Darrell Davis, Regina Leader-Post
Every day at Saskatchewan Roughriders training camp brings quarterback Trevor Harris closer to a major milestone.
His 40th birthday.
“Yeah, yeah,” said Harris, chuckling a little when asked about his upcoming birthday, following the CFL team’s first full-squad workout Sunday at Saskatoon’s Griffiths Stadium.
“We got a few weeks still, so I don’t want to age myself yet.”
Harris turns 40 on May 31. When the Roughriders open their regular season June 13 against the visiting B.C. Lions, he’s expected to be the league’s oldest starting quarterback. Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros is next at 37.
Harris is the oldest player on Saskatchewan’s roster, but only by four months because during the off-season the Roughriders signed 39-year-old long snapper Aaron Crawford, who could make the squad as a replacement for recent retiree Jorgen Hus.
Next on Saskatchewan’s old guys list are 33-year-olds Mike Rose, a defensive lineman, and fullback Albert Awachie.
In the real world, 40-year-olds are considered as “middle age” with all the potential turmoil of facing a “midlife crisis.”
“Let’s not crush him yet,” said Roughriders head coach Corey Mace. “Joking!
“Look, if you tell me there’s anything different between the 39-year-old to the 40, I’d want to know because he just looks like Trevor Harris to me, man. How he operates day in, day out, whether we’re in season or off season, he’s a 100 per cent football man. And it shows.”
In football, 40 is pretty old.
Football players in their 40s are the exception in a sport where careers start in their mid-20s and last an average of approximately three years, according to the CFL Alumni Association.
Quarterback Tom Brady won two Super Bowls (out of his seven NFL championships) after he turned 40.
In the CFL, quarterback Damon Allen was 41 when he led the Toronto Argonauts to the 2004 Grey Cup. Henry Burris was also 41 when quarterbacking the Ottawa Redblacks to the 2016 Grey Cup, taking over midseason as the starter from then-30-year-old Harris.
That was Harris’ second Grey Cup as a non-starter, having been a third-string CFL rookie behind Ricky Ray on the 2012 Argonauts.
Since joining the Roughriders in 2023, Harris has been the undisputed starter, proving last season to himself and his detractors that he could lead a CFL championship team. Harris missed only one regular-season game last year — after beginning his Riders career with two injury-plagued campaigns — and was named the 2025 Grey Cup MVP after completing 23 of 27 passes for 302 yards in a 25-17 victory over the Montreal Alouettes.
“I just wanna be the best version of myself,” said Harris. “Those guys are obviously in a league of their own. The fact that I’m getting to play in my 40s is, you know, I’m just grateful with my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It’s awesome that He’s blessed me with health and the work ethic and everything that I’ve been able to do to kind of get to this moment.
“I honestly believe my best football is right here in front of me. We’ve got the offensive co-ordinator (Marc Mueller), the personnel and the people to do it. And so I think it’s time to raise the bar even higher.”
For a few weeks following the Grey Cup victory, as he participated in province-wide celebrations alongside teammates and the trophy, Harris wondered if he was going to play again in 2026. A man of faith, Harris also spoke with his family and the Roughriders before deciding he would like to pursue something that has never been done by this franchise — win back-to-back championships.
So he’s back for another season, happy to be working again with Mueller and Mace, nearly ready to reveal the inspirational team mantra he likes to formulate every year and put onto a wristband. Maybe it should be: “40 is the new 30.”
That didn’t pass his muster after Day 1.
“We’ll talk about it afterwards, after we pass out all the wristbands to the team,” said Harris, before raving again about his head coach. “He’s a tremendous leader and I’m just grateful to be under his tutelage.”
Mace just turned 40 in December.
“It was traumatic,” said Mace, a third-year head coach, laughing heartily. “The players told me today I’m officially an ‘unc.’ You know, I’m not young anymore so I can’t say it anymore. I’m loving it though.”
Good luck understanding football logic, where 40 is old for a head coach but not so much for a starting quarterback.
