Vanstone by the numbers: Ranks of Roughriders’ returnees nears 50

The Saskatchewan Roughriders have retained a sizeable and strong nucleus from their 2025 CFL championship team.

Forty-nine of the 77 players who appeared on the Roughriders’ active roster, practice roster or one-game injured list as last season peaked are under contract for 2026 and, in some cases, beyond.

Only one of the Roughriders’ league-high nine All-CFL selections from 2025 will suit up for a rival team during the upcoming season.

Cover linebacker C.J. Reavis, who signed with the Ottawa REDBLACKS when the formal free-agency period began on Tuesday, is the one exception.

Seven All-CFLers — centre Logan Ferland, right tackle Jermarcus Hardrick, right guard Jacob Brammer, receiver KeeSean Johnson, middle linebacker Jameer Thurman, cornerback Tevaughn Campbell and defensive halfback Rolan Milligan Jr. — will return to the Green and White.

Defensive tackle Micah Johnson joined the team’s coaching staff after back-to-back All-CFL seasons.

Hardrick, Campbell and KeeSean Johnson were initially eligible to test free agency.

Thurman, who was under contract through the 2026 season, recently extended his deal by an additional year. Ferland’s services are also secured through 2027.

Milligan Jr., the CFL’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player in 2024, is obligated to the Roughriders through this season. He added one year to an existing contract on Jan. 31, 2025.

Milligan Jr. had one of Saskatchewan’s three interceptions in its 25-17 Grey Cup victory over the Montreal Alouettes on Nov. 16 in Winnipeg.

Three Roughriders players received prestigious individual honours during Grey Cup Week. Quarterback Trevor Harris was named the Grey Cup Game’s Most Valuable Player.

Receiver Samuel Emilus was recognized as the championship contest’s Most Valuable Canadian. Three days earlier, Hardrick had been named the league’s Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman.

Harris, Emilus and Hardrick entered the off-season as pending free agents before re-signing in December.

Saskatchewan began the off-season with 44 prospective free agents. O’Day halved that lengthy list by the time the market officially opened.

Along the way, the Roughriders re-signed A.J. Ouellette, whose 1,222 rushing yards placed him second in the league last season.

“Free agency was pretty unique for us this year,” Vice-President of Football Operations and General Manager Jeremy O’Day said on Wednesday. “Pretty much every position that you looked across the board, our free agents were top targets, and so it was a challenge with managing who we would get back and who we’d be able to offer.”

Sixteen of the team’s 24 Grey Cup starters are to return. The total of 16 does not include KeeSean Johnson, who missed the post-season with a knee injury after catching 86 passes for 1,159 yards in 16 games in 2025.

Of the 45 players who dressed for Saskatchewan in the Grey Cup Game, 32 are under contract for 2026. Again, that list excludes Johnson.

“We started really early with free agency,” O’Day said. “It wasn’t just this last week for us. It started right after the season with signing some of our key guys back. Obviously, we attacked it. We had a large number.

“There has been a lot of talk about how many free agents we have, but we had quite a quite a few guys on the roster at the end of the year due to injuries and whatnot. I think we had an abnormal number of free agents (as a result).

“But we’re happy where we’re at.”

The player retention rate of 63.6 per cent (49 of 77) will improve if some of the eight as-yet-unsigned players return.

As it stands, the percentage already exceeds that of the 2013-14 off-season.

Of the 67 players who finished the 2013 season with the Grey Cup-champion Roughriders, 39 — or 58.2 per cent — were back the following year.

Nineteen members of the Roughriders were eligible to test free agency after the 2013 season. The ranks of free agents swelled across the league after one-year contracts became part of a Collective Bargaining Agreement that was signed in 2015. The previous minimum length was one year plus an option.

Retention rates for the Roughriders’ five Grey Cup championship teams are as follows:

1966: 90.9% (30 of 33 players returned in the pre-free agency era).

1989: 70.2% (33 of 47).

2007: 66.2% (45 of 68).

2013: 58.2% (39 of 67).

2025: 63.6% (49 of 77; as of Feb. 11).

Here is the Roughriders’ player-personnel picture entering Day 3 of the 2026 free agency period:

RETURNEES (49)

• REC Ajou Ajou (most-recent contract signed Aug. 28, 2025); finished 2025 season on active roster.

