With the CFL\u2019s free agency communication window fast\u00a0approaching, the Saskatchewan Roughriders are\u00a0deep into conversations that could shape the look of their 2026 roster.<\/p>\n
The league\u2019s negotiation window opens Sunday, February 1 at noon ET and runs through Sunday, February 8, ahead of the official free agency beginning Tuesday, February 10 at noon ET. As of publication, the Riders have 32 players whose contracts are scheduled to expire, giving vice president of football operations and general manager Jeremy O\u2019Day plenty to manage in the weeks ahead.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Day emphasized that communication is well underway, even if formal offers haven\u2019t been extended across the board.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe definitely don’t have everyone offered to. I think we’ve communicated pretty much with everyone, but as far as formal offers, some of those still haven’t happened,” O’Day said from the winter meetings in Calgary.<\/p>\n
One of the more intriguing situations centres around Saskatchewan’s\u00a0quarterback depth. Pending free agents Jake Maier and Jack Coan both remain unsigned, and O\u2019Day acknowledged that those discussions are closely connected. Maier, who backed up Trevor Harris in 2025, made 45 career starts in Calgary before arriving in Saskatchewan and may be seeking a clearer path to playing time.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt comes down to a little bit of what Jake wants to do,\u201d O\u2019Day explained. \u201cIs he comfortable coming back and being in the same situation he was before? Or does he have an opportunity to go somewhere else where he feels like he might be able to start or play more?\u201d<\/p>\n
As for Coan, who has spent his first two CFL seasons in Green and White, O\u2019Day shared\u00a0the interest is mutual, but opportunity matters.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019d love to have him back, too. I think he\u2019s in a situation where he wants to grow from where he was the last two seasons. He wants to have an opportunity to be the number two. Some of it comes down to Jake, and then from there, conversations with Jack.”<\/p>\n
O\u2019Day added that talks with both quarterbacks are active, even with free agency weeks\u00a0away.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had conversations with both of them, and it\u2019s an ongoing discussion. We have a plan in place.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the defensive side, head coach Corey Mace has been personally involved in trying to keep All-CFL defensive lineman Malik ‘Scoop’\u00a0Carney in Green and White. Carney is coming off a standout 2025 season, recording 39 tackles, eight sacks and a forced fumble in 18 regular season games, while playing a movable role along the Riders\u2019 defensive front.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m trying to get in everybody\u2019s ear,\u201d Mace said. \u201cScoop was that guy for us. He\u2019s been a heck of a player, helped us win, and is looking for something.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mace acknowledged the realities of the business side while making it clear that the door remains open.<\/p>\n
\u201cCould be Green and White. Let\u2019s do it again. But time will tell.\u201d<\/p>\n
From O\u2019Day\u2019s perspective, negotiations with Carney have hit a familiar free agency pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d say they\u2019re\u00a0right now\u00a0at a stalemate. Love to have him back. As you can understand, players only play for a short period of time, so they\u2019re going to try to capitalize as much as they can.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019Day added that fit matters just as much as finances.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt can\u2019t always just be about the money. It has to be about the team aspect as well. We\u2019re trying to do something special here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Back on offence, with American receiver Dohnte Meyers departing for the Cincinnati Bengals, questions have followed about whether that elevates the priority of re-signing KeeSean Johnson. O\u2019Day stopped short of committing either way.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be determined. We\u2019d love to have all these guys back. The reality is we\u2019re not going to be able to get every guy back that was on our roster last year.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019Day noted that the volume of free agents means decisions are interconnected and that patience is required.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of moving pieces. I\u2019m\u00a0taking it step-by-step with those guys.\u201d<\/p>\n
Entering his 28th season with the Roughriders, O\u2019Day knows that free agency timelines vary.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you have as many free agents as we do, it takes a little bit of time. Some negotiations are over in a couple of days, and other ones take a little bit longer.\u201d<\/p>\n
For now, the Riders continue to balance communication, valuation, and fit —\u00a0knowing that once February arrives, the pace will only accelerate.<\/p>\n
As O\u2019Day put it:\u00a0\u201cWe\u2019ll continue to communicate,\u00a0give offers out, and we\u2019ll see how it all plays out.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With the CFL\u2019s free agency communication window fast\u00a0approaching, the Saskatchewan Roughriders are\u00a0deep into conversations that could shape the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":213991,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,172252,82],"class_list":["post-408928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-cflsaskatchewan-roughridersriders","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408928","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=408928"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408928\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/213991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=408928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=408928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=408928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}