Photo courtesy: Electric Umbrella/Liam Richards/Saskatchewan Roughriders
The Saskatchewan Roughriders have released American receiver Shawn Bane Jr., who was a pending free agent.
The 30-year-old made four receptions for 28 yards over four regular-season games in the 2025 season. He spent most of the year on the one-game injured list, sometimes as a healthy scratch as the team primarily started Joe Robustelli, KeeSean Johnson, Dohnte Meyers, Samuel Emilus, Kian Schaffer-Baker, Dhel Duncan-Busby, and Tommy Nield.
The five-foot-eleven, 170-pound target had his best season in 2023 when he caught 93 passes for 1,104 yards and four touchdowns. In 2024, he made 49 receptions for 581 yards and five touchdowns over 14 regular-season games before suffering a torn ACL.
The native of Sarasota, Fla. started his CFL career with the Calgary Stampeders in 2021. Over 49 career regular-season games, he has made 170 catches for 2,101 yards and 11 touchdowns with the Stampeders and Roughriders.
Bane Jr. played collegiately at Northwest Missouri State where he caught 212 passes for 3,363 yards and 31 touchdowns, returned 74 punts for 878 yards and two touchdowns, and returned 58 kickoffs for 1,286 yards.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders finished first in the West Division standings in 2025 with a 12-6 record, finishing first in the West Division for the first time since 2019. The team went on to defeat the Montreal Alouettes in the 112th Grey Cup in Winnipeg, marking the team’s first championship in 12 years. Trevor Harris went 11-5 as a starter, throwing for 4,549 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions.
The Roughriders ranked second in net offence, second in net defence, and tied for third with a turnover differential of plus-eight. The club’s leading rusher was A.J. Ouellette with 1,222 yards, leading receiver was KeeSean Johnson with 1,159 yards, and leading tackler was A.J. Allen with 91 tackles. Saskatchewan finished second in attendance with average crowds of 28,427, which was a 2.7 percent increase from the previous year.