Latest news with #SaskatchewanRoughriders
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Roughriders hit the field for Day 1 of regular season practice
Trevor Harris felt like a kid on Christmas on Sunday. With the CFL pre-season in the books, the Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback — back for his 13th season in the CFL — and the rest of his teammates hit the field at Mosaic Stadium for Day 1 of practice in Week 1 of a brand-new season. 'Everybody kind of longs for that feeling of waking up Christmas morning not knowing what Santa Claus brought you,' Harris said ahead of Saskatchewan's season opener on Thursday (7 p.m., TSN) against the visiting Ottawa Redblacks. 'And that's what football season is. It still gives me butterflies in my stomach coming out here to practice every single day.' For Harris, who is one of Saskatchewan's many returning veterans, he's grateful to be back under centre for a third year with the Roughriders after missing time with separate knee injuries in back-to-back years. 'When you strap the helmet on, you feel like you're a kid out here,' said Harris, who celebrated his 39th birthday on Saturday. 'I don't feel my age. 'There's been a lot of times where I didn't know when the next snap (would be) or if it was going to happen, or when it was going to happen, and a lot of times where I thought it was going to be done. 'I'm just really, really thankful that I'm here and getting the opportunity to be the quarterback this franchise. It's something that I'll never take for granted.' Following two pre-season games and an 18-day training camp, the Roughriders were forced to make roster decisions on Saturday as the team cut 17 players, added 11 to the practice roster, returned five to school and suspended one. And while it was an exciting day for some of the players to find out they had made the team, there were also some tough conversations with the players who were let go. 'You get to know these guys on a little bit of a deeper level and you know that's our decision to do that, knowing that the inevitable of just making final cuts, but it never makes it easier,' said Roughriders head coach Corey Mace. 'It's not an awesome day, until you get that first team meeting.' While the biggest names who were released were twin linebackers Justin and Jordan Herdman-Reed, the Roughriders found a way to keep all four quarterbacks on the roster with Harris, Jake Maier, Tommy Stevens and Jack Coan all sticking around. 'When you have good quarterbacks, you don't let them go,' said Harris. 'I think that there's quite a few guys that could be franchise quarterbacks in that room. 'I think we're all learning from each other, and I think that everybody's better than us in some way, and in that, we're always learning.' While Harris is the unquestioned starter, Maier provides solid experience as a backup while Stevens will handle short-yardage duties. Coan, in his second year, appears to be a promising prospect the Roughriders want to keep around to develop. 'I thought Jack played a really good pre-season game, and he's been showing his skill set throughout camp and truthfully throughout his time with us since he's been here,' said Mace. 'So, we wanted to see if there was a way that we can get all four and glad that we got that done to have those guys here.' While many are predicting Saskatchewan to have a strong season this year, Harris says it's important for the group to focus on one day at a time. However, they aren't shying away from the high expectations either. 'It's about building that great team from Day 1,' said Harris. 'I think a lot of times people do talk about the expectations or whatever, but ultimately, it's how we perform and how we build and how we grow as a team each and every day. 'But if you have expectations, that means you've done something right in the past, and you're going in the right direction. So I think we're in going in the right way.' tshire@ Roughriders make final roster cuts; finalize active roster for 2025 10 thoughts: Top takeaways from Roughriders' pre-season finale The Regina Leader-Post has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe. With some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Click here to subscribe.
National Post
11 hours ago
- General
- National Post
Roughriders hit the field for Day 1 of regular season practice
Article content Trevor Harris felt like a kid on Christmas on Sunday. Article content Article content With the CFL pre-season in the books, the Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback — back for his 13th season in the CFL — and the rest of his teammates hit the field at Mosaic Stadium for Day 1 of practice in Week 1 of a brand-new season. Article content 'Everybody kind of longs for that feeling of waking up Christmas morning not knowing what Santa Claus brought you,' Harris said ahead of Saskatchewan's season opener on Thursday (7 p.m., TSN) against the visiting Ottawa Redblacks. 'And that's what football season is. It still gives me butterflies in my stomach coming out here to practice every single day.' Article content For Harris, who is one of Saskatchewan's many returning veterans, he's grateful to be back under centre for a third year with the Roughriders after missing time with separate knee injuries in back-to-back years. Article content 'When you strap the helmet on, you feel like you're a kid out here,' said Harris, who celebrated his 39th birthday on Saturday. 'I don't feel my age. Article content 'There's been a lot of times where I didn't know when the next snap (would be) or if it was going to happen, or when it was going to happen, and a lot of times where I thought it was going to be done. Article content 'I'm just really, really thankful that I'm here and getting the opportunity to be the quarterback this franchise. It's something that I'll never take for granted.' Article content Following two pre-season games and an 18-day training camp, the Roughriders were forced to make roster decisions on Saturday as the team cut 17 players, added 11 to the practice roster, returned five to school and suspended one. Article content And while it was an exciting day for some of the players to find out they had made the team, there were also some tough conversations with the players who were let go. Article content 'You get to know these guys on a little bit of a deeper level and you know that's our decision to do that, knowing that the inevitable of just making final cuts, but it never makes it easier,' said Roughriders head coach Corey Mace. 'It's not an awesome day, until you get that first team meeting.' Article content Article content While the biggest names who were released were twin linebackers Justin and Jordan Herdman-Reed, the Roughriders found a way to keep all four quarterbacks on the roster with Harris, Jake Maier, Tommy Stevens and Jack Coan all sticking around. Article content 'When you have good quarterbacks, you don't let them go,' said Harris. 'I think that there's quite a few guys that could be franchise quarterbacks in that room. Article content 'I think we're all learning from each other, and I think that everybody's better than us in some way, and in that, we're always learning.' Article content While Harris is the unquestioned starter, Maier provides solid experience as a backup while Stevens will handle short-yardage duties. Coan, in his second year, appears to be a promising prospect the Roughriders want to keep around to develop.
