’s active roster out of training camp in his draft year.
Saskatchewan selected the Montreal product with its first round pick, ninth overall in the CFL’s 2026 Canadian draft and signed him shortly after news broke that Bell wasn’t offered a contract out of a rookie mini-camp with the NFL’s Cleveland Browns.
He’s not the only one of the Riders’ 2026 picks to remain with the club, as offensive lineman Jez Janvier (5/47) was assigned to the practice roster while receiver Dylan Djete (2/18) and offensive lineman Darius Bell (3/29) were placed on the six-game injured list to start the season.
But in making the active roster, Bell joins a group that – since 2023 – includes just defensive lineman Ali Saad (1/4, 2025), linebacker Melique Straker (4/32, 2024), defensive lineman Lake Korte-Moore (1/3, 2023), defensive back Jaxon Ford (2/11, 2023) and running back Thomas Bertrand-Hudon (4/30, 2023).
Similar to Djete and Darius Bell, linebacker Nick Wiebe along with receivers Dhel Duncan-Busby and Ajou Ajou also began the 2024 season in green and white but on the injured list.
And like Janvier, offensive lineman Daniel Johnson (5/41, 2024) and linebacker Matt Dean (3/21, 2023) began their respective draft years on the practice roster.
In all, it adds up to 14 of the Riders’ 31 most recent picks finding a spot with the team immediately out of camp in their respective draft years.
Five others chose to pursue NFL opportunities – 2026 sixth-rounder Albert Reese IV with the Carolina Panthers, 2025 third-rounder Kurtis Rourke with the San Francisco 49ers, 2023 first-rounder Kyle Hergel (New Orleans Saints), 2023 sixth-rounder Sidy Sow (New England Patriots) and 2023 eighth-rounder Tavius Robinson (Baltimore Ravens).
Of the other dozen who didn’t make the team immediately, 11 returned or are planning to return to university in the fall – with 2025 draft picks like offensive lineman Erik Andersen, linebacker Liam Hoskins and receiver Daniel Wiebe all currently on Saskatchewan’s active roster after taking that route last year – while 2026 seventh-rounder Shemar McBean was released outright as part of the club’s league-mandated roster cutdown according to a team announcement Saturday.
