Rolan Milligan Jr. wants to return to Roughriders, may not be healthy for start of 2027

Photo courtesy: Arthur Ward/CFL.

Rolan Milligan Jr. wants to be back with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2027, though it remains unclear if he will be healthy for the start of the season as he continues to heal from a torn ACL.

“I want to make sure I’m completely healthy and good to go before I just go back on the field,” Milligan Jr. told reporters on Sunday. “It’s a nine-to-12 month injury, nine being the earliest that they’ll clear you. If everything goes right to where it’ll be the nine-month, it’ll be right at the end of training camp, I think, so right before the season.”

The 32-year-old suffered the injury during practice on July 30. Though the Roughriders never formally ruled him out for the rest of the year, head coach Corey Mace told reporters in August that it was “gonna be tough” for Milligan Jr. to return in 2026.

The veteran defender remembers how it felt when he suffered the injury, and didn’t initially suspect it would be so severe.

“I was just making a routine break on the ball. It didn’t really feel like anything crazy, to be honest, so I didn’t think it was what it was, but after the MRI confirmed it, it was just kind of a weird feeling,” he said. “I wasn’t really down about it — I guess kind of in shock, almost — but once I knew what it was, it was just getting over the surgery in the first couple weeks … and then just getting to the rehab.”

The native of Lake Wales, Fla., played only two regular-season games in 2026, recording two defensive tackles. Despite the injury-riddled season, Milligan Jr. fully plans to play again next season, and would like the opportunity to return to Saskatchewan. He’s currently a pending free agent.

“I still got a lot of ball left in me — everybody around the league knows that, so the biggest thing is just getting healthy,” he said. “This is where I want to be at; I don’t want to go nowhere else. I’ve expressed it to everybody in the building, so we’ll see what happens.”

In 55 career regular-season CFL games with the Roughriders, Milligan Jr. has registered 218 defensive tackles, 35 special teams tackles, 14 interceptions, two sacks, one forced fumble, and scored one defensive touchdown. He was named the league’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player in 2024 and has earned two All-CFL selections.