CTV News
15 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
Riders make final cuts as 2025 roster takes shape
A Saskatchewan Roughriders helmet is shown at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, on Friday, May 30, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Heywood Yu The Saskatchewan Roughriders announced their final cuts and tweaks late Saturday night as the team's 2025 roster takes form. The team's final roster features 26 Canadians, 24 Americans and one global player. The team's core of Trevor Harris, A.J. Ouelette and Samuel Emilus on offense in addition to Jameer Thurman, Marcus Sayles and Micah Johnson on defense remains intact to lead this year's squad. Ali Saad, Saskatchewan's fourth overall pick in the 2025 CFL Draft, cracked the roster. He's expected to begin the year as a back-up on the defensive line. As part of final cuts, 17 players – including four Canadians – were released. DL Eric Black OL Yoseph Carter DL Alex Gubner LB Jordan Herdman-Reed LB Justin Herdman-Reed LB Braxton Hill K Dawson Hodge WR Abdul Janneh Jr. DB Robert Javier DL Nick Jones OL Brandon Kemp DB Tyrique McGhee WR Bradyen Misseri RB Trent Pennix OL Jahmir Ross-Johnson DB Phalen Sanford OL Jack Sherwin The Riders also moved 11 players to the practice squad. RB Mario Anderson DB Antoine Brooke Jr. DL Kendy Charles OF Payton Collins P Joe Couch DB Eddie Heckard DL Benoit Marian WR Drae McCray WR D'Sean Mimbs WR Joe Robustelli OL Noah Zerr Players including Anderson, Collins, Mimbs, Brooks Jr. and Couch started for Saskatchewan in their final preseason test Friday against Winnipeg. Anderson rushed the ball seven times for 69 yards. While Robustelli led the game in receiving with 119 yards. Punter Bailey Flint was added to the team's suspended roster. Five players – including University of Saskatchewan Huskies' Seth Hundeby and Daniel Wiebe – will return to their respective U Sports squads. The Riders' expected to return to practice Sunday ahead of their regular season opener Thursday versus Ottawa. Kickoff for the first home game of the season is scheduled for June 5, 7:30 p.m. at Mosaic Stadium and on TSN.
National Post
a day ago
- General
- National Post
Roughriders make final roster cuts; finalize active roster for 2025
Article content The Saskatchewan Roughriders have finalized their roster ahead of the 2025 CFL season. Article content Article content Following a three-week training camp, which included two pre-season games against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, the Roughriders made their final roster cuts on Saturday. Article content Released: Article content American defensive lineman Eric Black American offensive lineman Yoesph Carter American defensive lineman Alex Gubner National linebacker Jordan Herdman-Reed National linebacker Justin Herdman-Reed American linebacker Braxton Hill National kicker Dawson Hodge American receiver Abdul Janneh Jr. American defensive back Robert Javier American offensive lineman Nick Jones American offensive lineman Brandon Kemp American defensive back Tyrique McGhee National receiver Brayden Misseri American running back Trent Pennix American offensive lineman Jahmir Ross-Johnson American defensive back Phalen Sanford American offensive lineman Jack Sherwin Article content Among the players who spent time with the team in 2024 that were released include the Herdman-Reed twins along with Black and Jones. Kemp and McGhee are two others with CFL experience who were cut on Saturday. Article content Practice roster: Article content Additionally, five draft selections from this year's CFL draft have been returned to their respective universities. Article content National defensive back Gideon Agyei National offensive lineman Erik Andersen National defensive lineman Liam Hoskins National linebacker Seth Hundeby National receiver Daniel Wiebe Article content Article content Meanwhile, Global punter Bailey Flint has been added to the suspended list. Article content Article content Active roster Article content At running back, A.J. Ouellette returns for a second season as he looks to stay healthy this year after being limited to eight games in 2024. Veteran Canadian Thomas Bertrand-Hudon returns for a third season as well with Anderson waiting on the practice roster. Morgan Runge and Albert Awachie are listed as the two fullbacks.
Toronto Star
a day ago
- Sport
- Toronto Star
Veteran Fletcher, rookie Senecal among Montreal Alouettes final cuts
Veteran running back Walter Fletcher and rookie Canadian quarterback Jonathan Senecal were among the Montreal Alouettes' final cuts Saturday. Canadian Football League teams had until 10 p.m. ET on Saturday to make final roster selections. The '25 regular season kicks off Thursday night with the Ottawa Redblacks visiting the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Regina.
