Riders sign Shawn Bane Jr. to two-year extension

CFL.ca Staff

REGINA — The Saskatchewan Roughriders made sure that one of the best receivers eligible to become a free agent in less than two weeks would not hit the market.

The Riders have signed American receiver Shawn Bane Jr. to a two-year contract extension, the team announced on Thursday. Bane Jr. was eligible to become a free agent on February 13 and was listed as No. 24 on CFL.ca’s top 30 pending free agents list.

Bane Jr. (five-foot-nine, 178 pounds) enjoyed a breakout season for the Roughriders in 2023, writing himself into the Rider history books along the way. The speedy receiver played all 18 games last season and made 93 receptions, ranking eighth all-time in Roughrider history. He tallied 1,104 yards, the highest total by a first-year Rider receiver since Weston Dressler in 2008, while averaging 11.9 yards per catch and adding four aerial touchdowns. A go-to target for the quarterback, the 28-year-old had four 100+ yard games last season (Weeks 2, 8, 19 and 20) and was the first Roughrider to have two-10 reception games (Weeks 7 and 8) since 2017.

Bane Jr. initially joined the Roughriders in February of 2023, after spending the previous three seasons (2020-2022) with the Calgary Stampeders. Over that time, he played in 13 games with the Stamps, making 24 receptions for 388 yards and two touchdowns. He also returned 25 punts for 262 yards and 14 kickoffs for 294 yards. Prior to playing in the CFL, the Florida signed with the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent following the 2019 NFL Draft and attended training camp with the team.

Collegiately, he played four seasons (2015-2018) at Northwest Missouri State. He logged 212 catches for 3,363 yards and 31 touchdowns over 48 games, and added 58 kickoff returns for 1,286 yards and 74 punt returns for 878 yards. Two of the punt returns produced a TD. Bane Jr. earned Second-Team All-MIAA honours as a receiver in all four of his seasons as a Bearcat.

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