A fast-approaching CFL game between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Ottawa REDBLACKS will double as an unofficial 2025 Grey Cup quarterbacks’ reunion.
Four signal-callers who dressed for the Roughriders or Montreal Alouettes in last year’s championship game are expected to be in the lineup on Friday at TD Place.
Trevor Harris, the 2025 Grey Cup MVP, will start for Saskatchewan. His opposite number will be Jake Maier, who started two games with Saskatchewan last year before signing with Ottawa as a free agent in February.
Tommy Stevens, in his second season as the Roughriders’ short-yardage quarterback, rushed for two touchdowns in the 2025 league final.
McLeod Bethel-Thompson, who was Davis Alexander’s backup in Montreal for a considerable portion of last season, signed with Ottawa on June 23.
Harris and Bethel-Thompson were teammates with the United Football League’s Sacramento Mountain Lions in 2011. (The team’s roster also included running back John David Washington — whose father is Hollywood legend Denzel Washington.)
Maier won his first start as a Roughrider, helping the team defeat the B.C. Lions 37-18 on June 28, 2025 at Mosaic Stadium. That was the one game Harris missed due to injury last season. Maier also got the start on Oct. 17 in Winnipeg while Harris was being rested for the post-season.
“Jake’s a very good quarterback,” Harris said. “A lot of times when you watch film, he’s getting the ball to the right spot at the right time and he’s very accurate.
“He’s a guy who has been slept on his whole career. Things didn’t go quite as well as he wanted to in Calgary, but I thought he learned and grew and developed a lot here last year.
“He’s got a bright future ahead but hopefully this Friday it’s pretty glum.”
Friday’s game will mark the 11th time two quarterbacks who spent the previous season with Saskatchewan have started against one another in a contest involving the Roughriders:
Sept. 8, 1961: Saskatchewan (starting quarterback: Bob Ptacek) at Montreal (Don Allard).
Sept. 2, 1990: Saskatchewan (Kent Austin) vs. Winnipeg (Tom Burgess).
Sept. 23, 1990: Saskatchewan (Austin) at Winnipeg (Burgess).
Sept. 5, 2004: Saskatchewan (Henry Burris) vs. Winnipeg (Kevin Glenn).
Sept. 12, 2004: Saskatchewan (Burris) at Winnipeg (Glenn).
July 23, 2005: Saskatchewan (Nealon Greene) at Calgary (Burris).
July 27, 2008: Saskatchewan (Darian Durant) vs. Toronto (Kerry Joseph).
Sept. 12, 2010: Saskatchewan (Durant) at Winnipeg (Steven Jyles).
Aug. 7, 2014: Saskatchewan (Durant) vs. Winnipeg (Drew Willy).
Sept. 7, 2014: Saskatchewan (Durant) at Winnipeg (Willy).
July 3, 2026: Saskatchewan (Harris) at Ottawa (Maier).
HERE’S TO SOME JAZZ!
Corey Mace is hoping to orchestrate more enthusiasm — a situation he has rarely faced since becoming the Roughriders’ Head Coach.
“I would like to see more, for lack of a better term, jazz hands,” Mace said after Tuesday’s practice at Mosaic Stadium.
He is hoping for “more enthusiasm about the guys celebrating each other’s success … just some more juice. I felt like we were lacking that last week.”
Mace was referencing Friday’s 40-34 CFL loss to the Toronto Argonauts at Mosaic Stadium — a result that left the defending Grey Cup champions with a 2-1 record.
“We know we’ve got great players,” Mace said. “We know we can be a great team.
“Just enjoy, man. Have some fun out there. I thought we were kind of reeling on that last week.”
Ideally, that will prove to be an aberration for a Roughriders team that hopes to regain its winning ways.
Each game, each practice, is an opportunity for the team to evolve and, along the way, for players — especially those who are new to the team — to find a voice and establish a presence.
“In my honest opinion, I feel like there’s a few guys who just naturally have it,” Mace said. “Some guys need to be pushed into those roles to get the fire started.
“With this team this year, some guys are having to be thrust into those roles and are more than capable of doing it but, by nature, it’s more a case of, ‘I prove it by how I play.’
“The cool thing is that we talk about these things. The last couple of days at practice, we’re seeing it, so it’s excellent.”
INJURY UPDATE
There is encouraging news on the receiver front.
Dhel Duncan-Busby, who missed last week’s game with a shoulder injury, was a full participant in Tuesday’s practice. He had not practised on Monday.
Samuel Emilus (ankle), Kian Schaffer-Baker (oblique) and Jaylen Johnson (shoulder) were all limited participants on Tuesday after not practising the previous day.
Dylan Djete, whom the Roughriders selected in the second round of the 2026 CFL Canadian Draft, was a limited participant on Monday and Tuesday. He has yet to play this season due to a quadriceps injury.
Running back A.J. Ouellette has also been a limited participant in practice this week. He missed the Toronto game with an ankle injury.
For the complete injury report, CLICK HERE.
