The Saskatchewan Roughriders continued their busy winter of keeping the band together, announcing Friday that quarterback Tommy Stevens has signed a two-year contract extension with the Green and White.
And if you watched the 2025 Grey Cup, you already know why.
The six-foot-four, 245-pound bulldozer was a game-changer in Winnipeg—literally—plowing into the endzone twice and tying a Riders single-game Grey Cup touchdown mark shared by legends Kory Sheets and Geroy Simon.
Stevens suited up for 14 regular-season games last year and put up one of the most efficient short-yardage seasons the club has ever seen. He racked up 183 rushing yards on 50 carries and scored five touchdowns, but the real eye-popper was his conversion rate: 33 first downs on 36 attempts. That’s 91.7 per cent.
Even more impressive? Of the 41 yards the Riders needed from those attempts, Stevens gave them 107, more than double the requirement.
Before arriving in Riderville, Stevens spent three seasons with the Calgary Stampeders, where he carved out a league-wide reputation as one of the CFL’s premier short-yardage threats. In 52 games, he rushed for 685 yards on 160 carries and punched in 25 touchdowns.
Stevens’ road to Saskatchewan took a few turns. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in 2020 and converted to tight end before later returning to quarterback with the Carolina Panthers, where he rushed for 24 yards in his lone NFL game. A stint with the New York Giants followed before he pivoted north to the CFL.
His college days were just as multi-dimensional. At Mississippi State in 2019, Stevens started nine games, throwing for 1,155 yards and 11 touchdowns while adding 381 yards and four more scores on the ground. Before that, he spent three seasons at Penn State, where he not only ran and threw the football but even lined up at receiver, hauling in 14 catches for 62 yards and two touchdowns in 2017.
