‘That’s where I felt my heart was’: Saskatchewan Roughriders’ QB Trevor Harris never wanted to leave Montreal Alouettes

Photo courtesy: Matt Smith/SportsCage/Harvard Media

Somewhere in an alternate universe, Trevor Harris is preparing for the 112th Grey Cup in a Montreal Alouettes uniform.

The 39-year-old quarterback has embraced the green and white of the Saskatchewan Roughriders with his whole soul since signing with the organization, but it was never part of the plan. Harris won the starting quarterback job in Montreal in 2022 and had every intention of staying there for years to come, before fate intervened.

“It killed me. It was really, really tough, because I didn’t really necessarily want to go anywhere,” Harris recalled this week. “The writing was on the wall in terms of where the organization was at with no owner. We didn’t know what was happening, and I have a family to take care of.”

Alouettes’ majority owner Sid Spiegel passed away ahead of the 2021 season, having never witnessed his team play a game. His estate controlled the team for two years before electing to pull the plug, severing all funding going into the 2023 offseason.

While the CFL eventually took stewardship of the franchise on the eve of free agency, general manager Danny Maciocia was unable to offer players any money in the weeks leading up to it. That included his franchise pivot.

“There were a lot of unknowns. Total transparency, there was a point in time I didn’t even know if there would be a franchise in Montreal with all that took place,” Maciocia explained, noting that other star players like Eugene Lewis and Adarius Pickett also left as a result.

“We went back and forth, and I had conversations with (Harris’) agent. Deep down inside, I wasn’t able to offer him anything, and even if I did, I knew that I couldn’t sign off on it. At some point in time, Trevor’s got to do what’s best for Trevor and his family.”

The Saskatchewan Roughriders offered a rather attractive life raft for Harris, but he left a piece of himself on the sinking ship.

The CFL veteran arrived in Montreal midway through 2021 via trade from the Edmonton Elks after a tumultuous final season with the team. He says that experience, which included rampant organizational chaos, a neck injury, and an unceremonious benching, tested him personally, professionally, and spiritually. His love of the game was eroded, but the Alouettes were a salvation.

“For Danny Maciocia to trade for me, and for (former head coach) Khari Jones to be the way he was when I was there, it brought joy back to the game. I had a terrible time playing football in 2021 before I got to Montreal, and when I got there, I enjoyed playing football again,” Harris said.

“They were the only team that was even willing to bring me back and offer me any contract. When I went back there, they knew who I was, and then Danny believed in me to hand me the keys to the franchise in terms of being the quarterback there. It’s something that I’ll never forget.”

Harris started the final three games of the 2021 season for Montreal in place of an injured Vernon Adams Jr., plus the team’s playoff game. After signing a one-year extension, he took over the starting job from VA early the next season, throwing for 4,157 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. The Waldo, Ohio native led the Alouettes to a playoff victory and came up one touchdown short of leading them to the Grey Cup.

With the hiring of Jason Maas as head coach that offseason, all signs pointed to the start of something special. Quarterback and coach spoke regularly in anticipation of an extension that would never come for reasons outside of both of their control.

“I’ve always had the utmost respect for Trevor, and I understood completely where he was coming from, because uncertainty in this profession isn’t ever good,” Maas recalled. “When you can be provided with some certainty in your life, for your family, I understand that. I wish we had had more time to afford him to make a different decision.”

“After the decision is made, and he made the decision to move on, there isn’t much to be said from there but ‘Good luck.’ From there, your relationship just goes a different way.”

Harris struggled with the decision largely because of the impactful relationships he had built over such a brief period.

“It was really hard because of how much love and admiration and respect I have for not only Danny Maciocia, but for Jason Maas. That’s where I felt my heart was, and I owe a lot to Montreal,” he said.

“Maciocia will always have a great place in my heart. I love that man. He’s awesome and really grateful for him, because the City of Montreal is where I brought joy back to playing the game of football.”

Harris’ departure proved to be a pivotal moment for both parties. Left without any other options in the offseason QB carousel, the Alouettes brought in former Saskatchewan starter Cody Fajardo. New owner Pierre-Karl Peladeau restored stability to the organization, and Maas sparked an on-field renaissance, leading the team to a Grey Cup victory in his first season at the helm. Fajardo was named the MVP of that game after firing up the team with a now-iconic pre-game speech.

Things did not go as well initially for the man who left, as the Riders missed the playoffs after Harris suffered a season-ending tibial plateau fracture. Rather than wallow in bitterness, he was thrilled for his former teammates.

“You’re excited for those guys; they’re a great group. It was fun to watch them,” he said. “We knew that we were close in ’21 and ’22, and we were within striking distance in a close one against Toronto that we lost in the East final that year. It was just a matter of getting over the hump. I feel like they did a great job.”

Two years later, Harris is ready to get his own glory. The arrival of head coach Corey Mace and offensive coordinator Marc Mueller in Saskatchewan after that brutal 2023 season began a new chapter in Riders history, with their steady-handed pivot playing some of the best football of his 14-year CFL career.

Awaiting him on Sunday in a game that could make or break his legacy are those same Alouettes, this time led by a fiery young QB in Davis Alexander, whom he mentored as a rookie in 2022. It’s the type of cosmic alignment that someone as devout as Harris can only explain through divine intervention.

“It’s a total God moment, because I couldn’t be more happy with where I’m at, and I know they couldn’t be happier with who they have at the helm there,” he said. “We never know exactly what is happening in the current moment, but God does.”

“The way God ordained those moments, I couldn’t be more thankful that I came to Saskatchewan, and I get to be the quarterback here. I know that it worked out well for them. They have won a Grey Cup since, and they have the guy for their future who’s going to play probably long after me.”

On that point, Maciocia agrees. He has nothing but praise for Harris as a player and human being, but believes everyone ended up where they were meant to be.

“That situation led to where we are now. And listen, it worked out for him, and it worked out for us in the end,” he said. “I’ll chalk it up as a positive experience, and I always enjoy seeing him now when we face off against one another.”

Despite his sentimentality about what Maas, Maciocia, and Montreal meant to him, there will be no questioning Harris’ allegiance come kickoff. He’s a Rider through and through — nothing else matters.

“I have one goal to accomplish, and I want to get my teammates to raise that Cup over their heads,” he emphasized. “I want us to have more points than the other team, doesn’t matter who it is.”

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 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.