• RB Mario Anderson Jr. (July 22, 2025); finished 2025 season on one-game injured list.

• FB Albert Awachie* (Dec. 9, 2025); active roster.

• DL Chico Bennett Jr. (Nov. 21, 2025); finished 2025 season on practice roster.

• RB Thomas Bertrand-Hudon* (Dec. 17, 2025); active roster.

• OL Jacob Brammer* (Jan. 26, 2026); active roster.

• LB Antoine Brooks Jr. (April 11, 2024); active roster.

• DB Tevaughn Campbell* (Jan. 12, 2026); active roster.

• DL Kendy Charles (Dec. 1, 2025); practice roster.

• QB Jack Coan* (Jan. 19, 2026); one-game injured list.

• OL Payton Collins (May 2, 2025); active roster.

• DB Jayden Dalke* (Dec. 16, 2025); active roster.

• REC Dhel Duncan-Busby (May 6, 2024); one-game injured list.

• REC Samuel Emilus* (Dec. 24, 2025); active roster.

• DB Kerfalla Exume* (Jan. 28, 2026); active roster.

• OL Logan Ferland (March 31, 2025); active roster.

• DB DaMarcus Fields* (Jan. 30, 2026); active roster.

• DB Jaxon Ford* (Dec. 18, 2025); active roster.

• OL Zack Fry (Nov. 21, 2023); active roster.

• OL Jermarcus Hardrick* (Dec. 9, 2025); active roster.

• QB Trevor Harris* (Dec. 4, 2025); active roster.

• K Michael Hughes (Jan. 23, 2026); practice roster.

• OL Daniel Johnson (Nov. 19, 2024); one-game injured list.

• REC KeeSean Johnson* (Jan. 29, 2026); one-game injured list.

• DL Lake Korte-Moore* (Jan. 20, 2026); one-game injured list.

• DB Nelson Lokombo* (Jan. 27, 2026); active roster.

• DB Nafees Lyon (Oct. 6, 2025); one-game injured list.

• REC Siaosi Mariner (Jan. 2, 2026); practice roster.

• DL Benoit Marion* (Feb. 2, 2026); one-game injured list.

• LB Aubrey Miller Jr.* (Feb. 2, 2026); active roster.

• DB Rolan Milligan Jr. (Jan. 31, 2025); active roster.

• REC D’Sean Mimbs (Nov. 21, 2025); practice roster.

• P Jesse Mirco (Sept. 17, 2025); active roster.

• RB A.J. Ouellette* (Feb. 1, 2026); active roster.

• DL Aaron Patrick (April 4, 2025); active roster.

• DB Sheldrick Redwine (Sept. 14, 2025); one-game injured list.

• DL Mike Rose* (Jan. 31, 2026); active roster.

• FB Morgen Runge (Dec. 2, 2024); active roster.

• DL Ali Saad (May 12, 2025); active roster.

• DL Caleb Sanders* (Dec. 22, 2025); active roster.

• DB Benny Sapp III (Aug. 19, 2025); one-game injured list.

• DB Marcus Sayles (Feb. 5, 2025); active roster.

• REC Kian Schaffer-Baker* (Jan. 19, 2026); active roster.

• QB Tommy Stevens* (Dec. 5, 2025); active roster.

• LB Melique Straker (May 6, 2024); active roster.

• LB Jameer Thurman (Jan. 12, 2026); active roster.

• OL Darius Washington (Nov. 25, 2025); practice roster.

• LB Nick Wiebe (May 6, 2024); active roster.

• DL Sylvain Yondjouen (Dec. 22, 2025); practice roster.

DEPARTURES (20)

• RET Mario Alford* (signed by Hamilton, Feb. 10); active roster.

• LB A.J. Allen* (signed by Ottawa, Feb. 11); active roster.

• DL Habakkuk Baldonado* (signed by Ottawa, Feb. 10); active roster.

• REC Shawn Bane Jr.* (released, Jan. 28); one-game injured list.

• RB Ka’Deem Carey* (joined Toronto Argonauts’ coaching staff); one-game injured list.

• DL Malik Carney* (signed by Edmonton, Feb. 11); active roster.

