The Saskatchewan Roughriders are preparing for their first game of the season - a Week 2 showdown against the B.C. Lions. (Britton Gray/980 CJME)

‘Prove who we are’: Riders on practice field after bye week

By Britton Gray Jun 9, 2026 | 4:36 PM

While the Saskatchewan Roughriders will unveil a championship banner on Saturday, the current team is only focused on the now.

“We’re a new team. We have to go out there and prove we are still a good team,” Riders head coach Corey Mace said on Tuesday after the team’s first practice of the 2026 CFL regular season.

Read more:

The Saskatchewan Roughriders will open their 2026 season at home against the B.C. Lions on Saturday. Kickoff for the game is set for 5 p.m. The Green Zone pregame show begins at 3 p.m.

Saskatchewan, B.C., and the Toronto Argonauts were all on a bye during the first week of league action.

“Very strange. You get into a nice rhythm during training camp, and then it’s like, ‘Hey, great camp guys,’ and you usually roll right into the regular season. It was like, ‘See you next week,’ and you’re like, ‘Wait, what?,'” quarterback Trevor Harris said.

“You come out here and it’s kind of just get the cobwebs out. We’re fired up that it’s finally game week.

“On the positive note, we only have two bye weeks the rest of the year so only two weeks without Rider games for a while.”

Harris said he wasn’t concerned with the long layoff for the team, whose last pre-season game was on May 23.

“We’re just going to get to work this week and go to work like we always do. During the bye week, it was business as usual — I came in to get some work in and watch some film,” Harris said.

Running back A.J. Ouellette was busy during the time off.

“Moved into a house. Out of the camper and just getting the family up here situated and get the opportunity to spend time with the guys,” Ouellette said.

“I know a lot of the guys went fishing for some team bonding and went out to eat a few times. Brotherhood stuff.”

The game against the B.C. Lions will see a few new faces take the field for the first time in a game that will mean something in the standings.

One of the new players who will start the season with the starting offence will be Jaylen Johnson. The Duluth, Ga., athlete won a starting receiver spot out of training camp. He signed with the Los Angeles Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2024 and had three receptions for 53 yards in a pre-season game.

“He was out early in camp, and he had a really strong showing. He has some juice outside and has experience in the pro game,” Mace said.

“There’s not too much about the kid you don’t like. Unfortunately, he ended up getting banged up a little bit in the second pre-season game but he nursed himself back to health and worked his tail off to get back out here.”

But while the focus is on getting a win on Week 1, Mace acknowledged there is some empty space still next to where the newest banner will go up.

“I’ve seen (the space). We will see what that first (banner) looks like and try to win a game on the weekend,” Mace said.

Notes: Right tackle Jermarcus Hardrick was back with the starting offence. He didn’t participate a lot during the final week of training camp … Running back Quali Conley (24), Johnny Johnson III (88), punter Oscar Champan (91), defensive lineman Liam Hoskins (92) and linebacker Ryder Varga (33) have all changed their jersey numbers following camp.

Read more: