{"id":505551,"date":"2026-02-28T16:12:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T16:12:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/505551\/"},"modified":"2026-02-28T16:12:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T16:12:10","slug":"a-j-allen-details-difficult-departure-from-saskatchewan-why-he-signed-with-ottawa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/505551\/","title":{"rendered":"A.J. Allen details ‘difficult’ departure from Saskatchewan, why he signed with Ottawa"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Photo: Reuben Polansky\/3DownNation. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n

Canadian A.J. Allen signed a historic contract in 2026 CFL free agency, as the Ottawa Redblacks made him the highest-paid linebacker in the salary cap era<\/a>.<\/p>\n

However, money wasn\u2019t the reason the 27-year-old budding star moved on from Saskatchewan.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t leave to be the highest-paid. I left because I felt like I was no longer wanted,\u201d Allen told 3DownNation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a tough thing to grasp. It\u2019s disappointing that sometimes the business can go this way. It\u2019s disappointing, it\u2019s frustrating and aggravating at times. A lot of people would also use the word disrespectful, that\u2019s not me \u2014 I wouldn\u2019t use the word disrespectful. I think business is a word I would use instead, because sometimes business can be ugly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Allen had a breakout season for the Roughriders in 2025<\/a>, recording 87 defensive tackles, four special teams tackles, four sacks, three interceptions, and three forced fumbles over 18 regular-season games.<\/p>\n

The Burlington, Ont. native added two tackles and one sack in Saskatchewan\u2019s 24-21 West Final win over the B.C. Lions and made a key second-down stop on quarterback Nathan Rourke to help his team reach the CFL championship game. One week later, he made six tackles and one special teams stop to help the Riders knock off the Montreal Alouettes in the 112th Grey Cup.<\/p>\n

While celebrating, Allen was eager to re-sign in Regina. As the offseason moved along, he and his Montreal-based agent, Fred Weinrauch, realized his Green and White return would not be possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you asked me at the start of January, December, or November, I would have told you I was going back. This is the first time I\u2019ve been in free agency, and the business side of this game can dilute those emotions real quickly,\u201d Allen revealed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a few conversations with [general manager Jeremy O\u2019Day] and the Riders, mostly the first week of January and maybe one conversation the second week. After that, me and my dog, Fred, we didn\u2019t hear much. Didn\u2019t hear much in terms of wanting me to bring me back and maybe we can find some common ground.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was a hard realization for Allen, who felt he owed his career to Saskatchewan. After selecting him in the fourth round, 35th overall, during the 2020 CFL Draft, the franchise stuck by him when he initially showed up for training camp overweight and needed to be sent back to the University of Guelph for more development.<\/p>\n

Over the next four seasons, the Roughriders helped foster his growth from a core special teamer into a ratio-breaking defensive starter. He grew to love the city and became an active participant in community outreach, forging friendships inside and outside the organization. That all meant little when it came to contract time.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody over there made a choice at one point to pick A.J. Allen. For me, it hurt when the business came in, and that choice couldn\u2019t be A.J. Allen anymore. I am a human,\u201d he acknowledged.<\/p>\n

\u201cI took some time to fully grasp that I\u2019m not going to be back. It\u2019s tough to wrap my head around. It was definitely difficult and took some time to really understand that the business side of this game can dilute and digress from what you thought was going to happen. I took some time, got out those emotions of frustration, anger, disappointment, confusion, and once I got over those things, I was able to start to look forward. It\u2019s an opportunity for something new. It\u2019s an opportunity to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Allen had multiple suitors once the CFL\u2019s legal tampering window opened on Sunday, February 1. The Redblacks came after him, as vice-president of football operations Shawn Burke made the rising defender his first call seconds after he was allowed to speak with pending free agents.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe called me right on the dot, showed a lot of love, said he appreciates me as a player, but also as a leader, as a person. He\u2019s from Guelph, so he\u2019s also able to talk to my university coaches, people around there and get a good grasp of who I am without knowing who I am,\u201d Allen recalled. \u201cHe submitted his offer damn near right away \u2014 12:01. That is insane to me, because the two things I wanted were to go somewhere I was wanted and go where they love football.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moments after Burke hung up, head coach and general manager Ryan Dinwiddie rang Allen to pitch his vision for Ottawa. Soon after, defensive coordinator William Fields was on the line. Those calls happened prior to another team connecting with the ratio-breaking linebacker, the Redblacks got in the team\u2019s most important conversations and sent a clear message about their intent<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll three of the major people that I would want to talk to before joining an organization called me before the hour was up. I think that was really huge for me respect-wise, because time is money and time is important,\u201d Allen said.<\/p>\n

