Kayle Neis/Regina Leader-Post Saskatchewan Roughriders running back A.J. Ouellette (45) runs the ball during CFL regular season action at Mosaic Stadium on Saturday, October 25, 2025 in Regina.
Taylor Shire
Regina Leader-Post
It may have taken longer than expected, but running back A.J. Ouellette and the Saskatchewan Roughriders have agreed to a one-year contract extension.
On Sunday, the official re-signing was announced just a couple of hours before the CFL’s free agent communication window opened when pending free agents could field offers from other teams.
Ouellette, who met with reporters on Monday in Regina, said he considered going into the communication window to gain leverage but ultimately decided not to because he knew he wanted to be back with the Roughriders.
“We worked into a respectful offer,” said Ouellette. “And I felt like I was happy last year from what I made, and we’re pretty much at the same number.”
Following Saskatchewan’s Grey Cup victory in November over the Montreal Alouettes, the 30-year-old Ouellette — who had 1,222 rushing yards last season — received an offer from the Roughriders, but the number was lower than what he had hoped.
“It’s a business, right,” said Ouellette, who led the Roughriders with nine touchdowns last year before adding 113 rushing yards in the West final and another 83 yards and a touchdown in the Grey Cup. “The first number is never going to work for anyone.
“I do have a lot of emotions when it comes to playing and it comes out quick when business is involved too,” he continued. “So you get that first offer and you kind of just go hit a 20-minute workout session to kind of get your anger out.
“But then you have to sit down and be like, ‘It is a business. He’s trying to get a running back for as cheap as he can.’
“So then it is working in what I think is fair, talking to other people that have been through the negotiation thing, talking with (quarterback Trevor Harris), talking to people in the community, and eventually getting to where you want to be. But yeah, the first number gets to you a little bit like, ‘Is that really what I’m worth?’ But that’s not how they see it. Like I said, it’s a business.”
Ultimately, a couple months later, the two sides were able to agree to a deal that worked.
“Wanting to be back, I could have taken the first offer and just said, ‘Yep, we’re here. No more stress,’ ” said Ouellette, who is expecting a baby in March with his girlfriend. “But trying to think about how it impacts the family.
“You don’t get to play that long and I feel like for my career, this is where it needs to be right now.”
After signing a two-year deal in free agency in 2024, Ouellette was hampered by injuries in his first season with the Roughriders before undergoing an off-season transformation in 2025, which created plenty of buzz online after he posted pictures of himself down 25 pounds.
This off-season, the Ohio native once again dropped weight from the end of last season — with much less fanfare.
“I didn’t post any pictures — no articles this year — but I dropped my weight and I’m building back up now,” said the 5-foot-8 Ouellette, who noted he got down to 203 pounds but is back up to 210 pounds. He estimates he’ll be around 210 or 215 for the start of training camp before getting up to 220 pounds for the playoffs.
Aside from receiver Dohnte Meyers, who was released this off-season to pursue an NFL opportunity, basically the entire offence for the Roughriders from their championship season is back under contract for 2026 including Harris, who signed an extension back in December.
Ouellette said that continuity, his relationship with Harris and how the Roughriders are supported in the province played a big role in his desire to stay in green and white.
“Just the way everything is ran here,” said Ouellette, who spent four years with the Toronto Argonauts from 2019 to 2023. winning a Grey Cup in 2022, before joining the Riders in free agency. “Front office, supporting staff, you guys (media); like it’s a true professional feel.
“And then being able to just go out in the community and feel like you’re impacting someone’s life. I get stopped at Walmart and all that, and that five-minute conversation I would have with someone, and they says it made their whole month, their whole year. It just makes you feel good.
“Sometimes I just run in there real quick; put the hoodie up and just sprint. But I enjoy those stops. And like I said before, they’re not going to last forever. One day, a new running back is going to step in and take my spot, and few years after that, I’ll just be a picture, a Grey Cup picture on someone’s wall.
“I’m just going to enjoy it while I have it.”
Roughriders release kicker Brett Lauther
The Saskatchewan Roughriders have parted ways with veteran kicker Brett Lauther.
On Monday, the CFL club announced it has released the 35-year-old veteran who spent the last eight seasons in Saskatchewan.
Last year, Lauther made 39 of 54 field goals for a 72.2 per cent success rate which is down from his career average of 81.4 per cent.
In eight seasons with the Roughriders, Lauther suited up for 114 regular season and eight playoff games while making 295 of 360 field goals for an 81.9 per cent success rate, which is the highest in team history with a minimum of 100 attempts.
The Nova Scotia product first broke into the CFL in 2013 with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, making four of six field goals that season, before bouncing around the league for the next five years until he became Saskatchewan’s primary kicker in 2018.
In his career with the Riders, Lauther converted all 10 of his game-winning field goal attempts while scoring 1,110 points which is third in franchise history behind Dave Ridgway and Paul McCallum.
Off the field, Lauther has served as a player ambassador for the Saskatchewan Roughrider Foundation where he travels the province speaking to schools about mental wellness and literacy.
He is also the founder of the Roughrider Foundation Winter Classic charity hockey game which was held on Saturday in Saskatoon for the fourth year.
Lauther was still under contract for 2026 prior to his release but this off-season, the Roughriders added American kicker Michael Hughes to the roster.
General manager Jeremy O’Day, who spoke to media on Friday before the CFL free agency communication window opened on Sunday, said the kicking job will be an “open competition” in training camp.
Lauther is now a free agent and can sign with any CFL team.
tshire@postmedia.com
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