Riders bring back Pete Robertson for 2023 season

The Saskatchewan Roughriders are bringing a Texas-sized piece of their defensive puzzle back for the 2023 season.

The CFL club announced Saturday it had signed defensive end Pete Robertson to a contract extension. Robertson was set to become a free agent on Feb. 14. The Riders now have 25 players whose contracts are to expire that day.

Robertson, a product of Longview, Texas, was a dominant force coming off the edge for the Riders’ defence last season. He had seven sacks in four games and was leading the CFL at that point. In the Riders’ fifth game of the season against the Ottawa Redblacks, Robertson suffered a foot injury.

After missing six weeks, Robertson returned to the lineup, but only recorded two sacks in his final nine games. Despite missing four games, Robertson finished the season ranked fourth in the league in sacks.

Robertson initially signed with the Riders in 2020, but didn’t appear until 2021 due to the cancelled 2020 campaign. He played in 10 games in 2021, registering five sacks.

Prior to joining the Riders, the former Texas Tech Red Raider had NFL stints with the Seattle Seahawks (2016), Washington football team (2017-18) and Arizona Cardinals (2018-19).

The announcement of Robertson’s return to the Roughriders comes four days after the team cut veteran defensive end A.C. Leonard, who still had a year left on his contract. That move likely was made because Leonard reportedly was due a $40,000 bonus on Wednesday.

Shortly after the news broke of Leonard’s release, he signed with the Edmonton Elks.