The

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...

season was the 60th season for the team in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

. It was the club's 108th year overall, and its 102nd season of play. The Roughriders improved upon their 5–13 record from 2016 and clinched a playoff spot with a win over the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-old ...

on October 20, 2017. They finished in fourth place in the West Division and crossed over to the East Division playoffs for the third time in franchise history. They won their first ever East Semi-Final game by defeating the

Ottawa Redblacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) ( French: Le Rouge et Noir d'Ottawa) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Startin ...

, but lost the following week to the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

25–21 in the last minute of the game. This was the first season that the Roughriders were playing at their brand new stadium,

Mosaic Stadium Mosaic Stadium is an open-air stadium at REAL District in Regina, Saskatchewan. Announced on July 12, 2012, the stadium replaced Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field as the home field of the Canadian Football League's Saskatchewan Roughriders. It wa ...

, following the previous 95 years at the site of

Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field Taylor Field, known in its latter years as Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field for sponsorship reasons, was an open-air stadium located in Regina, Saskatchewan. It was the home field of the Canadian Football League's Saskatchewan Roughriders from 193 ...

. This was the second season under

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

and

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

Chris Jones. For the fifth consecutive season, the club held their training camp at

Griffiths Stadium Griffiths Stadium is a stadium located on the grounds of the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The current stadium was opened on June 23, 1967 to host the Saskatchewan Huskies football team. There was previously a Griffiths ...

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

with the main camp beginning on May 28.

Offseason

Player transactions

On November 15, 2016, Regina was announced as the host city for the inaugural CFL Week, which took place in March 2017. Regina was the only place besides Toronto to host the CFL's National Combine. On November 28, 2016, the Roughriders announced the signings of Bryan Bennett, Terrance Campbell, Kenny Horsley, and Thomas Mayo. On December 1, 2016, Roughriders running back

Joe McKnight Joseph Nathan McKnight Jr. (April 16, 1988 – December 1, 2016) was an American football running back and return specialist who played in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). He attended the University of Sout ...

was fatally shot in

Terrytown, Louisiana Terrytown is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is on the "Westbank" (to the south) of the Mississippi River. It is a suburb within the New Orleans– Metairie&ndash ...

in a

road rage Road rage is aggressive or angry behavior exhibited by motorists. These behaviors include rude and verbal insults, yelling, physical threats or dangerous driving methods targeted at other drivers, pedestrians or cyclists in an effort to intimid ...

incident. On December 6, 2016, Roughriders defensive end

Eric Norwood Eric Norwood (born May 24, 1988) is a former American football defensive end. He was most recently a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was a member of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL from 2013 to ...

announced his retirement. On December 7, 2016, defensive back

Justin Cox Justin Cox (born December 9, 1992) is a former Canadian football safety. He was most recently a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He attended West Point High School in Mississippi. He played collegiat ...

signed an extension with the Roughriders. On December 19, 2016, Roughriders linebacker

Marvin Golding Marvin may refer to: __NOTOC__ Geography ;In the United States * Marvyn, Alabama, also spelled Marvin, an unincorporated community * Marvin, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Marvin, North Carolina, a village * Marvin, South Dakota, a town * R ...

was suspended two games for violating the CFL's drug policy. On January 3, 2017, the Roughriders announced the signings of Daniel Thomas,

Jordan Reaves Jordan Reaves (born January 25, 1990) is a Canadian football defensive lineman for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Reaves originally played basketball for the Brandon Bobcats of Canadian Interuniversity Sport before makin ...

and

Kelvin Muamba The kelvin, symbol K, is the primary unit of temperature in the International System of Units (SI), used alongside its prefixed forms and the degree Celsius. It is named after the Belfast-born and University of Glasgow-based engineer and phy ...

. On January 6, 2017, the Roughriders announced the extensions of kicker

Tyler Crapigna Tyler Crapigna (born August 4, 1992) is a former professional Canadian football placekicker and is currently the kicker coach for the Carleton Ravens of U Sports. He played CIS football for the McMaster Marauders from 2010 to 2014 and kicked the ...

and defensive back

Ed Gainey Edward C. Gainey (born February 19, 1970) is an American politician who is the 61st mayor of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Previously, he served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 24th district. In November 2021, Gaine ...

through the 2019 season. On January 11, 2017, the Roughriders announced the extension of defensive lineman Jonathan Newsome through the 2018 season. On January 13, 2017, the Roughriders traded the rights of quarterback

Darian Durant Darian Bernard Durant (born August 19, 1982) is a former professional Canadian football quarterback. He played college football at the University of North Carolina. By the end of his college career, he held school records for completion percentag ...

to the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

in exchange for a fourth round selection in the 2017 CFL Draft and a conditional second round selection in the 2018 CFL Draft. The Alouettes would then re-sign Durant to a three-year contract on January 19. On January 14, 2017, the Roughriders released linebacker Jeff Knox, Jr. so he could sign a deal with the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

. On January 20, 2017, the Roughriders announced the extension of defensive lineman

Willie Jefferson Willie Hebert Jefferson III (born January 31, 1991) is a Canadian football defensive end for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Jefferson is a 3-time Grey Cup champion, winning his first ring at the 103rd Grey Cup w ...

