Photo courtesy: Arthur Ward/CFL.
If you took the re-signing of Jack Coan as an indication that the Saskatchewan Roughriders aren’t going to be able to retain backup quarterback Jake Maier, general manager Jeremy O’Day thinks you might be onto something.
“You can read into it,” O’Day acknowledged on Friday. “You can read into it, but in fairness to the players involved, I won’t comment.”
Maier is a pending free agent after spending the 2025 season behind Trevor Harris in Regina. He was acquired by the Riders through a trade in December 2024 and signed a one-year contract extension last January.
The 28-year-old dressed for all 18 regular-season games with the Roughriders in 2025, making two starts and completing 64.3 percent of his passes for 617 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. The six-foot, 200-pound passer produced a 1-1 win-loss record, though it’s worth noting he did not finish his Week 20 start against Winnipeg as Coan entered in the fourth quarter to get some playing time.
While Maier and Saskatchewan seemed like a match made in heaven after he was pushed out of the starting role in Calgary, that may no longer be the case.
“As I’ve said before, everyone’s in a different position in their career. Jake, we brought in last year, thought he was excellent, did a great job for us. I think for him, he’s got to evaluate where he’s at in his career. Where’s the best opportunity for him?” said O’Day.
“I think last year, the best opportunity for him was with us, seeing that Trevor had a couple of years where he got dinged. This year, Trevor was healthy and finished the season strong and had a great year, as we know. Things can change.”
Coan has been with Saskatchewan for two years, but dressed for just five games last season as Maier’s presence relegated him to a healthy scratch. He has completed 12-of-29 passes for 138 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions in his career, while rushing 16 times for 54 yards with three majors.
It appears that it could be time for the Notre Dame product to take on a larger role, if and when Maier departs the organization on February 10 in search of a clearer path back to a number one job.
Saskatchewan finished first in the West Division for the first time since 2019 with a 12-6 record in 2025. The Riders went on to defeat the Montreal Alouettes in the 112th Grey Cup at Princess Auto Stadium, marking the team’s first title in 12 years. Harris went 11-5 as a starter, throwing for 4,549 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions in 16 regular-season starts.
The Roughriders ranked second in net offence, second in net defence, and tied for third with a plus-eight turnover differential. The team’s leading rusher was Ouellette with 1,222 yards, the leading receiver was KeeSean Johnson with 1,159 yards, and the 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.