The Saskatchewan Roughriders have a critical decision to make at the quarterback position: re-sign Trevor Harris or find another legitimate starter.
The 38-year-old, who turns 39 on May 31, has a contract that expires in February, which gives the Riders time to decide how the franchise wants to proceed at the most important position in football. It’s worth noting Harris made $491,000 this past season and $500,000 in 2023, which totals nearly $1 million through two years in Riderville.
“We just started the evaluation process. Our year ended, then we went to Grey Cup. The coaches turn their evaluations in like we do every year and then we have those discussions that are happening this week,” O’Day said.
“We haven’t made a decision on any of the players yet, as far as who’s coming back, who we want back. Doesn’t mean that we do want them back or we don’t want them back.”
Harris completed 260-of-359 passes (72.4 percent) for 3,264 yards, 20 touchdowns, and nine interceptions in 12 starts between missing six games with a left MCL knee injury. He led the CFL in passer efficiency rating at 108.4 and was named the league’s top performer in both August and September while being named a West Division all-star.
“Playing at that level after coming back from an injury is very impressive. To be a division all-star after missing six games is quite impressive, especially at the quarterback position. I thought it was awesome how he persevered going through an injury this year,” O’Day said.
“We love Trevor and those are discussions that we’ll have moving forward, but nothing to report right now. Trevor is everything that you see on a regular basis when he speaks, when he’s in the huddle, when he’s in the locker room, when he’s home with his family — he’s a true leader.”
Harris joined the Riders as a free agent entering the 2023 season but played only five games in his first campaign due to suffering a tibial plateau fracture. After undergoing surgery and extensive rehab, he returned as the team’s starter in 2024. O’Day brought him in and recognizes the impact No. 7 has made for the Green and White.
“There’s not enough weight that we can put on what he does for the organization. Someone that came here two years ago, the impact that he has on the younger players, his work ethic, his preparation that most people wouldn’t see, the amount of time that he spends communicating with Marc [Mueller] — tremendous person,” O’Day said.
There appears to be signs pointing to the Riders re-signing Harris even with Vernon Adams Jr. available on the trade market and pending free agents with other teams. Lions’ general manager Ryan Rigmaiden stated publicly Adams Jr. will be traded this offseason after deciding to proceed with Canadian Nathan Rourke as the team’s QB1 entering 2025.
“If you want to know if I’ve talked to B.C., I have not,” O’Day said. “We’ll wait and see what happens with whether they reach out or not. I haven’t had any conversation with them up until this point. I don’t want to talk about players that are under contract with other teams.”
