Roughriders ink returner Alford to contract extension

One of the CFL’s top returners is returning to Saskatchewan.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders announced Thursday they had signed returner Mario Alford to a one-year contract extension. The 32-year-old product of Greenville, Ga., could have become a CFL free agent Feb. 13.

The Roughriders acquired Alford from the Montreal Alouettes in Week 5 of the 2022 season and he quickly made an impact on Saskatchewan’s special teams.

In his second game with the Green and White, Alford returned a missed field-goal attempt 112 yards for a touchdown. As the season went on, he added a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, a 92-yard kickoff return for a TD, and a 104-yard punt return for a major.

He was just the fifth player in CFL history — and the first Rider ever — to return a kickoff, a punt and a missed field-goal try for touchdowns in a single season. His four return TDs also set a Saskatchewan single-season record.

Alford finished the 2022 campaign with 39 kickoff returns for 1,030 yards, 44 punt returns for 530 yards and three missed field goals for 129 yards. He subsequently was voted the CFL’s most outstanding special-teams player.

In 2023, he had three punt-return TDs to tie a Roughriders single-season record that had been set by Willis Jacox (1991) and matched by Curtis Mayfield (1999) and Corey Holmes (2005).

Alford’s seven career return touchdowns represent another franchise record.

Over the Roughriders’ 18 regular-season games in 2023, Alford returned 88 punts for 978 yards, 51 kickoffs for 1,181 yards and three missed field goals for 107 yards en route to being named a West Division all-star.

He’s the fourth potential free agent whose re-signing has been announced by Saskatchewan this off-season, joining defensive tackle Miles Brown, defensive back Amari Henderson and linebacker C.J. Reavis.

According to the CFL free-agent tracker, 26 other Roughriders currently are eligible to hit the market when it opens in February.