Although CFL teams aren’t obligated to declare their final roster decisions until Saturday, Corey Mace offered an early peek behind the curtain.
“Rolan Milligan Jr. and Trevor Harris are probably going to make the team,” the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ Head Coach said lightheartedly on Friday, following the final practice of Coors Light Training Camp.
Aside from the automatic choices, such as the aforementioned duo, Mace said there will be “long, long, long” discussions about who to keep and who to cut.
The deliberations will include the entire coaching and front office, led by Mace and Vice-President of Football Operations and General Manager Jeremy O’Day.
“There’s debate, and there should be,” Mace said. “If there’s never any debate, that means we didn’t have good players.
“I know that we did bring in a bunch of good guys who are pushing at multiple positions and multiple spots on the roster, so it’s a healthy debate.
“I tell these guys at the beginning of camp: ‘Make one of us stand on the table for you’ when today comes. I think a lot of guys did that.”
Brayden Schager hopes to be in that category.
“I think I’ve had my three-week audition and proved to them my abilities and have been able to put some good stuff on tape,” the 23-year-old quarterback said. “Now you take a little step back for a second.
“If I’m given the opportunity, it’s right back to work. I’ll come into work every single day with the same mentality of trying to be the best player that I can be.”
The Roughriders finished camp with four quarterbacks — Harris (the 2025 Grey Cup MVP), Schager, Jack Coan and Tommy Stevens.
There is precedent for the Green and White carrying four signal-callers into the regular season, but that decision hadn’t been made as of late Friday morning.
“We’ve got to sit down and hammer through all the stuff,” Mace said. “You’d like to say ‘of course,’ but you can’t promise anything. We always make the best decision for the team.”
The team won’t reconvene until early in the second week of June. Saskatchewan has a bye in Week 1 of the regular season.
The Roughriders’ season opener is set for June 13 (5 p.m., Mosaic Stadium) against the B.C. Lions. The 2025 Grey Cup championship banner is to be unveiled during a pre-game ceremony.
Tickets for the June 13 game are AVAILABLE HERE.
