“One more year!”
Rider Nation got its wish.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders announced on Thursday that quarterback Trevor Harris — Most Valuable Player of the 2025 Grey Cup Game — had signed a one-year contract extension.
It was the very same transaction fans had lobbied for during public celebrations that followed the Roughriders’ 25-17 Grey Cup victory over the Montreal Alouettes on Nov. 16.
“You see it on TV a lot with the guys who win titles,” Harris said on Friday. “You hear ‘one more year!’ and the ‘MVP’ chants and all that kind of stuff. It was one of those ‘little kid’ moments, where the little kid in me was thinking, ‘This is pretty darned cool, man,’ especially with the fact that it’s here in the green and white.
“I know I’ve said this several times, but it’s kind of weird how I’ve always been drawn to Saskatchewan ever since I’ve been in the league. I know a lot of people who grow up in Regina dream of playing for the Riders, but as soon as I set foot in Canada and got a chance to play in the old Mosaic — old Taylor Field — I was like, ‘Man, this is where I’d want to be.’
“I feel like the city fits me. We’re three years in, but I already feel like I’m a Saskatchewan person. I feel like we fit in with the whole province. I couldn’t be more grateful. So for those moments — for the fans to be saying those things and to be chanting — it was one of those pinch-myself moments.”
At that moment, Harris fought off the temptation to give the fans what they were clamouring for by responding with an immediate, “I’ll be back.”
But very soon after the fifth Grey Cup championship victory in Roughriders history, it seemed inevitable that he would return for a 14th CFL season and a fourth year in green and white.
At the same time, the 39-years-young Harris did not want to make an impulsive decision, as much as he was leaning in that direction. Before leaving Regina for his home in Ohio, he told reporters he would be “shocked” if retirement was on the horizon.
“Even on the drive home, I talked to A.J. a little bit,” said Harris, who made the trek to the United States with Ohio-born running back A.J. Ouellette. “My wife (Kalie) had sent me a really long text message about how happy she is in Regina and how much she loves being there and how happy it makes her to see me happy at my work.
“It was one of those things that felt like a no-brainer. I just wanted to make sure that the motivation is there and the drive is there … and it is. So why not? Let’s go.”
Informal, yet important discussions, began as early as the Roughriders’ Grey Cup celebration bash, held at the team’s hotel in Winnipeg.
“I talked to my wife that night when we were at the party,” Harris recalled. “We left and we sat down. She said, ‘Honey, this is the way to go out, but how can you go out when you’re playing like this and we enjoy being here so much? Things are kind of just set the way they are.’
“She said, ‘It’s so nice to see you happy working and this is what you do to provide for us. We feel like you’re glorifying God through this. I just can’t see this being the end.’
“When she said that, I was like, ‘I think we should (return), too, but let’s still wait a week because emotions are very high right now.’ On the long drive when she sent me that long text message — I read it while A.J. was driving, obviously — I was like, ‘I think I’m coming back to play.’ I didn’t tell anybody yet because I was still going to let it marinate for a few days.”
There was so much to digest after a history-making November.
After finishing first overall in the league with a 12-6 record, Saskatchewan defeated the B.C. Lions 24-21 in the Western Final on Nov. 8 at Mosaic Stadium. Harris threw a game-winning, three-yard touchdown pass to Tommy Nield with 11 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Roughriders’ No. 7 proceeded to set a Grey Cup single-game record for completion percentage (85.2) by going 23-for-27 for 302 yards versus Montreal. It was par for the course for someone who sported the CFL’s top accuracy rate (73.6 per cent) during the regular season.
The year before, Harris had completed 72.4 per cent of his passes (second-best in the league) and led the loop in quarterback-efficiency rating (108.4) en route to being a divisional All-CFL selection. Considering the trajectory he is on, why not keep playing?
“I’m still curious what my ceiling is as a player,” he said. “I can’t assure you of very much in terms of next year, but the one thing I can assure you of is that I won’t be outworked.
“I’d be shocked if I’m not a better player next year than I was this year. I know a lot of people kind of roll their eyes at that or kind of doubt me when I say these things, but I remember saying this stuff to you guys (in the media) last year, and people said, ‘Oh, he’s going to be 39 …’
“I can promise you that I will be a better football player next year. I wouldn’t come back if I thought I was going to plateau or if I’d hit my ceiling. I’m still curious about how high a level I can play at and I’m still curious about how high a level we can take this to in Regina.
“When you have the right cards in your hand, for you to just play one and be able to possibly have the same cards in your hand and go play it again, why wouldn’t you? Why wouldn’t you play them better if you have more experience and you’ve got guys together?”
Continuity was a keyword as the Roughriders entered what proved to be a championship season in 2025. Now repeat has become an essential part of the vocabulary.
“The team has never won back-to-back and that kind of drives you a little bit, too,” Harris said. “That’s kind of an end goal, like putting a cap on at the end. To me, it’s about, ‘What can we do today to become a better football team?’ Maybe it’s recruiting some guys. Maybe it’s getting your workouts in. Maybe it’s watching some film, or whatever that may be.
“But it does kind of drive you, thinking about being the first team to ever go back-to-back and bringing another championship to the fans and help them talk their smack a little bit.
“I know they’ve taken a beating through the years: ‘You’ve only got four!’ Well, now we’ve got five, and I know those (rival teams’) fans out there are a little nervous we might get six if we can get this band back together.”