Riders release pending free agent receiver Kenny Stafford

Veteran CFL receiver Kenny Stafford is destined for the free agent market, which opens on Tuesday, February 9 at noon eastern time.

Stafford tweeted on Wednesday, January 20: Welp I’ll be in free agency. Just hours later the Saskatchewan Roughriders officially released the veteran pass catcher.

Riders general manager Jeremy O’Day traded for Stafford in August 2019, sending returner Christion Jones to Edmonton in exchange for the University of Toledo product.

Stafford has played in 70 career games catching 194 passes for 2,626 yards and 18 touchdowns, averaging 13.5 yards per reception. The 30-year-old has spent time in Calgary, Montreal and Edmonton during his seven years in the CFL, helping the EE Football Team win the Grey Cup in 2015.

After four years in the NCAA with the Toledo Rockets, Stafford went unselected in the 2012 NFL Draft. He had a training camp stint with the Atlanta Falcons prior to coming north of the border to play in Canada.