The Calgary Stampeders were the next team to set up a phone call. Allen had high hopes following the initial discussion after hearing from several prominent players within the organization, including quarterback Vernon Adams Jr., but he was left scratching his head afterwards.<\/p>\n

\u201cI respect everybody over there. I liked the conversations we had and I thought it went better than it did, because after the conversation, they did not submit an offer,\u201d he recounted. \u201cI was pretty confused. I don\u2019t know whether that was some sort of price limitation, they didn\u2019t know me or want me as a person \u2014 I\u2019ll never know. I\u2019ve got no clue. I don\u2019t know what happened after that interview for things to switch so quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats expressed interest in Allen\u2019s services, though initial talks gave the impression the Ticats were waiting on other options. Veteran linebacker Wynton McManis later signed with the team after biding his time testing the market, proving his assessment correct.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt became apparent that they were waiting and waiting and waiting,\u201d Allen said. \u201cAfter talking to coach Scott [Milanovich] and Brent Monson, they both respected me as a player, appreciated me as a player and as a person, but I felt like I was a plan B. Obviously, they can\u2019t say it, but I have Fred, and he knows everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Given those three options, Ottawa separated themselves as the clear destination. That led to a two-year contract which is scheduled to pay him $240,000 in hard money in 2026 and $250,000 in 2027 \u2014 $490,000 combined.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne team 100 percent wanted me more than all the other ones. One team, to me, loved football and was passionate about it more than the other ones,\u201d Allen explained. \u201cMy decision was made for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Allen will be a key piece in trying to turn around the Redblacks after a last place finish in 2025. After agreeing to terms, he worked to convince other pending free agents, such as strong-side linebacker C.J. Reavis<\/a>, to join him. Alongside defensive end Habakkuk Baldonado<\/a> and quarterback Jake Maier<\/a>, those players made it a Rider quartet heading to the nation\u2019s capital.<\/p>\n

Saskatchewan is scheduled to visit Ottawa in Week 5, while Allen and company will return to their old stomping grounds at Mosaic Stadium in Week 10. Those matchups could have some added juice thanks to difficult choices made in the offseason.<\/p>\n

However, Allen indicated he has no ill will for the Roughriders. He will miss many people in the prairie province but has made his peace with how his departure came to pass.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey did not do this to me. They made a business decision that was what they thought was best for the Saskatchewan Roughriders organization. I can\u2019t fault nobody for that,\u201d Allen stressed.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re doing what you think is best. That is what every man, every person, should do. That\u2019s your decision, you\u2019re gonna stand on it. That\u2019s it, I gotta respect it. That\u2019s life. There\u2019s no reason that every single decision they make should be in my best interest if I am not in their best interest. Perspective is what helped me get over that hurt and pain.\u201d<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photo: Reuben Polansky\/3DownNation. All rights reserved. Canadian A.J. Allen signed a historic contract in 2026 CFL free agency,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":505552,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194295],"tags":[173755,166835,166836,183435,49,48,7028,521,520,60449,527,201570,14108,131099,2002,46243,20739,14967,70504,10599,45083,55574,52041,24373,4400,101255],"class_list":{"0":"post-505551","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ottawa","8":"tag-rnation","9":"tag-3down","10":"tag-3downnation","11":"tag-aj-allen","12":"tag-ca","13":"tag-canada","14":"tag-canadian","15":"tag-canadian-football-league","16":"tag-cfl","17":"tag-corey-mace","18":"tag-football","19":"tag-fred-weinrauch","20":"tag-free-agency","21":"tag-jeremy-oday","22":"tag-league","23":"tag-mosaic-stadium","24":"tag-ottawa","25":"tag-ottawa-redblacks","26":"tag-redblacks","27":"tag-regina","28":"tag-riders","29":"tag-roughriders","30":"tag-ryan-dinwiddie","31":"tag-saskatchewan","32":"tag-saskatchewan-roughriders","33":"tag-shawn-burke"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/505551","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=505551"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/505551\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/505552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=505551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=505551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=505551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}