Plenty of decisions have to be made within the Saskatchewan Roughriders organization this season. With over 30 pending free agents, the question of who to bring back and who to let go commences. However, some on that list are contemplating much more than just signing a new contract. Quarterbacks Trevor Harris and Jack Coan, running back A.J. Ouellete, linemen Jacob Brammer, Zack Fry and Jermarcus Hardrick are among the key offensive pieces pending free agents. On defence, Mike Rose, James Vaughters, Josh Woods, Aubrey Miller Jr., Rolan Milligan Jr., Tevaughn Campbell and Marcus Sayles are all without contracts for next season. Head coach Corey Mace said as part of his season-end availability he expects there to be some turnover with the roster. “We still had a lot of change after a great result, right?” he told reporters Sunday. “That’s just kind of the nature of the beast right now with our league, free agency and a lot of one-year deals. A lot of teams have multiple players who are pending free agents.” “Change is always going to happen and I can’t really put my finger on if there’s going to be more or less at any certain position in comparison to other years,” Mace added. Quarterback With four quarterbacks on the roster, two of them are already locked up for 2027. However, neither Trevor Harris nor back-up Jack Coan is one of them. Harris is coming off a stellar 14th CFL season in which he led the league in passing for the very first time of his career. With a career-high 5,370 passing yards on 615 completions, 32 touchdown passes and a 70 per cent completion rate, he proved he can still lead a CFL offence. However, at now 40 years old with a young family in Ohio, Harris is on the brink of concluding his illustrious CFL career. “Physically, I feel better than last year; I had more rushing yards this year and I’m able to move around when I need to,” he said Sunday. “The misconception is like, ‘Oh, you can’t run anymore’ or whatever it is. Like, I just want to get through my progressions a little bit better to let those receivers handle that situation.” Coan, in his third season in Green and White, made his first CFL start in Week 21 against Edmonton – a win, also his first. The 27-year-old quarterback has 41 career CFL games under his belt but has thrown a pass in just four of them. Coan is 29/57, 331 yards, one touchdown and one interception in those four appearances. Short-yardage quarterback Tommy Stevens, who set a Roughriders’ franchise record for rushing touchdowns (17) this season, is already under contract in 2027 after signing an extension last season. Fourth-stringer Brayden Schager is also signed for 2027. Schager, 24, was on Saskatchewan’s reserve roster for much of 2026, dressing in just one game since joining the team in September 2025. Serving as Coan’s back-up against the Elks in Week 21, he did play three series under centre; throwing six passes, completing three for 27 yards. Harris noted if he returns in 2027 for another season, it will not to be to groom his replacement. “I approach every year the same,” he said. “Whoever’s in that room is going to learn the way I go about my process, if I’m the starter – and I’m going to try to learn things from them. They have to choose if they want to ask more questions or if they want to dig deeper into why I do what I do.” Thin in the secondary Of the five starting defensive backs for the Roughriders in game one of 2026 – Marcus Sayles, Rolan Milligan Jr., Nelson Lokombo, DaMarcus Fields and Tevaughn Campbell – only one of them is slated to return to the Green and White in 2027. Fields is the only DB under contract for next season, signing a two-year extension after the 2025 season. When speaking to media Sunday, Sayles and Milligan both voiced their hope to return to Saskatchewan next season. “I appreciate what this organization has done for me; what the guys have done for me,” said Sayles. “Everybody’s brought their two cents into making this defence what it was.” “This is where I want to be at, I don’t want to go nowhere else,” added Milligan. “I’ve expressed it to everybody in the building, so we’ll see what happens.” Sayles, 32, showed his versatility in the secondary this season by moving from the boundary cornerback spot to halfback later in the year. The eight-year CFL vet was fourth on the team in tackles (58) with seven pass knockdowns and one interception. “I’m just going to take time off [with my family] … hang out, relax the body talk with [my wife], see what’s best and go from there,” Sayles said. “I would love to come back; granted it’s a situational thing. We just got to talk with the family, talk with the coaches and see where it goes.” Milligan played just two games in 2026, injuring his shoulder in Week 2 and then tearing his ACL in practice in late-July – which required season-ending surgery. “I didn’t think it was what it was,” Milligan told reporters Sunday in his first media availability since the injury. “After an MRI confirmed it, it was just kind of a weird feeling to be honest; I wasn’t really down about it, it