The Saskatchewan Roughriders have released nine players as part of their mandated mid-training camp cutdown, including American receiver Paul McRoberts and quarterback Troy Williams.
McRoberts first captured the attention of Rider fans during the 2019 preseason, when he caught four passes for 83 yards and a touchdown against Winnipeg. He spent the entire 2019 campaign on the practice roster but became something of a folk hero to the fan base regardless.
The six-foot-three, 192-pound pass-catcher dressed for one regular-season game in 2021, catching four passes for 42 yards. He saw time in both of the Riders’ playoff contests, adding six more receptions for 50 yards.
Prior to the Riders, McRoberts registered 175 receptions for 2,435 yards and 29 touchdowns at Southeast Missouri State (2012-15) where he also played on the basketball team. After going undrafted in the 2016 NFL Draft, he signed with the Los Angeles Rams as a free agent and gained national attention on the NFL reality show Hard Knocks. McRoberts spent two seasons on the Rams practice squad before being released in December of 2018.
Williams spent the last two seasons (2019-21) with the Edmonton Elks, seeing action in two games. The 27-year-old completed one pass for 15 yards and carried the ball 11 times for 26 yards. Following the 2018 NFL Draft, the California native spent time with the Seattle Seahawks and the Los Angeles Chargers.
The six-foot-two, 208-pound passer played two collegiate seasons (2016-17) at the University of Utah, suiting up for 19 games. The former Ute completed 267 passes for 3,569 yards and 17 touchdown passes while adding 151 carries for 310 yards on the ground and another nine majors.
Also released were American defensive backs Stephen Denmark, Josh Nurse, Will Sutherland, and Lavonta Taylor, American defensive lineman Benjamin Davis, National defensive back Vincent Dethier, and National offensive lineman Maurice Simba.
