Taylor Shire
Regina Leader-Post
Some questions were answered while other remain a mystery after the Saskatchewan Roughriders played their first CFL pre-season contest of 2026.
While the Green and White lost 20-15 to the Calgary Stampeders on Monday afternoon in the exhibition contest, there were a few bright spots for Saskatchewan. There are also a few things left to be resolved in the second and final pre-season game on Saturday in Saskatoon against Winnipeg.
Here are the top 10 takeaways from the pre-season opener:
1. Jack Coan is clearly the frontrunner to win the backup quarterback job behind Trevor Harris. Coan, in his third year, played the entire first half and while he made a few nice plays with his arm and his legs, there were other plays that left something to be desired. A bad decision on a dump pass led to an early interception while some other throws in the game looked forced or were completely off target. That’s not uncommon for a younger quarterback but if he wants to keep progressing, his awareness in the pocket and patience on throws needs work. But one game like this doesn’t move him up or down the depth chart.
2. Behind him, while Tommy Stevens got limited action, rookie Brayden Schager also had an up-and-down game. Calgary also had backups in for the second half but Schager, like Coan, had some good and bad, with his arm and legs. He led Saskatchewan to an impressive touchdown drive in the final minute and is clearly in the mix for a roster spot, especially since Saskatchewan already released rookie QB Jordan McCloud, who was the fourth pivot at the start of camp.
3. Mathew Sexton was a late addition to camp, signing on May 12, but he was Saskatchewan’s best receiver on Monday. The 28-year-old, who ran a 4.4-second 40-yard dash in 2020, led the team with five catches for 78 yards. Has he come out of nowhere to become the leader to win Saskatchewan’s vacant starting receiver spot? His speed is hard to ignore.
4. Based on this game alone, you might have to say yes. But those decisions are based on a number of things, including CFL experience. Siaosi Mariner has the most CFL experience but he didn’t have a catch on two targets; one of which was not catchable. Abdul Janneh, who was on Saskatchewan’s practice roster last year, had three catches for 44 yards and is another leading candidate even if he had a drop on Monday. So too is Juwann Winfree, who had three catches for 35 yards. It looks like there’s some talent at that position and now there’s one game left to decide who will make the opening-day roster.
5. Did we get any clarification in the Canadian receiver spot? I’m going to say no. Dhel Duncan-Busby, the frontrunner to be the third Canadian starter, had one catch for nine yards while Daniel Wiebe, an early training camp standout, wasn’t targeted but did see action in the return game. I was hoping to see more on him on Monday in the offence.
6. I’m not sure we got answers as the defensive end spot either. With James Vaughters not playing, there was plenty of opportunity for some rookies. Chico Bennett, Kendy Charles and Davin Vann notched sacks while Desmond Evans, considered a favourite for the spot, missed a pair of sack attempts. This will be a battle that could be decided on Saturday against the Bombers, with backup spots also available.
7. First-round pick Malcolm Bell made a nice pass knockdown in the second quarter. He said last week in camp he wants to be a starter this season and while it won’t necessarily be in Week 1, you could see his talent in the limited action he got on Monday. Hard to say for sure just yet, but this looks like a good pick for the Riders.
8. How about the kicking battle? With Brett Lauther no longer around and Michael Hughes a surprise early camp cut, Jonathan Kim and Alex Hale are battling for the job. Kim made both of his kicks while Hale was one-for-two, with his miss coming from 56 yards. Hale also averaged 72 yards on two kickoffs while Kim had a 59-yard kickoff. This is another battle that will come down to the second half of training camp although I think it’s Kim’s job at this point.
9. As for the other positions, with more than a dozen starters out, there weren’t many other positional battles that really stood out. JuJu Hughes had a solid night in the defensive backfield as he was all over with six tackles while at punter, Jesse Mirco solidified his job as the starter. He had an impressive 77-yard punt on Saskatchewan’s first drive while Oscar Chapman, the other punter in camp, booted a 39 yarder out of bounds on his first punt. Mirco, who took over as Saskatchewan’s starter midway through last season, ended with a 48-yard average on three punts while Chapman averaged 41 yards on two attempts.
10. We also got to see the CFL’s new rules in play on Monday. Mirco’s first punt went through the end zone, but no rouge was awarded, which is the new rule if a returner doesn’t down the ball in the end zone. Watching on the CFL’s livestream, I admittedly didn’t notice much of a difference with the new 35-second play clock though. Maybe that’s the point. Did you?
tshire@postmedia.com
