‘Trending in the right direction’: Corey Mace gives Saskatchewan Roughriders health update leading into West Final

Every Monday on the SportsCage, we talk with a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders coaching staff. Teagan Witko and Dave Thomas chatted with this week's guest, head coach Corey Mace. 

The Riders used their last two regular-season games to rest some starters and fans want to know the status of the team's health heading into the West Final.

"Everything's trending in the right direction, which is excellent, and is what you hope for," Mace said on 620 CKRM. "Certainly, some guys may need a little bit extra rest for the thought process to make the playoff push. Ultimately, let's see how everybody's doing when they're out there practicing. We're going to have to make decisions that put the best team out there. From what we were hoping, everything's trending in the right direction, which is awesome."

One player who was brought up was quarterback Tommy Stevens, who has been dealing with a knee injury. The last game he played was in Week 17 against the Edmonton Elks.

"He's in that group of everything's trending in the right direction. A tremendous weapon for us in those short-yardage situations. We'll put the best team out there," Mace said. "If he's not where he needs to be, then we'll have to go a different route there. But if he is good to go, which things seem to be trending the way that we want, then certainly he'll be out there. So we'll see."

Saskatchewan lost its last two regular season games, the first in Week 20 against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 17-16, then in Week 21 against the B.C. Lions 27-21.

"The last couple of weeks were crucial for us I think moving forward, not only to get some other guys some extra reps, but for us to continue our process and try to find ways to be better as a team. It didn't really turn out how we wanted in the win category, but I thought there was a lot of really good tape for us to learn from," Mace explained. "I was pretty pleased, to be honest with you, outside of not getting the wins, but pretty pleased with the team and their effort."

In 2025, the Green and White finished with a 12-6 record, which earned Saskatchewan the best record in the West Division. That means the Riders can host the West Final, and the last time they did that was in 2019.

"The guys got a couple of days off here to rest up and relax. We'll be getting after it here in a couple of days," Mace said. "Coaches were in the office doing our due diligence, looking at some things that we liked and didn't like for ourselves throughout the season. And then trying to prepare for the potential of either opponent. So working away like a regular day."

Meanwhile, the CFL announced Monday Saskatchewan will host the 2027 Grey Cup.

"I'm elated, like anybody else in the province, that we get to host a big game here, but dialed on what's happening right now," Mace said. "I haven't really given much thought other than it's going to be a sweet party here."

Saskatchewan waits to see who they will play in the West Final as the Calgary Stampeders travel to BC Place to take on the B.C. Lions in the West Semi-Final on Saturday. 

“We can't control anything that's going to happen prior to whoever wins the game. We can do our due diligence and try to prepare for both,” Mace said. “We'll come together as a team. We'll take the game in and watch it a little bit, trying to watch it a little bit as a fan, which is almost impossible to do with a bunch of football minds. You're always going to be watching it with a different lens, but we'll do that together and we'll see where that leads us.”