The defending champions will try to do it all over again in 2026.
The long road back to the top of the mountain for the Saskatchewan Roughriders will have a delayed start in 2026 until Week 2, when they will begin their journey to try to become the third team to win back-to-back Grey Cups since the 90s.
As with most championship teams, head coach Corey Mace’s squad suffered losses throughout the off-season, particularly on defence. Offensively, however, the infrastructure largely remains intact, including offensive coordinator Marc Mueller, who heads into year three at the helm alongside quarterback Trevor Harris, who heads into year four in Saskatchewan.
Offence
“We’ve got a lot of high-level competition. It’s really just about us, why can’t we be better?” said Harris. “For us to do that, we’ve got a lot of work to put in because we had a darn good team last year, and that’s a high bar to reach for. But I believe the culture of our team and organization has the ability to raise the standard even higher.”
The gunslinger turns 40 just before Week 1 begins on TSN, as the veteran is set for a 14th season north of the border. Harris had one of his best seasons as a pro in 2025, leading the CFL in completion percentage (73.6 per cent), while putting up 4,549 yards (third), 24 touchdowns (fourth), and only 11 interceptions.
While the veteran pivot is the key to Mueller’s offence, the identity is with the big boys up front. The group did a fantastic job of keeping Harris upright and healthy for the first time in his Riders’ tenure in 2025, and features three All-CFL linemen in tackle Jermarcus Hardrick, guard Jacob Brammer, and centre Logan Ferland.
Hardrick is arguably the best lineman in the league, whose 2.8 pressure rate allowed over the past two seasons sits second amongst tackles (min 600 pass block snaps). Brammer broke out into one of the best maulers at the guard position in 2025, and Ferland is a homegrown talent who has excelled everywhere along the line.
Joining the three stars is second-year left tackle Payton Collins, whose 3.0 pressure rate allowed in his rookie year in 2025 was the third-best among all tackles. Left guard will be manned by third-year Canadian Zack Fry. The 25-year-old has more than 1,000 snaps in the past two seasons combined and fits well in the in-between tackle, power run scheme of the offence.
Fellow Canadians in former fifth-round pick Daniel Johnson – who earned some playing time late last season – and reigning J.P. Metras Trophy winner (handed out to U Sports football’s best lineman) in rookie Erik Andersen, are also waiting in the wings on the interior.
The star-studded group will be blocking for back A.J. Ouellette once again in 2026. The 30-year-old veteran put up career highs in yards (1,222) and touchdowns (eight) in 2025 and has fit in perfectly personality-wise and football-wise in Saskatchewan over the past two seasons.
Talking about the offensive line and the run game is not the most exciting thing, but this is a Riders team that ran the ball the third most in the league in 2025 (37.9 per cent) and seems likely to do so at a high clip once again.
As for the receiving core, this is where the biggest shakeup comes offensively, as Dohnte Meyers (NFL), Tommy Nield (Winnipeg Blue Bombers), Joe Robustelli (Edmonton Elks), Mitch Picton (retirement) and Ajou Ajou (release/suspension) are all gone.
The good news? The group still features two former 1,000-yard receivers in American KeeSean Johnson and National Sam Emilus, as well as a near-1,000-yard pass catcher, Canadian Kian Schaffer-Baker.
While the two Canucks were limited to 12 games combined in 2025, Johnson broke out, putting up 86 catches (third) for 1,159 yards (fourth) and four touchdowns en route to an All-CFL nod.
Saskatchewan’s big three are supplemented by an interesting group of both Americans and Canadians, with Americans Jaylen Johnson and Matthew Sexton, as well as Canadians Dhel Duncan-Busby and Daniel Wiebe, able to make some noise.
Overall, Mueller’s offence should look pretty similar to what we have seen. Establish a physical, in-between-the-tackles run game with Ouellette and the offensive line, while Harris takes care of the ball, dissects coverages using his experience, and finds his field stretchers in the big three when the defence cheats up.
The unit finished in the top half of the league in passing yards, rushing yards, net offence, sacks allowed, turnovers made, big plays, and offensive points for in 2025, and there’s no reason to think that level of efficiency can’t happen once again.
Defence
The big question with the roster comes defensively, as there are a lot of changes from what was a championship-winning unit last season.
Beginning at the top, as head coach Corey Mace has passed play-calling duties to Joshua Bell, who’s been a defensive backs coach since 2018 after retiring as a player.
“Many teams would want Joshua Bell to be their defensive coordinator, and it’s something that wasn’t a secret for myself or Josh,” said Mace from the CFL’s off-season winter meetings in Calgary. “It’s something that we talked about and certainly have been prepping and pushing Josh to prep for taking that next step over the last couple years. It was just his time.”
The 41-year-old Bell is technically inheriting a defence that finished top three in points allowed, net offensive yards allowed, rushing yards allowed, sacks, turnovers forced, and second down conversion rate last season, but there’s been some turnover, specifically up front.
Five spots out of the front seven have been vacated and will need to be filled, and there’s a big mix of rookie Americans, backups who have been in the system, and experienced veterans who have been brought in through free agency to fill the void.
Along the line, defensive tackle Mike Rose is the only returning starter, while Americans Caleb Sanders and Devin Adams, along with 2025 fourth-overall pick Ali Saad, will soak up the majority of the other snaps along the interior.
On the edges, sixth-year veteran James Vaughters has a spot locked down after having career highs in tackles (36) and sacks (six) last season with the Blue Bombers. Opposite of him, a group of rookie Americans will vie for playing time in Desmond Evans, Justin Weaver, and Jaylen Pate, who begins the year on the practice squad.
At linebacker, slotting in on either side of the returning Jameer Thurman in the middle will be Josh Woods on the weak side and Antoine Brooks Jr. at the nickel. The former racked up 152 tackles in 55 games across five seasons with the BC Lions, while the latter has been in Saskatchewan’s program for the past two years and rotated in more defensively late last season.
Dominating in the trenches on both sides of the ball is how the Riders were so successful in 2025. They seemed primed to do that on the offensive line again in 2026, but there are questions along the defensive front. If Saskatchewan can get that same disruption and juice from this group once again, the team - on paper - will virtually have no holes.
The good news on defence is that the back end’s production can be replicated, as coordinator Bell’s group fully returns the Grey Cup-winning mix from last season, and has only gotten better.
Corners in Canadian Tevaughn Campbell and Marcus Sayles, halfbacks in 2024 Most Outstanding Defensive Player Rolan Milligan Jr. and DaMarcus Fields, as well as safety in former second-overall pick Nelson Lokombo, form an outstanding starting unit. One of the weak points last season came from the depth, as a replacement was usually targeted and exploited when forced in.
The team has very much addressed that in recent ninth overall pick, Malcolm Bell. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound defensive back adds much-needed depth at their Canadian corner spot behind Campbell and brings a similar big-time size and speed skillset.
Overall, the backend is dynamic, fast, and well-coached, and could potentially be leaned on in 2026.
It’s not easy to repeat as champions, and the team has suffered losses, but the championship infrastructure remains intact; they just have to prove they can do it again.
