as the Saskatchewan Roughriders take on the BC Lions in CFL action in Saskatoon, SK, June 28, 2025. Photo Electric Umbrella/Liam Richards
Antoine Brooks Jr.’s personality is as magnetic as his hands proved to be during the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ most-recent game.
Brooks Jr. registered his first CFL interception — the result of lightning-quick reaction time and a dazzling diving catch — on June 28 in a 37-18 victory over the B.C. Lions.
He was quick to celebrate the pick, which came in his second regular-season game as a Roughrider, with a grateful gallery at Mosaic Stadium.
“I love the fans,” the former Maryland Terrapins standout says leading up to Friday’s home date with the Calgary Stampeders. “Football is built on fans and marching bands in America. Music and fans are what get the fans going.
“That’s what makes it a football game, because there’s no football game without fans.”
Without Brooks Jr., the Roughriders’ locker room wouldn’t be quite the same.
“He’s got an infectious personality,” Head Coach Corey Mace says. “Everybody loves him. He’s constantly smiling.”
Sure, the 26-year-old defensive back/linebacker has experienced periodic bad days — including one that imperiled his football career — but you would never know that from his demeanor.
“I love my teammates,” the 5-foot-11, 215-pounder says.
“I make sure I’m brighter than the room because if I’m having a dark day, I know their day is going to be dark.
“I make sure I’m always happy when I see them. Plus, I know if I’m happy, they’re happy.”
Brooks Jr. was happy to make his 2025 regular-season debut in the aforementioned B.C. game after being activated from the practice roster.
It was his first non-pre-season appearance in slightly more than a year. After playing in the Roughriders’ 2024 opener, he spent the remainder of the season on the practice roster.
Instead of lamenting the situation, Brooks Jr. made the most of every opportunity while helping the Roughriders prepare for each game.
“I never lost interest in playing,” he says. “When you come to practice, you start feeling like a little kid again.”
And when there was a chance to play a game, he invariably stood out. Consider the Roughriders’ past two pre-season finales.
Brooks Jr. scored on a 46-yard interception return against the host Edmonton Elks on May 25, 2024.
This past May 30, he registered four special teams tackles — tying a Roughriders pre-season single-game record — against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Mosaic Stadium.
That was after registering interceptions on an almost-daily basis at Coors Light Training Camp in Saskatoon.
Yet, the Roughriders’ depth on defence led to Brooks Jr. beginning the 2025 season on the practice roster.
Instead of feeling relegated, he relished the opportunity and therefore set a standard for his teammates.
“If I’m on the practice squad and embracing it, they’ve got to embrace their job even more,” he says.
These are the words of someone who has played in 12 NFL games — four with the Pittsburgh Steelers and eight with the Los Angeles Rams — and been a member of a Super Bowl winner.
After earning a flashy championship ring with the 2021 Rams, it could have been tough to process life on the practice roster in a different country.
True to form, Brooks Jr. opted for a different outlook.
“I really just embraced everything (in the NFL),” he says, “so I try to come here and embrace everything in Canada.”
Why not?
He knows all too well that his football career could have been derailed long before pro football was on the horizon.
During his senior year at DuVal High School in his hometown of Lanham, Md., he suffered a serious injury while playing quarterback.
“I broke my right wrist and my right ankle at the same time,” Brooks Jr. recalls. “I had a compound fracture in my ankle.
“I’ve got a long rod on my outside ankle. On the inside, the bone came out. It was pretty much devastating. I had blood all over my cleat.
“I still have the cleat.”
Brooks Jr. uses the shoe as a symbol and a source of motivation.
“It’s just one of those times when you overcome adversity,” he says. “Every time I see it, I feel like, ‘You overcame something that nobody really could.’
“I still ended up making it to the NFL and playing Division I college football. It was all really a blessing. That’s why I keep it.”
In typical form, he breaks into a chuckle.
“I actually bought the cleats a week before I got hurt, so they were brand-new cleats,” Brooks Jr. adds. “I’m not wasting them.”
Brooks Jr.’s days in cleats, old or new, could have come to an end, but he would not allow that to happen.
“I was always getting hurt in freak accidents, so I asked my mom, ‘Should I keep playing football? Can I keep playing football?’ ” he says.
Keisha Staples did not voice any objections — nor was there a discouraging word from the medical profession.
“The doctor who did the surgery said she actually could get me out in six months,” Brooks Jr. says. “I didn’t believe her until I was in Month 3 and I was halfway.
“I was the last surgery for her. She was one of the top 10 doctors in the U.S. and, right before she left (the country), we caught her and she said she’d take the surgery.
“All thanks to God. I’m really grateful.”
The gratitude extends to Baltimore Ravens staff members, who paid a visit during the recuperative process.
“I had a lot of love when I got hurt,” he says.
The recovery was so successful that the University of Maryland quickly became an option.
He spent four years with the Terrapins, playing safety and nickel linebacker during an impressive graduating season of 2019.
He was then selected by Pittsburgh in the sixth round (198th overall) of the 2020 NFL Draft.
But when he made his long-awaited debut in The Show, it was before 80,000-plus empty seats at AT&T Stadium — the opulent home of the Dallas Cowboys.
It was the COVID year, remember, and NFL games were played without fans in the stands.
The following August, Brooks Jr. hurt a hamstring and was placed on injured reserve by the Steelers.
Released in early September of 2021, he quickly found another home in the NFL.
“L.A. was a spot of sunshine,” Brooks Jr. says, “so I went to the Rams and had fun.”
After being waived by the Rams in May of 2022, he continued to pursue options in professional football. He spent the 2023 XFL season with the Seattle Sea Dragons before signing with the Green and White in April of 2024.
Good move!
“I enjoy Saskatchewan and I enjoy football,” he says. “I’m very proud that I’m out here showing the fans what I can do.”
Now that there are fans in the stadiums — a pronounced and pleasant contrast to his introductory NFL season — he strives to royally entertain every one of them.
“I’m going to be doing a lot extra, because I get hyper a lot,” Brooks Jr. says. “Hopefully I can show you all some more and make sure I’m doing well to keep these fans happy.”
