Courtesy: CFL.
Shea Patterson was not offered a contract extension by the Saskatchewan Roughriders following the 2024 CFL season and the 28-year-old remains unsure why.
“I had a heck of a time there, I enjoyed Regina, I think it’s a great city — great football town, great atmosphere, great organization to play for. But as the season went on, just kind of went in another direction and worked out for them,” he told 3DownNation.
According to Patterson, there was a brief conversation about a possible contract extension midway through the campaign. He completed 60 percent of his passes for 1,655 yards with six touchdowns against five interceptions, rushed 38 times for 134 yards and seven scores, and posted a 2-4-1 record in seven starts for Saskatchewan.
“I think for the first time in my football career, it would have been nice to get the same offence, same group of guys, and same feel chemistry-wise, that would have been nice to grow,” Patterson said.
The six-foot, 212-pound passer indicated he did not know how the decision-making played out behind the scenes in Saskatchewan and there was no communication from head coach Corey Mace, nor general manager Jeremy O’Day as to why the team decided to move on.
“Kind of figured that they were going to go in another direction. I have a lot of great friends on that team, I’m happy for them, but we’re in the Grey Cup, whoever we’re playing against, there’s going to be juice to play,” Patterson said.
“I think everybody uses motivation in different ways, and I don’t think that’s ever a bad thing. Anything that can motivate you to be better, be at your best, I’m all for it,” Montreal Alouettes head coach Jason Maas said.
Winnipeg took an interest in Patterson as he signed with the Blue Bombers during CFL free agency in February. However, he was released early in training camp on May 14. Head coach Mike O’Shea told him he was not what the team thought.
Four months later, after signing up for a United Football League combine, Patterson was on a family vacation with his son, Carter, who was born in July 2024 while he was playing for the Roughriders, when Montreal came calling. The University of Michigan product explained why the Alouettes have been consistently competing for Grey Cups under Maas.
“Consistency, work ethic is through the roof, the willingness to put in the work each and every single day. From five in the morning all the way to 10 p.m. at night, I don’t know a lot of teams that are doing that,” Patterson said.
“That’s a big reason why they’ve had the success they’ve had and reason why we’re in the position we’re in right now to go win a Grey Cup. I think the way coach Maas does it, work ethic and competitiveness and drive to be great.”
Patterson dressed in eight games for Montreal during the 2025 regular season. He’s mostly been featured as the team’s short yardage QB, carrying the football 20 times for 45 yards with six majors.
“It was pretty easy to go out there, evaluate him in our practice and be comfortable with him doing it. He’s done a tremendous job acclimating to our offence, understanding it and getting ready every week,” Maas said.
“Shea’s very special in short yardage situations. Once we started practicing them, we noticed right away that he has a niche. Shea was right on time for us, to be quite honest.”
The Saskatchewan Roughriders (13-6) and Montreal Alouettes (12-8) will meet in the 112th Grey Cup at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg on Sunday, November 16 with kickoff scheduled for 6:00 p.m. EST.
The Alouettes defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the East Final by a score of 19-16, while the Roughriders came back to defeat the B.C. Lions in the West Final by a score of 24-21. The teams split their two regular-season meetings, though Montreal franchise quarterback Davis Alexander missed both games due to a hamstring injury.
The weather forecast in Winnipeg calls for a high of two degrees with a mix of sun and cloud. The game will be broadcast on TSN, CTV, and RDS in Canada, CBS Sports Network in the United States, and CFL+ internationally.
This marks the fifth time the Grey Cup will be played in Winnipeg and the second time it will be hosted at Princess Auto Stadium. The venue’s first Grey Cup was held in 2015 when the Edmonton Football Team defeated the Ottawa Redblacks by a score of 26-20 and Michael Reilly was named the game’s Most Valuable Player.
