Riders bring back plenty of offensive veterans for CFL training camp

The Saskatchewan Roughriders have a lot of consistency on offence ahead of the 2025 season.

A number of veterans are returning, but a few big free agent signings will look to shore up the offensive line and provide some depth at other positions.

The Riders came within a game of reaching their first Grey Cup since 2013 but ultimately fell once again to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

With Marc Mueller entering his second season as the CFL team’s offensive co-ordinator, it will be interesting to see what steps forward the team takes on that side of the ball.

With Riders rookie camp beginning May 7 and main camp on May 11, here’s a look at the offensive side of the ball.

Quarterbacks

On roster: Trevor Harris, Jake Maier, Tommy Stevens, Jack Coan

The Saskatchewan Roughriders will once again have Harris behind centre for a third season. Despite missing six games last season, the 38-year-old quarterback was one of the top quarterbacks in the CFL, throwing for 3,264 yards, 20 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

But the veteran quarterback has missed time in back-to-back seasons due to knee injuries and he will be 39 by the time the CFL regular season kicks off on June 5 as the Riders take on the Ottawa Redblacks.

In order to address the backup quarterback spot, the Riders traded a seventh-round draft pick to Calgary for  Maier. Maier, 28, took over the starting spot from future Hall of Famer Bo Levi Mitchell, who joined the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2023. But after just six wins that first season, it slipped further in 2024 down to five as he was also benched at one point.

In his career so far, he has started 45 games, throwing for 11,685 yards, 60 touchdowns, and 39 interceptions. The trade did reunite him with Mueller, who was the Calgary quarterback’s coach from 2020-23.

Stevens signed with the Riders as a free agent and is one of the top short-yardage quarterbacks in the CFL. Last season, he was utilized in 31 third-and-short situations and converted 30 of those.

Coan is back after being the third-string quarterback for 2024.

Jake Maier will play his first season in Saskatchewan in 2025, expected to back up Trevor Harris. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Heywood Yu)

Running backs

On the roster: AJ Ouellette, Albert Awachie, Thomas Betrand-Hudon, Khalan Laborn, Trent Pennix, Mario Anderson

Saskatchewan will hope to see a healthier Ouellette in 2025. One of the top signings heading into the 2024 season, a hip injury limited him to eight regular-season games last season, only rushed for 558 yards and three touchdowns. He was healthy for both postseason games. He has also shown off a different workout routine and body transformation on social media as he looks to show off his talents in 2025.

Bertrand-Hudon is back for a third season with the Riders and presents a Canadian option at the tailback spot. While he has only had 30 CFL carries, he does have a 6.6 yards-per-attempt.

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Laborn provides some depth at the position after spending 2024 with the Ottawa Redblacks. He had 310 yards in six games.

Pennix and Anderson will look to show of their skills at their first CFL training camps.

Wide receivers

On the roster: Mario Alford, Shawn Bane Jr., Ja’Marcus Bradley, Dhel Duncan-Busby, Sam Emilus, Ty James, KeeSean Johnson, Dohnte Meyers, D’Sean Mimbs, Tommy Nield, Mitch Picton, Joe Robustelli, Wayne Ruby Jr., Kian Schaffer-Baker

The Riders welcome back a few veteran receivers to pair with a couple they are hopeful will take more steps in their CFL careers.

Emilus provides Rider quarterbacks with a top option at the receiver position. He is coming off a second-straight 1,000-yard campaign – his 1,064 yards were the seventh-most in the CFL – and he was tied for the team lead with five receiving touchdowns.

Schaffer-Baker also provides another top option for the quarterback, with the Mississauga, Ont., product being one of the toughest players to bring down one-on-one. He had 735 yards and four touchdowns in 14 games in 2024.

Kian Schaffer-Baker provides an excellent option for Rider quarterbacks in 2025. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Peter Power)

Bane Jr. will look to bounce back both from a disappointing season and a serious late-year knee injury. Bane Jr. had 1,104 yards in 2023. He only had 583 in 14 games in 2024, but did record five touchdowns. He suffered a season-ending knee injury on Sept. 28 against Ottawa.

Johnson and Meyers are expected to take two of the starting spots as well. Both were in their first CFL seasons last year. Johnson played in 12 games and had 746 yards and five touchdowns. Meyers only played in five games and saw his season end prematurely due to an injury. He had 349 yards and one touchdown in his short time on the field.

Duncan-Busby, Picton, Nield and Mimbs provide more Canadian depth. Duncan-Busby dressed for seven games last year and recorded 188 yards on 16 catches. Picton is one of the longest-serving members of the Riders, having been drafted back in 2017. He provides a lot of versatility for the club with the ability to line up at any of the receiver spots. Nield has spent the past four seasons with the Toronto Argonauts. Mimbs returned to the University of Regina for his final year of eligibility.

Offensive line

On the roster: Jacob Brammer, Julius Buelow, Payton Collins, Logan Ferland, Zack Fry, Philippe Gagnon, Jermarcus Hardrick, Daniel Johnson, Nick Jones, Brandon Kemp, Jake Levengood, Sean McEwen, Brayden Noll, Octavious Oxendine, Jahmir, Ross-Johnson, Trevon Tate, Noah Zerr

Some of the Riders’ top free agent acquisitions were to help bolster the offensive line. Due to injuries last season, 13 different players started games in the group.

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McEwen is expected to lock down the centre spot. The 2017 Grey Cup champion has spent years with the Argos (2016-19) and Stamps (2020-24). He was the East’s Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman in 2017.

Gagnon comes over from the Montreal Alouettes, where he has been since 2016 for all but one season (2019 with Ottawa). He helped win the Grey Cup in 2023.

Ferland was the West Division nominee for Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman after a year that saw him play multiple positions due to injuries. He recently signed a contract extension with the club.

Saskatchewan Roughriders offensive lineman Logan Ferland was the West Division nominee for Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman in 2024. (Saskatchewan Roughriders/Submitted)

Hardrick was another big free agent signing in 2024 that saw his season disrupted due to an injury. He only dressed for five games before his season ended. He will look to lock down the right tackle spot.

Tate was signed by the Riders in August due to all the injuries to the team and getting granted his release from the Stamps. He helped lock down the right tackle spot with Hardrick out. He will move to left tackle with last year’s starter, Trevor Reid, seeking NFL opportunities and recovering from an injury.

Fry was selected by the Riders in the second round of the CFL Draft in 2022 and is expected to be the sixth offensive lineman.

Brammer and Zerr both saw playing time last season as well.