The Saskatchewan Roughriders have signed American returner and receiver Mario Alford to a contract extension.
The five-foot-eight, 180-pound speedster returns to the Riders for a fourth season after playing all 18 regular season games in 2024. He recorded 2,071 all-purpose yards, fourth most in the league last season. Alford ranked third in the league in several return categories, punt return yards (801), kickoff return yards (1,077) and average yards per kickoff return (23.9). The Greenville, GA native was one of only three players to score a kickoff return touchdown last year, running one back 101 yards for a major.
Alford’s three seasons with the Green and White have been historic as he rewrites the franchise record book. He currently holds the record for most return touchdowns as a Rider (8), sits tied for first in most punt return touchdowns in a season (3) and a game (2), ranks second in career punt return touchdowns (4), and ranks third in career kickoff return yards (3,248) and kickoff return yards in a season (1,181). In addition, his 10 career return touchdowns, registered for Saskatchewan and the Montreal Alouettes, place him eighth all-time in the CFL.
Alford played all 18 regular season games for the Riders in 2023, earning West Division all-star honours after returning 88 punts for 978 yards, including a 107-yard touchdown. In total, he returned three punts for a touchdown that year, ranking second in the league and tying the Roughriders’ single-season record.
Alford joined Saskatchewan via trade in Week 5 during the 2022 season and went on to be named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Special Teams Player that year. In his second game in Green and White, he ran back a missed field goal 112 yards for a touchdown. The West Virginia University product notched 98 and 92 yard kickoff return touchdowns and a 104-yard punt return TD in his first year with the Riders, becoming the fifth player in CFL history and first Rider to complete the kickoff return touchdown, punt return touchdown, missed field goal return touchdown trifecta in a single season.
Prior to being traded to Saskatchewan, Alford spent two seasons with the Alouettes and played nine games. He returned 26 punts for 486 yards, 18.7 per return, and three touchdowns while adding 22 kickoff returns for 437 yards. Before joining Montreal, he played six games for the Toronto Argonauts, recording seven catches for 57 yards and added 170 yards on eight kickoff returns.
