The 2026 free-agency period having reached its peak, Jeremy O’Day met with reporters to discuss a hectic period for the reigning Grey Cup champions.
“There comes a point where it has to become a business decision and it’s a challenge,” the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ Vice-President of Football Operations and General Manager said on Wednesday at Mosaic Stadium.
“I would have loved to just say, ‘Let’s have everyone back,’ but when I presented everyone with their exact same contracts, that really changed quickly.”
A comment uttered jokingly was a departure from the serious business of professional football.
The 17-minute media session — which began with O’Day offering condolences to families affected by Tuesday’s mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C. — focused on an assortment of areas:
DEFENSIVE END
Saskatchewan signed CFL veteran James Vaughters, who had six sacks for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers last season. He will be a focal point during Coors Light Training Camp as the Corey Mace-coached Roughriders look to replace Malik Carney (who signed with the Edmonton Elks) and Habakkuk Baldonado (Ottawa REDBLACKS).
“We lost some guys at the defensive end position so, when we looked at the room, we wanted to add some veteran experience and someone who has played a number of years in our league,” O’Day said.
“(Vaughters) has experience with Corey and knows our defence and brings a little bit of veteran leadership. Him and (defensive tackle) Mike Rose will assume that. We’ve got some young guys who are also growing into veteran-type guys and leaders in the defensive line room.
“We just saw the value there (with Vaughters) and had discussions with his agent and it worked out.”
Saskatchewan’s roster also includes American defensive ends Aaron Patrick (a dominant presence on special teams in 2025), Chico Bennett Jr. (a returnee from the practice roster), Sundiata Anderson, Desmond Evans, Marcus Haynes and Justin Weaver.
Recently re-signed Canadian incumbents Lake Korte-Moore and Benoit Marion, 2025 draftee Liam Hoskins and second-year Global player Sylvain Yondjouen will also be part of a spirited competition for starting spots.
PLACEKICKER
The recent release of Brett Lauther, who had been the Roughriders’ full-time kicker since 2018, created an unaccustomed void at that spot.
To date, Saskatchewan has two kickers under contract — Michael Hughes and Jonathan Kim.
Hughes, from Appalachian State, was 2-for-2 in his lone appearance with the Roughriders last season. Kim, who had a stint with the Chicago Bears last year, is from Michigan State.
“It will be an open competition,” O’Day said. “Hughes has been here before and he got to kick a little bit. We have another talented American kicker as well, so we’ll continue to look at that area.
“Even with the two we have, we feel very comfortable that they’re pretty darned good kickers.”
They have big cleats to fill, considering that Lauther is the most accurate kicker of anyone who has attempted at least 100 field goals for the Roughriders. He made 81.9 per cent of his three-pointers over seven seasons, the latter of which did not meet the high standards he established.
“He has been a very good player for us for a number of years,” O’Day said. “Aside from the fact that he’s a good football player, he has been excellent in the community and excellent in the locker room.
“These are tough, difficult decisions that you have to make. Obviously, they’re not decisions that we take for granted or that we make a snap judgment on.”
SPECIAL TEAMS IN GENERAL
Saskatchewan went the free agency route to add James Letcher Jr., who has been an explosive returner with the Montreal Alouettes.
“We obviously liked him quite a bit,” O’Day said. “He got into the (communications) window so we could have discussions and, obviously, we put a lot of value into our coaches’ evaluations.”
Letcher Jr. is in line to succeed Mario Alford, who has signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats after scoring on eight returns — a team record — over the past four seasons.
“(Letcher Jr.) is a younger guy who we hope is ascending as a returner,” O’Day said. “His college career as a receiver was really good, too, so there’s the possibility of implementing him on offence.
“Hopefully he’s an electric returner — the kind that makes our league so exciting. He’s excited to be here and we’re excited to have him.”
Jesse Mirco, who punted in the Roughriders’ final seven games last year (Western Final and Grey Cup included), is ticketed to return. There is some question, however, as to who will do the snapping.
Jorgen Hus, the Roughriders’ long snapper since 2015, became a free agent on Tuesday. A Saskatoon-based mortgage broker, Hus has yet to decide on his football future.
“Talks are still kind of ongoing with Jorgen,” O’Day said. “I think he’s just trying to evaluate whether he wants to play again.”
RECEIVERS
The Roughriders’ receiving corps remains deep and talented, even with the departures of Tommy Nield (to Winnipeg), Joe Robustelli (Edmonton) and Dohnte Meyers (Cincinnati Bengals).
O’Day made it a priority to re-sign three top-flight pass catchers — Samuel Emilus, Kian Schaffer-Baker and KeeSean Johnson — before they could become high-priority targets on the open market.
“We’ve spent a fair bit of money on receivers in free agency,” O’Day noted. “When you’re looking at that and deciding on bringing back some of the guys you might have already had, you’re asking ‘Where’s the value?’ and ‘Where could you maybe save on the cap?’
“Two years ago, everybody was asking who KeeSean Johnson and Dohnte Meyers were and then, all of a sudden it’s, ‘You can’t lose those guys.’
“When you’re looking at it, you’re weighing a proven guy in our league versus a guy who’s stepping in, but we have a pretty veteran receiving corps so for us to try to find one is not too big of a task.”
Emilus, Schaffer-Baker and Johnson are locks for three of the five starting spots. Returning Canadians Ajou Ajou and Dhel Duncan-Busby also have extensive experience as starters.
Nationals D’Sean Mimbs (who dressed for four games last year) and Daniel Wiebe (University of Saskatchewan Huskies) will also challenge for roster spots.
Along with Johnson, the ranks of the American pass-catchers include Siaosi Mariner (a practice-roster player last season), Abdul Janneh Jr. (who returns after attending training camp with the Green and White last year), Letcher Jr., Collin Brunstein, Tyrie Cleveland, Ali Jennings III, Malik Knowles, Freddie Swain and Juwann Winfree.
O’Day indicated Regina-born Mitch Picton, who became a free agent on Tuesday, is “probably not going to play” but intends to follow up with the 30-year-old receiver’s agent to confirm what the intentions are.
LINEBACKERS
This much is certain: Returning All-CFLer Jameer Thurman will be the middle linebacker.
Already under contract for 2026, Thurman extended that deal by one year in January.
By whom will he be flanked? That is the question after A.J. Allen (weak side) and C.J. Reavis (strong side) signed with Ottawa as free agents.
Antoine Brooks Jr. excelled on the strong side last season after a spate of injuries at safety forced the versatile Reavis to move to the defensive backfield.
“Antoine has earned his opportunity to be a starter in this league,” O’Day said. “Every time he has gotten an opportunity, he has done great things. He makes plays every day in practice. He’s going to get his shot to play Sam (strong side).”
There are various options on the weak side.
“We’ve done a decent job with our ratio, so we have some flexibility with A.J. moving on,” O’Day said. “We can continue to use that as a Canadian spot or we can go American.
“Aubrey Miller Jr. got an opportunity to play a little bit last year and did well, so we’re happy to get him back. And then we’ve signed Josh Woods, who has a lot of experience and has a lot of length.
“We’re excited about those three (Brooks Jr., Miller Jr. and Woods) going into camp.”
Rookie camp is to begin May 6 at Griffiths Stadium in Saskatoon. The first main camp workout at the U of S is set for May 10.