. On January 23, 2017, the Roughriders announced the signing of quarterback

Kevin Glenn Kevin Glenn, Jr. (born June 12, 1979) is a former American professional Canadian football quarterback. He was originally signed by the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL) as an undrafted free agent in 2001. He played co ...

, who was released by the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fiel ...

on January 6. This will be Glenn's third stint with the Roughriders. On January 26, 2017, the Roughriders announced the signing of wide receiver

Duron Carter Duron Christopher Carter (born March 22, 1991) is an American professional Canadian football defensive back who is currently a free agent. He was initially a member of the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a wide receiv ...

. The following day, the Roughriders released Dylan Ainsworth,

Shamawd Chambers Shamawd Chambers (born March 10, 1989) is a Canadian football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He most recently played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL). After the 2011 CIS season, he was ranke ...

Mitchell Gale Mitchell Gale (born January 7, 1990) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Abilene Christian University and attended Alva High School in Alva, Oklahoma. Gale has been a member of the Toronto Argonauts, Hamilto ...

and

Curtis Steele Curtis Devon Steele (born March 24, 1987) is a Canadian football running back who is currently a free agent. He was most recently a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He has also played for the Toronto A ...

. Later in the day, the Roughriders signed defensive back Erick Dargan, and released defensive back

Otha Foster Otha Foster III (born September 27, 1988) is an American former professional gridiron football defensive back. He played college football at West Alabama. He has been a member of the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens of the NFL, and the To ...

so he could sign an NFL contract with the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

. On February 14, 2017, the Roughriders signed offensive lineman

Derek Dennis Derek Dennis (born July 16, 1988) is an American professional gridiron football offensive lineman for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Temple. He has also been a member of the Miami Dol ...

. That same day, they signed Canadian running back

Kienan LaFrance Kienan LaFrance (born May 16, 1991) is a professional Canadian football running back for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He made his professional debut for the Ottawa Redblacks, where he won the 104th Grey Cup i ...

. On February 15, 2017, the Roughriders signed Canadian safety

Marc-Olivier Brouillette Marc-Olivier Brouillette (born February 14, 1986) is a retired Canadian football linebacker. He was drafted 23rd overall by the Montreal Alouettes in the 2010 CFL Draft. He played college football for the Montreal Carabins as the team's starting qu ...

, running back

Aaron Milton Aaron Milton (born May 26, 1992) is a Canadian football running back. He was drafted by the Edmonton Eskimos in the second round of the 2014 CFL Draft. He played CIS football at the University of Toronto and attended Sinclair Secondary School in ...

, offensive lineman

Ryan White Ryan Wayne White (December 6, 1971 – April 8, 1990) was an American teenager from Kokomo, Indiana, who became a national poster child for HIV/AIDS in the United States after his school barred him from attending classes following a diagn ...

and 2012 CFL Most Outstanding player, international wide receiver

Chad Owens Chad Owens Sr. (born April 3, 1982) is a former professional Canadian football wide receiver and kick returner. He was most recently a member of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was drafted by the Jacksonville Ja ...

. The next day, the Roughriders signed running back Cameron Marshall and released offensive lineman Andrew Jones. On February 17, 2017, the Roughriders re-signed offensive lineman

Thaddeus Coleman Thaddeus Coleman (born June 20, 1985) is an American professional Canadian football offensive lineman who is currently a free agent. He most recently played for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was signed by the Ariz ...

. On February 20, 2017, the Roughriders released linebacker Korey Jones.

CFL Draft

The 2017 CFL Draft took place on May 7, 2017. The Roughriders had the 2nd overall selection after a 5-13 season in 2016. The Roughriders had nine selections, as they gained three picks and lost one pick in trades. The team also forfeited their 3rd round selection when taking safety Kevin Francis in the 2016 Supplemental Draft.

Preseason

2017 Schedule
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Regular season

Standings

Schedule

CFL, ESPN unveil 2017 U.S. broadcast schedule
/ref>

Post-season

Schedule

Team

Roster

Coaching staff

References

{{Saskatchewan Roughriders seasons Saskatchewan Roughriders seasons 2017 Canadian Football League season by team 2017 in Saskatchewan