Jake Maier doesn’t know what the future has in store.
After helping the Saskatchewan Roughriders win the 2025 Grey Cup as a backup quarterback behind Trevor Harris, the 28-year-old California native — who started two games this season — is a pending free agent.
Does he want to return to the Roughriders in 2026 as a backup? Will he look to compete for playing time elsewhere? There’s a lot on his plate this off-season as he debates his future following his first season with the Green and White after being acquired by the club last December.
“After the last few years, my perspective a little bit has changed in terms of what my value system is, and what I feel like is important for not just my career, but just athletes in general,” said Maier, who started 45 games for the Calgary Stampeders from 2021-24 prior to arriving in Saskatchewan. “I’m just a real big believer now in surrounding yourself with people that you can align with and enjoy showing up to work with on a daily basis.
“Being around coaching staff that believes in you and wants to make sure that they’re getting the most out of you and challenging you at the same time.
“We have such a great work environment here … I view that as if not the most important, one of the most important things that I am going to seek out at every year in my career, wherever this takes me.
“I feel like I got better during the year, even from not physically being out in the field. Just from learning from Trevor and how he preps and how he does all this stuff. So there’s stuff I’ll implement that I took from this season, no doubt. And then you just kind of play the patient game in terms of what’s going to happen.”
While Maier started playoff games for the Stampeders in 2022 and 2023, this season he got to hoist his first Grey Cup. How does being the starter on a team that falls short compare to being a backup on a championship-winning team?
“I think being a part of something like this is more special because it’s bigger than you,” he said. “And I felt like I got the opportunity to contribute as well. I got to be in meeting rooms every day and try to help guys out and help Trevor and help (offensive coordinator Marc) Mueller. I got the game plan a ton; I got to play a little bit in some meaningful games.
“I felt like when I got the opportunity to help contribute to the team, I took a lot of pride in that, and that was really fun for me.”
Maier dressed in all 18 games this season and made two starts — a victory in Week 4 and a loss in Week 20 — while completing 56 of 87 passes for 617 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Jake Maier (9) hands the ball to Saskatchewan Roughriders running back A.J. Ouellette (45) during the first half of CFL action at Mosaic Stadium on Saturday, June 28, 2025 in Regina.
Those numbers pale in comparison to the action he got over the last few years with the Stampeders, which included a 22-touchdown season in 2024 before he was acquired by Saskatchewan.
And while it’s no guarantee the 39-year-old Harris returns to Saskatchewan, Maier must wait for that first domino to drop before he considers what his future holds.
“He’s got the right to choose whatever he wants to do,” Maier said of Harris, who is also a pending free agent. “And everybody needs to respect that, and he’s going to take his time, I’m sure.
“But I’ve talked to him periodically throughout the season just about the shelf life of a quarterback in this league, and just kind of going back and forth on, ‘Hey, what’s important to you? Where do you want to go? What do you want it to look like? What should matter? What shouldn’t matter?’
“I would say Trevor and I are completely on the same page in terms of how we view this thing. And yeah, whatever he wants to do, he’s earned that right. He’s a champion. He’s a captain this team and I’m going to respect whatever he decides to do.”
The good thing is Maier has a few months to weigh his options before he can start talking to any of the other eight teams across the CFL who might be interested come free agency in February.
“I don’t think it’s a situation where I’m just going to hunt down a bunch of teams and knock on their door and say, ‘Hey, here are my services,’ ” said Maier. “I think it’s the other way around.
“You put your resume out there. You wait to see who reaches out; wait to hear some of the plans with the organization here and maybe some other places. And then you choose accordingly.
“But again, I know what’s here. I love being here, and I love the people that are here and the teammates here outstanding. So I have no problem being a Roughrider for as long as I can. It’s just a matter of the direction they want to go, not just with the guys that are here right now, but just them with me, and what they how they see this thing going. And I’m all ears, and I’m excited to see what that looks like.”
Quarterback Jake Maier during the Saskatchewan Roughriders training camp.
Seeing Harris win his first Grey Cup as a starter at the age of 39 also gives Maier some pause. Aside from B.C.’s Nathan Rourke and Montreal’s Davis Alexander, who are both 27, Maier is younger than the other seven starting quarterbacks in the CFL. And with 45 starts, he’s already one of the more experienced quarterbacks under 30 and could have plenty of football ahead of him if that’s what he chooses.
“I should just be grateful right now just to be able to be able to say that I’ve had the opportunity in this league to play, I’ve had the opportunity this league to make some money, I’ve also had the opportunity in this league to win a championship and be a part of something that’s bigger than me,” said Maier. “So I’ve got the best of both worlds.
“Now, there’s one more thing probably I can check off, which would probably be doing both; being able to play and win championships, but man, at this stage of my career, I’m 28 years old, I’ve seen a lot of things. This (winning the Grey Cup) is second to none right now in terms of experiences in this league.”
Does that mean he’d be fine waiting another year or even two before getting the chance to compete for a starting role with the Riders?
“I’d absolutely be willing to come back,” said Maier. “We’ll see what the rest of the landscape looks like. But I love it here. And if that’s what it’s going to be, then that’s what it’s going to be. And I’ve told him that. And then the dynamic would keep on rolling. And we’d do what we can to make sure we can do this again.”
Related
The Regina Leader-Post has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe.
With some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark leaderpost.com and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Click here to subscribe.