• P Joe Couch (released, Nov. 17); practice roster.

• DL Charbel Dabire* (signed by Hamilton, Feb. 11); one-game injured list.

• DL Micah Johnson* (retired, Jan. 5; joined Roughriders’ coaching staff); active roster.

• K Brett Lauther (released, Feb. 2); active roster.

• QB Jake Maier* (signed by Ottawa, Feb. 11); active roster.

• RB Marcus Major Jr. (released, Feb. 4); practice roster.

• REC Dohnte Meyers* (signed by Cincinnati, Jan. 8); active roster.

• REC Tommy Nield* (signed by Winnipeg, Feb. 10); active roster.

• OL Braydon Noll* (signed by Montreal, Feb. 10); one-game injured list.

• LB Tuasivi Nomura (released, Nov. 17); practice roster.

• LB-DB C.J. Reavis* (signed by Ottawa, Feb. 10); active roster.

• REC Joe Robustelli* (signed by Edmonton, Feb. 10); one-game injured list.

• DL Deshawn Stevens (released, Nov. 17); practice roster.

• LB Alphonzo Tuputala (released, Nov. 17); practice roster.

UNSIGNED (8)

• LB C.J. Avery*; one-game injured list.

• OL Philippe Gagnon*; one-game injured list.

• LS Jorgen Hus*; active roster.

• OL Sean McEwen*; one-game injured list.

• REC Mitch Picton*; active roster.

• DL Shane Ray*; one-game injured list.

• OL Trevon Tate*; active roster.

• OL Noah Zerr*; one-game injured list.

*—Began 2025-26 off-season as pending free agent.

NEW SIGNINGS (30)

• DL Devin Adams (Dec. 17); spent 2025 season with Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

• DB Gideon Agyei (Nov. 21); University of Calgary.

• OL Erik Andersen (Nov. 28); Western University.

• DL Sundiata Anderson (Dec. 15); Seattle Seahawks, 2024.

• OL Dayton Black (Dec. 17); Ottawa REDBLACKS.

• RB Peny Boone (Feb. 10); Toronto Argonauts practice roster.

• REC Collin Brunstein (Dec. 3); Los Angeles Chargers rookie mini-camp.

• OL Yoesph Carter (Nov. 13; futures contract); Roughriders training camp/pre-season.

• REC Tyrie Cleveland (Feb. 5); Indianapolis Colts, 2024.

• DL Desmond Evans (Jan. 19); Tennessee Titans training camp/pre-season.

• DL Marcus Haynes (Jan. 22); Indianapolis training camp.

• DB Garnett Hollis Jr. (Jan. 5); NFL tryouts with Tennessee, Green Bay, Buffalo.

• DL Liam Hoskins (Nov. 25); University of Windsor.

• LB Seth Hundeby (Nov. 26); University of Saskatchewan.

• REC Abdul Janneh Jr. (Oct. 29; futures contract); Roughriders training camp/pre-season.

• REC Ali Jennings III (Jan. 8); Green Bay Packers rookie mini-camp.

• LB Vi Jones (Jan. 28); Arizona Cardinals training camp/pre-season.

• K Jonathan Kim (Feb. 5); Chicago Bears training camp.

• REC Malik Knowles (Dec. 16); San Francisco 49ers training camp.

• REC-RET James Letcher Jr. (Feb. 3); Montreal Alouettes.

• QB Jordan McCloud (Jan. 26); Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie mini-camp.

• DL Jaylen Pate (Jan. 5); Northwestern, 2024.

• QB Brayden Schager (Nov. 19); Roughriders practice roster.

• REC Freddie Swain (Feb. 10); Chicago Bears training camp, 2024.

• DL Davin Vann (Dec. 15); Cleveland Browns rookie mini-camp.

• DL James Vaughters (Feb. 10); Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

• LB Tyron Vrede (Feb. 10); Ottawa REDBLACKS.

• DL Justin Weaver (Jan. 26); Carolina Panthers training camp.

• REC Daniel Wiebe (Nov. 27); University of Saskatchewan.

• REC Juwann Winfree (Feb. 10); Houston Texans pre-season.

• LB Josh Woods (Feb. 4); B.C. Lions.