As one who wore No. 23 as a team captain at Texas Tech University, DaMarcus Fields hoped to carry the same digits as a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ defensive backfield.
“Then I learned about Ron Lancaster,” Fields says with a laugh.
“I said, ‘What position did he play? Quarterback? What type of guy wears 23 at quarterback?’ ”
Nobody in a Saskatchewan uniform. Not since Oct. 29, 1978, when the legendary Lancaster made his final regular-season appearance as a Roughriders player. The team retired his No. 23 jersey on Ron Lancaster Day — June 20, 1979.
Fields, by the way, wears No. 22.
“I’m happy to have 22,” he says. “That’s the number of one of my best friends — Xavier Washington — so I was happy to put it on.
“We played high school football together. He wore 22 and I wore 3. KeeSean Johnson has 3, so I’ve just been happy to wear 22.
“I think it’s going to be my number for the rest of time.”
Fields actually wore 00 at the Roughriders’ rookie camp in 2024 before switching to 27 for Coors Light Training Camp and the pre-season. Fellow defensive back C.J. Coldon, now of the B.C. Lions, was the Roughriders’ No. 22 at the time.
The release of Coldon freed up 22, which Fields wore for his CFL debut. He has been a fixture since then.
Fields and offensive lineman Logan Ferland are the only Roughriders who have played in every game since the beginning of the 2024 season.
“It’s a big deal with the way I recover, how I treat the games and how I treat my body,” Fields says. “It’s a reason why I was out of football before, so it’s really important to me to keep my body fit and healthy.
“Just being young, I didn’t take care of my body as well as I should have. I’ve only got one body, so I try to take good care of my Ferrari.”
Instead of going for drives, though, Fields focuses on stopping them — the priority being for the opposing offence to walk to the sideline as soon as possible.
With that goal in mind, he was part of a defence that allowed the fewest points in the league (409) during the Roughriders’ Grey Cup championship season of 2025.
“I think he’s honestly one of the more under-rated guys in the league,” says Head Coach Corey Mace, who doubled as the Roughriders’ Defensive Co-ordinator in 2024 and 2025.
“We always talk about how important that free safety position is. Field halfback is also extremely crucial. It’s probably the hardest position to play, I think, on the back end.
“Fieldsie is an excellent communicator and a great tackler. He has good speed.”
That was obvious during his high school years in Taylor, Texas. As a member of the Taylor Ducks’ track team, his peak time in the 100-metre dash was 10.4 seconds.
“I was running that at 210 pounds,” he notes. “I was gaining weight for football season during track season, so I was never able to see how good I could be at track. I went from 180 to 210 in the span of a track season. At 205, I was still running 10.4.”
A three-sport athlete in high school, he ultimately opted for football over track and basketball.
“I fell in love with football at a very young age,” says Fields, 28. “In my household, I have family members who played football. Even my mother played football. A lot of people don’t know that, but my mom played linebacker and she played running back.
“I get all my athletic ability from my mom. Whatever you see from me comes from my mom.”
Her name: April Green.
Where better for her son to play professional football than with the Green and White?
“It’s green here, and there are green fields, so Saskatchewan is perfect for me,” Fields says. “And I’m from Taylor, so … Taylor Fields!
“It’s really crazy. In high school, me and the Taylor Ducks wore green and white, so I get to come back and be green and white again.
“I kind of love it, you know?”