was mostly just a shock.” The former CFL Most Outstanding Defensive Player admitted the recovery time may leak into the 2027 regular season. “I’m trying to just get back healthy more than anything,” Milligan told reporters. “I still have a lot of ball left in me; everybody around the league knows that. So the biggest thing is just getting healthy.” In 2023, Milligan played just four games after sustaining a season-ending injury and then went on to win the MODP the following season. “Just based off of approximate timelines, it’s a nine to 12-month injury; nine being the earliest they’ll clear you,” he explained. “If everything goes right, it’ll be the nine month right at the beginning of training camp … I want to make sure I’m completely good to go before I go back on the field.” Campbell ponders more With six CFL seasons – three with Saskatchewan – and another four in the NFL, Tevaughn Campbell has played nearly 100 professional football regular season games. Now 33, he enters the offseason a pending free agent with the future of that career on his mind. “I’m undecided right now,” Campbell said with a big smile. “We’ll make that decision in the offseason coming up here.” Campbell is coming off a season in which he broke his forearm and played just 10 games. In those appearances, he made 24 tackles and knocked down three passes. 2026 was also the first time in his CFL career he did not record at least one interception. The former Regina Ram sustained significant injuries each of the past two seasons and says that will play a part in his decision-making process. “Injuries definitely play a part,” Campbell admitted. “Being my age in the league and suffering back-to-back years of broken bones, it weighs heavy on me.” Campbell also says he nearly called it a career at the end of last year. “Me and [Jeremy O’Day] had a conversation – it was definitely in the back of my mind,” he said. “I decided to come back, I had more football in me and man, I wanted to win bad.” Hardrick eyes return There is very little the 36-year-old, 6’4”, 315 pound, three-time Grey Cup Champion, three-time all-CFL all-star and 2025 Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman Jermarcus Hardrick has not done over his 12-year CFL career. Although he is a free agent this offseason, also with an illustrious career, the big man says he has at least another year in him. “I’ve got to get better,” Hardrick said when asked how he is approaching this offseason. “I’m looking forward to getting better. My kids and wife want me to keep playing, I want to keep playing, so hopefully I can work things out.” “I’ll be pissed off this off season; good things come when you’re pissed off, sorry to say that. It’s time to get better, time to get back hungry, time to do what we have to do to get to the promised land. [The] 2027 [Grey Cup] is here, I’d love to do it here so let’s do it.” Hardrick says his family believes he still has more football remaining in his career. “They told me what we were doing, they still want to watch ball,” he said. “They still want to come to the locker room and still want me to play.” “I thought I was being selfish and hearing that changed my whole mood,” Hardrick added. Up in the air Rider fans can rest assured Saskatchewan top three receivers – Kian Schaffer-Baker, Samuel Emilus and KeeSean Johnson – are already locked in for next season, despite the unknown of who will be throwing them passes. In the backfield, both A.J. Ouellette and Thomas Bertrand-Hudon are in need of extensions – although questions swirl about the Ouellette’s future and if he will move on from football. On the offensive line, only Logan Ferland and Payton Collins are under contract of the five starting linemen this past season. Ferland was signed to a two-year deal after last season while Collins signed an extension prior to the West semi-final. Saskatchewan announced the signings of Thomas Perry and Jaison Williams Tuesday. Defensively, Mike Rose, James Vaughters, Habaukkuk Baldonado, Josh Woods and Aubrey Miller Jr. are also unsigned. Coach Mace says he is a small part of contract discussions, but his door is always open for guys to talk about their futures – either with or without the team, or even when they may hang it up. “It’s just open line of communication,” he said. “Part of the reason why we try to push to having these relationships is so you can have those conversations. At this point, you can’t; you don’t know the answer to be it if it’s the player or us as an organization, things take time to play out.” Even with his future uncertain, Harris says with O’Day and Mace leading - fans can trust the process. “[Saskatchewan] is led by Corey Mace: bright days are always ahead when you have that man at the helm,” Harris said. “Jeremy O’Day, Kyle Carson and Larry Dean do an amazing job of bringing in – not only good players – but good people … So when you see the Saskatchewan Roughriders sign player X, that’s a good person.” O’Day is expected to meet with media for his season end availability in the week following the Grey Cup.
