TORONTO — Mario Anderson Jr. won’t be helping the Saskatchewan Roughriders defend their Grey Cup title.

The American running back was among 19 players released by Saskatchewan on Saturday as CFL teams made their final cuts ahead of the start of the 2026 regular season.

The five-foot-eight, 205-pound Anderson appeared in nine regular-season games with Saskatchewan last year. He ran for 134 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries (5.6-yard average) while adding four catches for 13 yards.

But Anderson finished his rookie CFL season on the one-game injured list for Saskatchewan’s 25-17 Grey Cup victory over the Montreal Alouettes.

He appeared in both pre-season games for Saskatchewan this spring when he ran 10 times for 65 yards while adding three catches for 18 yards.

CFL teams must get their active rosters down to 44 or 45 players, with a minimum of 21 being Canadian.

A maximum of 19 players, excluding quarterbacks, can be American with a minimum of one player from outside North America (global).

Canadian defensive lineman Benoit Marion was placed on the one-game injured list while offensive lineman Darius Bell and receiver Dylan Djete, also both Canadian, went on the six-game injured list.

Saskatchewan also placed 13 players on the practice roster, including global Tyron Vrede, who signed with the ‘Riders in February following five seasons with the Ottawa Redblacks.

The Riders begin their Grey Cup defence June 13 hosting the B.C. Lions.

The Montreal Alouettes also released 19 players, including quarterbacks James Morgan and Canadian Arnaud Desjardins.

Morgan appeared in 10 games last season with the CFL club, completing 55-of-93 passes for 547 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions. The six-foot-four, 229-pound quarterback from Green Bay, Wisc., also ran six times for 17 yards.

The six-foot-15, 215-pound Arnaud played collegiately at Laval and signed with Montreal on May 18. The Montreal native was the RSEQ’s most valuable player in 2024 and 2025.

The Alouettes also placed 13 players on their practice roster. Montreal kicks off the ’26 season Thursday on the road against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

Receiver Jackson Tachinski’s bid to make the hometown Winnipeg Blue Bombers roster ended on a disappointing note as he was among 25 players released by the squad. The six-foot-four, 215-pound Tachinski played quarterback at Manitoba but was attempting to make the positional switch in the pro ranks.

He joined the Bombers earlier this month after being released by the Edmonton Elks. But a more surprising move was Winnipeg’s release of American offensive lineman Kendall Randolph, who started all 18 regular-season games last season.

Randolph spent two seasons with Winnipeg, starting 23-of-24 games. The six-foot-five, 306-pound offensive lineman played collegiately at Alabama and was a member of the Crimson Tide squad that beat Ohio State 52-24 in the ’21 American college championship game.

The Ottawa Redblacks released 16 players, including veteran American defensive lineman Dylan Wynn. The six-foot-one, 290-pound Wynn signed as a free agent following two seasons with Montreal.

Wynn, 32, also spent time in the CFL with Toronto (2017-19) and Hamilton (2019, 2021-23), winning a Grey Cup with the Argos as a rookie.

Ottawa placed 13 players on its practice roster. The Redblacks open their season Saturday hosting the Edmonton Elks.

Among the 20 players released by the Calgary Stampeders was receiver Kaylon Horton, who appeared in eight games last season, his first in the CFL. He had a catch for 21 yards but also returned 33 punts for 285 yards and had 19 kickoff returns for 446 yards.

American running back Deonta McMahon, who spent the previous three seasons with Toronto, was among 12 players to join Calgary’s practice roster. The Stampeders host Winnipeg on Friday night.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 30, 2026.