The Saskatchewan Roughriders aren\u2019t easing into the 2026 off-season — they\u2019re stepping directly into the teeth of it.<\/p>\n
With the CFL\u2019s free-agent negotiation window opening Sunday, Vice President of Football Operations and General Manager Jeremy O\u2019Day knows exactly what\u2019s coming: hard decisions, open bidding, emotional conversations, and the unavoidable truth that the full cast of the 2025 Grey Cup champions will not be intact when training camp opens.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019d love to have everyone back,\u201d O\u2019Day said during a media availability ahead of the window. \u201cBut I\u2019ll tell you we\u2019re not going to get all of our guys back that are free agents. There\u2019s only so much room you have on your cap.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Riders have 22 pending free agents remaining, including foundational pieces such as Mario Alford, Malik Carney, A.J. Ouellette, Joe Robustelli, Mike Rose, Mitchell Picton, and Jake Maier. With so many players hitting the market at the same time, the organization has been preparing for a juggling act unlike any other in recent years.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Day stated\u00a0the Riders feel \u201cpretty good\u201d about the work done so far, but comfort in early February is a relative term.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re never really super comfortable with the roster at this time of year. It\u2019s a challenging time when you have that many free agents, and you\u2019re trying to retain as many guys as you want.\u201d<\/p>\n
The club has already secured several core players, including quarterback Trevor Harris, whose early extension created stability and momentum.<\/p>\n
\u201cGetting Trevor done early was important for us,\u201d O\u2019Day said. \u201cHe\u2019s awesome through free agency. He\u2019ll call our guys, reach out, and make sure they know they\u2019re wanted. That\u2019s really valuable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, the Riders enter the negotiation window knowing that other teams will come calling and offering.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got to be prepared that you might not even have another conversation with a guy once he goes into the window,\u201d O\u2019Day said. \u201cOther teams recruit them, and they\u2019re going to tell them everything they need to hear.”<\/p>\n
The second-most scrutinized position in Saskatchewan — after QB1 — will again be the backup quarterback role behind Harris. Both Jake Maier and Jack Coan were in the Riders\u2019 plans last season, but that picture is shifting. When asked whether fans should read into Coan re-signing while Maier remains a pending free agent, O\u2019Day replied:<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d say it\u2019s accurate what you\u00a0said; you can read into it. Everyone\u2019s in a different position in their career.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last season, Maier joined the Riders at a time when Harris had suffered\u00a0mid-season injuries in consecutive years. But in 2025, Harris stayed healthy wire-to-wire, and Maier\u2019s opportunities were limited.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor Jake, he\u2019s got to evaluate where he\u2019s at in his career and where the best opportunity is. Last year, the best opportunity for him was with us. Things change.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coan\u2019s return, at the very least, provides continuity and someone the staff believes can grow within the system.<\/p>\n
Among the Riders\u00a022 remaining pending free agents, several are expected to draw heavy interest league-wide. O\u2019Day was candid regarding the realities of negotiating with players like A.J. Allen and Malik Carney, two\u00a0who have anchored the defence.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing\u2019s really changed,\u201d O\u2019Day said of discussions with Carney, echoing the same comments he made on Allen. \u201cOther teams see their value too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some players, such as\u00a0Ouellette and Alford have had positive or ongoing discussions. Others will hit the window and see what the league has in store before circling back.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes guys come back, and the market wasn\u2019t what they expected. Sometimes it\u2019s more. That\u2019s the nature of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some younger players will be due meaningful raises. Some veterans may be willing to return for slightly less. But as O\u2019Day notes, \u201cYou can\u2019t fault players for wanting to capitalize on a championship season.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019Day praised the work of the Riders\u2019 personnel staff, Kyle Carson, Paul Jones, Larry Dean, and Jordan Greenlee, especially in scouting and bringing in players who have already filled meaningful roles. He pointed to last year\u2019s example:<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo years ago, we signed Dohnte Meyers and KeeSean Johnson, and everyone wondered about our receiving core,\u201d he said. \u201cThen those guys became huge pieces for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the defensive side, depth at safety and strong-side\u00a0linebacker with Jaxon Ford, Nelson Lokombo, and Antoine Brooks Jr.\u00a0creates difficult but welcome decisions.<\/p>\n
\u201cRatio is going to impact where players fit, including guys like C.J.\u00a0Reavis. We have to balance who we want on the field with who we can afford.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here is the Riders\u00a0current\u00a0list of 2026 pending free agents:<\/p>\n
Mario Alford (A, REC, West Virginia)
\nA.J. Allen (N, LB, Guelph)
\nC.J. Avery (A, LB, Louisville)
\nHabakkuk Baldonado (G, DL, Pittsburgh)
\nMalik Carney (A, DL, North Carolina)
\nCharbel Dabire (N, DL, Wagner College)
\nPhilippe Gagnon (N, OL, Laval)
\nJorgen Hus (N, LS, Regina)
\nJake Maier (A, QB, UC Davis)
\nBeno\u00eet Marion (N, DL, Montreal)
\nSean McEwen (N, OL, Calgary)
\nAubrey Miller Jr. (A, LB, Jackson State)
\nTommy Nield (N, REC, McMaster)
\nBraydon Noll (N, OL, Laurier)
\nA.J. Ouellette (A, RB, Ohio)
\nMitchell Picton (N, REC, Regina)
\nShane Ray (A, DL, Missouri)
\nC.J. Reavis (A, DB, Marshall)
\nJoe Robustelli (A, REC, Tusculum)
\nMike Rose (A, DL, NC State)
\nTrevon Tate (A, OL, Memphis)
\nNoah Zerr (N, OL, Saskatchewan)<\/p>\n
Once the CFL\u2019s free-agent negotiation window opens on Sunday, Riders fans should brace for a whirlwind.<\/p>\n
Some favourites will return. Some will get offers they simply can\u2019t pass up. Some positions, like defensive end, Canadian offensive line depth, and returner could look very different by mid-February. The team will be measured in its approach.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not going to be super active in free agency,\u201d O\u2019Day said. \u201cOur priority is keeping our core together.\u201d<\/p>\n
But keeping the core together isn\u2019t the same as keeping everyone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019d love to have every guy back, but that\u2019s not the reality. Our job is to put it back together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Starting Sunday, the Riders will discover how much of their championship foundation can be kept for another run.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Saskatchewan Roughriders aren\u2019t easing into the 2026 off-season — they\u2019re stepping directly into the teeth of it.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":445057,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,183697,82],"class_list":["post-445056","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-roughridersjeremy-odaycfl-free-agency","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445056","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=445056"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445056\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/445057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=445056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=445056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=445056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}