‘If there’s more football for me’: Trevor Harris still undecided as questions about his future swirl

The Riders cleared out their lockers, ending the season. Now attention turns to pending free agents, including QB Trevor Harris. Donovan Maess reports.

Saskatchewan Roughriders’ quarterback Trevor Harris remains undecided about what is next in his playing career.

Harris, while speaking to the media as part of the team’s end of season press conference, said he’s still hopeful his best football is ahead of him.

“I feel like I’m supposed to feel different,” he told reporters. “I get all these questions of like, ‘Is this it?’ And I’m like, ‘Is it supposed to be? Do I look old? Am I not playing well. Do I look like a geezer? Do I have gray hairs?”

“I feel somewhere between retiring and I’m just in my prime,” Harris added.

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The 39-year-old pivot just finished his 13th Canadian Football League (CFL) season, was the Riders’ team nominee for Most Outstanding Player and won the Grey Cup game’s Most Valuable Player.

Harris says whatever decision he does make, should not be one which fans are waiting for.

“It shouldn’t take long,” he said. “I’m not somebody that kind of stews on things.”

“If there is more football for me, the only thing I try and maintain is the same exact drive, the same exact motivation, the same exact work ethic, if not more will be there. I’m not the person who will come back and is like, ‘Hey, I’m going around the bases,” Harris added.

Teammates were hopeful Harris would be back at the helm of the Riders’ offense next season.

“He made my job a lot easier this year getting that ball out,” offensive lineman Jermarcus Hardrick said. “He’s a great leader. He’s the MVP of a great club. I would love to have Trevor back if I’m back.”

“Trevor means everything to me,” receiver Dohnte Meyers added. “He’s the best quarterback I’ve played with. He’s my quarterback and my goat.”

Head coach Corey Mace indicated should Harris want to return; he hoped a mutually beneficial agreement could be reached.

“If he says, ‘I want to play,’ I’d like us try to do everything to make sure it’s in a great way,” Mace said. “Any time [he] may need to make that decision for himself and his family, everybody understands the kind of sacrifice it is for anybody to go on a journey like this as a football player and to be the quarterback of the Saskatchewan Roughriders.”

“We want to do this again,” Harris said. “But again, I’m going to still take some time to [think about my future] because emotions are high, especially after a [championship].”

Not so garbage day

As the players cleared out their lockers Wednesday, it was the final time this exact roster would be together as a unit.

“I expected it to feel different,” Harris said. “I expected to feel more jubilant, but I got a little sad. This group of guys is the closest team I’ve ever been on. And thinking about not being able to come to work this week, it’s sad to see everybody packing things up.”

“It doesn’t feel like the normal garbage bag day when you get sent home early,” defensive back Tevaughn Campbell added. “It feels weird because you’re still leaving your boys. You’re still leaving a place where you worked for six months, grinding throughout the season. It’s definitely a little sweet and a little sour at the same time.”

The thought also left Mace with mixed emotions.

“Yeah, it’s bittersweet. But I think we’ve been doing a really good job as a team, celebrating together . . . I think we understand what it is, but it’s never easy this day, whether the result is this or not, it’s, we know it’s inevitable. Excuse me, but that’s why I love the way that these guys are doing it together because it’s important to them. They care about each other,” said Mace.

“We’re not playing football anymore and we’re going to miss a lot of people,” linebacker A.J. Allen added. “But also the fulfillment that we accomplished everything we were trying to do when we got here. We’re not leaving with a heavy heart or the potential of what ifs. We’re leaving here champions.”

The end of the season has many players wondering what is next for their careers.

“I want to be back,” Hardrick, who is set to be a free agent, said. “I want to do it again. I love these guys, love coming to work. I wish we can do it again.”

“I love it here, man, I love [Saskatchewan], I love Rider Nation,” free agent defensive back C.J. Reavis added. “I love my teammates. I love my coaches. Everything about it. Hopefully it doesn’t get to that point and Saskatchewan gives me the bigs.”

Similar to Harris, others are also set to have discussions about if their career is continuing.

“You never know if you’re going to be back,” kicker Brett Lauther, who is 35-years old, said. “You never know with some family stuff and other decisions. You never know with where the team’s at. There’s a million things that go into it and I just haven’t got to speak to really anyone yet.”

Saskatoon’s Jorgen Hus is the team’s longest-serving player. He also says conversations about his future will be had this offseason.

“I feel like I can keep playing,” Hus told reporters. “My goal was to always play at least a decade here and win a Grey Cup. Time flies. I mean, I’m 36 right now, 37 next September. I feel great body wise.”

“I got two kids now and I want to be present with them. So, yeah, we’ll definitely have that conversation,” he added.

Mace looking to 2026

It’s only been three days since the Saskatchewan Roughriders won the 2025 Grey Cup, but head coach Corey Mace is already looking towards next season.

With Sunday’s 25-17 victory over the Montreal Alouettes in the rearview mirror, Mace faced the media on Wednesday, fielding questions about the impact the championship on the franchise, what it means to the roster going forward, and gathering together one more time before heading off to their respective offseason homes.

First and foremost, Mace spoke about using this season’s success as a springboard for additional good fortune.

“I think [it’s] just legacy. Here, it really hasn’t changed, the fact that there was four [championships], now there’s five. Does that make anybody feel really, really awesome? Let’s see how many we can compete for. Every year I feel like, as many people as we can get back, we put ourselves in contention to get another run at it and I know that excites a lot of guys in that locker room,” said Mace.

In his second year at the helm of the Riders, Mace understands that this success will lead to opportunities elsewhere for some of his players.

While he would like to maintain as much stability as possible when it comes to the roster, Mace also recognizes that professional football is a business and players have to make decisions that are in their best interests.

“I’ll never lose sight of that. In this building, this is what we do for a living to support our families. Ultimately, we just hope that we could come to terms with a bunch of guys and they feel like it’s financially what they deserve,” said Mace. “And also, there’s a lot of guys who love being here, and if that’s going to be the difference of a little bit of a financial discrepancy between somewhere else, I think that bodes well. These dudes really love each other. They love our fan base. They love this organization.”

As the players cleared out their lockers Wednesday, it was the final time this exact roster would be together as a unit.

That thought left Mace with mixed emotions.

“Yeah, it’s bittersweet. But I think we’ve been doing a really good job as a team, celebrating together . . . I think we understand what it is, but it’s never easy this day, whether the result is this or not, it’s, we know it’s inevitable. Excuse me, but that’s why I love the way that these guys are doing it together because it’s important to them. They care about each other,” said Mace.