Saskatchewan Roughriders re-sign award-winning returner Mario Alford

The Saskatchewan Roughriders have re-signed return specialist Mario Alford. He was a pending free agent.

The soon-to-be 34-year-old played all 18 regular-season games with the Riders this past season, returning 79 punts for 801 yards, 45 kickoffs for 1,077 yards and one touchdown, and four missed field goals for 187 yards.

The five-foot-eight, 180-pound speedster has recorded one carry for 10 yards, nine catches for 77 yards, 242 punt returns for 2,802 yards, 166 kickoff returns for 3,895 yards, 12 missed field goal returns for 468 yards, and scored 10 total touchdowns over six seasons with Toronto, Montreal, and Saskatchewan. He was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Special Teams Player in 2022 and All-West Division in 2023.

Prior to coming north, the native of Greenville, Ga. was a seventh-round pick in the 2015 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals out of West Virginia University. He spent one year with the team before stints with the New York Jets, Cleveland Browns, and Chicago Bears.