Mitch Picton retires after winning 112th Grey Cup with Saskatchewan Roughriders

Photo: Reuben Polansky/3DownNation. All rights reserved.

Canadian receiver Mitch Picton has announced his retirement from professional football after spending nine years with the Saskatchewan Roughriders and winning the 112th Grey Cup.

General manager Jeremy O’Day said Picton was leaning towards retirement in February.

Picton was selected by the Riders in the fifth round, 37th overall during the 2017 Canadian Draft. He recorded 96 receptions for 1,081 yards with six touchdowns in 64 career regular-season games with the Green and White. The Regina native was also a contributor off the field as a player ambassador for the Saskatchewan Roughrider Foundation.

Picton’s potential with the Roughriders was flashed when he hauled in two touchdown passes from his cousin, Noah Picton, in the first football game played at new Mosaic Stadium. The Pictons helped the University of Regina defeat the University of Saskatchewan Huskies 37-29 in a test event at the state-of-the-art facility on Saturday, October 1, 2016.

The six-foot-one, 197-pound Picton played in the Riders first game at their current home on Saturday, June 10, 2017, which was a pre-season match-up against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He caught two passes for 21 yards and then returned to the Rams for a fifth and final Canada West football season.

The former LeBoldus Golden Suns standout spent five seasons (2013-2017) with the Rams, suiting up in 38 U Sports games. He registered 170 catches for 2,447 yards with 24 touchdowns. In 2016, he led the Canada West conference in receptions (58), receiving yards (834) and receiving touchdowns (11) en route to being named a Canada West all-star and a first-team All-Canadian.

During his graduating season with Regina, Picton was also on Saskatchewan’s practice roster. He returned to the practice roster in 2018 and made his CFL regular-season debut on Saturday, July 27, 2019 against the host B.C. Lions.

Picton posted a single-season career-high 25 receptions in 2021 and scored his first CFL touchdown that year. He also established a single-game career best for receptions with eight against the host Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Saturday, November 20, 2021.

In 2023, Picton produced a single-season personal-best 232 receiving yards. One of his 17 catches was a four-yard touchdown connection with Trevor Harris late in the fourth quarter against Edmonton on Thursday, July 6, 2023. After a successful two-point convert attempt tied the game 11-11, a single on the ensuing kickoff gave Saskatchewan a 12-11 victory.

Last season, Picton caught 20 passes for 226 yards in 14 regular-season games. Seven of his receptions were registered against the visiting Calgary Stampeders on Saturday, July 12. He dressed on Sunday, November 16 for the 112th Grey Cup as Saskatchewan defeated the Montreal Alouettes 25-17 at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg.

His time with the Roughriders includes the team’s establishment of the Saskatchewan Roughrider Foundation, which he has represented by visiting schools across the province and speaking with youngsters about literacy via the Rider Reading program and mental health through Win With Wellness.

The 30-year-old Picton and his wife, Kaylee, are year-round Regina residents.