The Saskatchewan Roughriders couldn’t hope to “run it back” without a big return.
Hence the re-signing of Trevor Harris, who on Nov. 16 quarterbacked the Green and White to a 25-17 Grey Cup victory over the Montreal Alouettes.
Roughriders Vice-President of Football Operations and General Manager Jeremy O’Day announced on Thursday that the reigning Grey Cup MVP has signed a new one-year contract.
Harris had been eligible to test free agency in February, but it was never going to come to that. He was either going to play for Saskatchewan or not play at all.
He could have opted for the storybook, ride-off-into-the-sunset ending — having seen and appreciated one first-hand.
Harris was a member of the Ottawa REDBLACKS when Henry Burris was the victorious quarterback in a 39-33 Grey Cup win over the Calgary Stampeders on Nov. 27, 2016.
Smilin’ Hank earned Grey Cup MVP honours after completing 35 of 46 passes for 461 yards and three touchdowns, including the overtime winner to Ernest Jackson.
It was a fitting farewell performance for Burris, who opted to retire as a player at age 41.
Harris, 39, could have followed that script after completing 23 of 27 passes for 302 yards and directing three touchdown drives in the 2025 Grey Cup Game. But there was never the inclination to step away.
Before leaving Regina for the family’s home in Ohio, Harris told reporters he would be “shocked” if he did not return to the field of play in 2026.
In football, however, you never really know for sure.
On Jan. 8, 1976, George Reed said in an interview that he had signed a one-year contract renewal with the Green and White.
The news had a calming effect until May 31, 1976, when No. 34 shockingly announced his retirement. There had been a change of heart.
Forty years later, to the very day, Trevor Joseph Harris was born at Marion (Ohio) General Hospital. The eight-pound, 14-ounce future CFL legend arrived at 4:48 a.m.
Forty years earlier — again, to the very day — the Regina Roughriders were no more. The team was renamed the Saskatchewan Roughriders at the community-owned team’s annual meeting on May 31, 1946.
It is fitting, then, that Harris will celebrate his 40th birthday in a Roughriders uniform, on a milestone day in franchise history.
Thanks to Harris and his teammates, there will always be a special significance to Nov. 16 — the date of the Roughriders’ fifth Grey Cup win.
He would like to add Nov. 15 (2026) to a list that also includes Nov. 24 (2013), Nov. 25 (2007) and Nov. 26 (1966 and 1989).
“Let’s run it back next year,” Harris told a throng of supporters this past Nov. 18, when the Roughriders’ latest championship was celebrated with a parade and a visit to the Legislative Building.
While articulating that aspiration, Harris stopped short of confirming that he would indeed be in uniform for the Roughriders’ attempt to run it back.
He didn’t want to make an impulsive decision or one that was fuelled by emotion. It was important to ensure that the decision was the best one for his wife (Kalie) and four children (T.J., Trace, Tripp and Livian). There were also discussions to be held with O’Day and the Roughriders’ Head Coach, Corey Mace, to make sure everyone and everything was aligned.
That being done, Director of Communications Arielle Zerr was advised to have a media release ready for Thursday afternoon.
With Harris back in the fold, there is more history to be made.
Only once have the Roughriders advanced to a Grey Cup the year after winning one. That was in 1967, when the Hamilton Tiger-Cats won 24-1.
Harris isn’t one for individual laurels, but hard-boiled historians keep reminding the Roughriders’ quarterback and the team’s unrivalled fans of his ascent up the CFL’s career lists.
In terms of passing yards, Harris is 13th All-Time (with 37,697). Within range in 2026: Doug Flutie (41,355), Tracy Ham (40,534) and Tom Clements (39,041).
Harris is ninth in completions. One spot above him: Ron Lancaster (3,384).
With 204 touchdown passes, Harris stands at 15th. Dieter Brock (210) should be leapfrogged early in the 2026 season.
Accuracy-wise, Harris is second All-Time, at 71.05 per cent.
The key number, though, is this: Harris is 100-per-cent certain to return.
Rider Nation could not have asked for a better gift with Christmas just three weeks away.
