O’Day set to begin work on Riders’ lengthy free-agent list

Saskatchewan Roughriders general manager Jeremy O’Day has his own list to worry about at this time of year.

O’Day’s work has already started when it comes to planning how the 2022 edition of the Riders could be shaped. The first steps are whittling down the list of more than 50 players who are eligible to become CFL free agents in February.

“The free-agent list is pretty big and I think we’ve discussed this over the last three or four years with the differences in one-year contracts,” O’Day said Tuesday at Mosaic Stadium. “We’re also coming off a (2020) season where we didn’t play (due to COVID-19) and that probably added to it. We have some players that had signed coming into 2020 that only played a season for us and are now free agents.

“It’s a little bigger than years past but not that much bigger. A lot has to do with the salary cap age and one-year contracts and that’s the reality of what we are dealing with.”

O’Day also noted a new collective bargaining agreement for the 2022 season could affect things, with players and teams choosing to hold off on signings until that is worked out.

“You’re not sure what the CBA looks like or what the (salary) cap would be. From a player and agent standpoint, you would like to know where that would be,” O’Day said.

With more than 50 players nearing the end of their contracts, there are a number of key names who will need a new contract to stay in Saskatchewan.

Those include: Safety Loucheiz Purifoy, the Riders’ nominee for the CFL award as most outstanding defensive player; defensive end A.C. Leonard, the CFL’s sack leader; and, slotback Duke Williams.

Williams joined the team late in the season, playing his first game on Oct. 23.

In five regular-season games, Williams caught 17 passes for 285 yards and a touchdown. He was also a factor in the playoffs, catching nine passes for 163 yards and a touchdown in two games.

“We want our good players back. Duke was able to come in and it’s not an easy situation when you join a team in the middle or later in the year and establish yourself in the locker room,” O’Day said. “Duke didn’t have to say much. He established himself at practice and it was evident from his first time on the field that he was going to be a good player for us.

“We certainly would like him back and he has expressed his interest to come back and he enjoyed his time here.”

One player the Riders don’t have to worry about signing is quarterback Cody Fajardo, who is signed through the 2022 season.

“Cody is our starting quarterback so it’s nice to know he’s under contract and he’s coming back. He’s got a full year under working with Coach (Jason) Maas and he had a younger group around him and gave them a full year of experience,” O’Day said. “It’s nice to know he’s coming back.”

When asked about the backup quarterback position — a spot shared by Mason Fine and Isaac Harker in 2021 — O’Day said the team likes to have two good quarterbacks on the roster.

“More times than not, teams that have had two good quarterbacks, it has been beneficial for them and they certainly haven’t looked back saying they wish they didn’t have an experienced guy behind their starter,” O’Day said. “We feel good about Mason Fine. We only have a small sample size but we’ve done a lot of work to get him here.

“We will always explore opportunities to make our team better. If we feel there is a quarterback that intrigues us, then we will definitely explore that, but we feel good about Mason.”

While the 2022 season will have the unique opportunity to play in a Grey Cup game at Mosaic Stadium, O’Day said that doesn’t change how he and his team will attack the off-season.

“Just with how we’ve finished the last two years, when you get so close and a step away from going to the Grey Cup and hopefully winning, that’s all the pressure you need,” said O’Day, whose team lost in each of the past two West Division finals.

“We have expectations on what we’re trying to accomplish and we’ve been close the past two years but not close enough.”