McRoberts among nine players released by Roughriders

Three years after signing with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Paul McRoberts’ time with the CFL team appears to have come to end.

The 29-year-old receiver was one of nine players released by the Roughriders on Thursday.

After signing with Saskatchewan in April of 2019, McRoberts spent most of his time in Saskatchewan on the practice roster. He appeared in one game during the 2021 regular season, catching four passes for 42 yards and rushing once for nine yards.

He was targeted once but didn’t have a catch in the Roughriders’ 25-16 pre-season loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Tuesday.

Also cut Thursday were defensive backs Stephen Denmark, Vincent Dethier, Josh Nurse, Will Sutherland and Lavonta Taylor, defensive lineman Benjamin Davis, offensive lineman Maurice Simba and quarterback Troy Williams.

Williams’ departure leaves two quarterbacks — Mason Fine and Jake Dolegala — battling for the backup job behind Cody Fajardo.

Williams completed five of seven pass attempts for 41 yards in the pre-season game against Winnipeg.

The Roughriders are to complete their exhibition slate Friday in Vancouver against the B.C. Lions. Game time on TSN is 8 p.m.

The Green Zone pre-game show starts at 6 p.m., and the post-game show begins immediately after the contest.