‘Spartan warrior’ Trevor Harris doesn’t believe age will cause his decline with Saskatchewan Roughriders

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Father Time may be undefeated, but he’ll have to win a bare-knuckle boxing match if he wants to take down Trevor Harris.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders’ quarterback is two weeks removed from celebrating his 40th birthday, and knows that members of the media won’t let him forget it. However, he’s drawing inspiration from some of history and cinema’s greatest warriors.

“The movie 300, the Spartan warriors, elite warriors, they served until they were 60, so 40 is not that old,” he said with a chuckle. “Maybe I’m just saying that because I’m 40 now.”

Not even King Leonidas could hold the line against the barrage of questions that Harris has received regarding his age over the past few years. Even in the aftermath of the Riders’ Grey Cup victory last season — a game in which the veteran quarterback was named the MVP and set a new CFL championship record with an 85.2 percent completion rate —  it was that number that he was asked about first and most frequently.

That hasn’t died down ahead of his 14th CFL season and 17th year as a professional, but Harris insists that his body is as strong as ever and that it won’t be age that brings about the end of his journey.

“I feel like it’s been like this the whole time. Every year, it’s like, ‘Well, Trevor’s another year older and probably going to fall off, so he’s probably not as good.’ It’s six months, man,” the QB quipped.

“I’ve been preparing for this stage of my career for the last 10 to 15 years, and so I’ve told people over the last three or four years, five years, that age will not be what makes me decline. It won’t be a physical decline. It’ll be when I want to be done. That’s what I hope. Maybe someday they’ll believe me, but I’m not holding my breath on that.”

There certainly have been no signs of decline on the field, as Harris had one of the best seasons of his career en route to the title game in 2025. The Waldo, Ohio, native completed 348-of-473 passes (73.5 percent) for 4,549 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions — good for his third-highest yardage and touchdown totals as a starter.

Harris has acknowledged contemplating retirement in the past, particularly leading up to the Grey Cup, but there has been no discussion of a swansong season. He remains committed to playing it out until the bitter end and isn’t viewing this season any differently.

“I think that’s one of my superpowers. I just like to play ball, and I like to be the quarterback, I like to lead, and I like to be a part of something bigger than myself. That’s a candle that burns bright, no matter what, and I don’t think it’s one that dwindles down and has nothing left in it,” he said.

“It’s something that I feel just continues to burn bright, and no more evidence of that than last year when we won the Grey Cup, and I didn’t really change how I felt about my career up to this point. I just like to play ball, and so I think I just took that and really verified what I’ve always known about myself.”

The ageless wonder will next put his longevity to the test on Saturday night, when the Riders host the B.C. Lions for their season-opener in a rematch of last year’s Western Final. Kickoff is slated for 7:00 p.m. EDT at Mosaic Stadium.