Regina native Mitchell Picton is a pending CFL free agent and hopes to stay with his hometown Saskatchewan Roughriders.
"I won't be playing anywhere else, I'll tell you that much," Picton said on the SportsCage. "We'll see what happens in the new year. I'm getting up there a little bit in age. We'll see what the new year brings."
The Riders have some decisions to make at the receiver position: KeeSean Johnson, Dohnte Meyers, Joe Robustelli, Samuel Emilus, Kian Schaffer-Baker, Shawn Bane Jr., Tommy Nield and Picton are pending free agents.
Saskatchewan won their fifth Grey Cup when the Green and White beat the Montreal Alouettes 25-17. That win for Picton was the first Grey Cup in his CFL career. Picton elaborated on where he wants to take the Grey Cup.
"Getting it over to the clubhouse at the U of R for the Rams guys. I was letting the guys that are gonna be leaving town and going back home, let them do their thing with the cup, have their time," Mitchell said. "I'm here all winter, so we'll have lots of time to get it out to the places that I want to get to."
The six-foot-one,197-pound receiver dressed 14 games for the Riders, he caught 20 passes for 226 yards. When reflecting on the Grey Cup win, Picton made sure to give appreciation to his loved ones and what they mean to him.
"It was incredible, honestly. We had a lot of fun, but we got a lot of work done as well, which we had to, and then nobody ever does anything by themselves," Picton said.
"To be able to acknowledge my family, who made it up there and came to watch us win it in Winnipeg's building, was pretty special. They've chased me all over the country to watch me play ball, so I certainly haven't done this on my own. It takes a village and I'm certainly no exception to that."
The Blue Bombers hosted the Grey Cup, which the Riders won, and Picton explained what it meant to win in their rivals stadium.
"We've been a part of some tough losses there. Honestly, we've lost the West Final there and things like that. To be able to go into that building and feel like you've got the monkey off your back, go and get a huge win in that building, it felt pretty good," Picton said. "Early in the week, seeing them paint our logo over top of theirs on the field in the end zone, that sort of stuff was cool."
Besides celebrating with the Grey Cup, Picton shares what he will be doing this off-season.
"A lot of the community work at the Roughrider Foundation. We've been busy in schools and stuff like that. A little bit of hunting when I can sneak away," Picton said. "A little bit of hockey here and there, but living in Saskatchewan in the winter, those are the types of things we do. Nothing too out of the ordinary."
