Photo: Reuben Polansky/3DownNation. All rights reserved.
Canadian receiver Mitch Picton has announced his retirement from professional football after spending nine years with the Saskatchewan Roughriders and winning the 112th Grey Cup.
Picton was selected by the Riders in the fifth round, 37th overall during the 2017 Canadian Draft. He recorded 96 receptions for 1,081 yards with six touchdowns in 64 career regular-season games with the Green and White. The Regina native was also a contributor off the field as a player ambassador for the Saskatchewan Roughrider Foundation.
Picton’s potential with the Roughriders was foreshadowed when he caught two touchdown passes from his cousin, Noah Picton, in the first football game played at new Mosaic Stadium. The Pictons helped the University of Regina Rams defeat the University of Saskatchewan Huskies 37-29 in a test event at the state-of-the-art facility on Saturday, October 1, 2016.
Picton played in the Riders first game at their current home on Saturday, June 10, 2017, which was a pre-season match-up against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He caught two passes for 21 yards before returning to the Rams for a fifth and final Canada West football season.
The former LeBoldus Golden Suns standout spent five seasons (2013-2017) with the Rams, suiting up in 38 U Sports games. He registered 170 catches for 2,447 yards with 24 touchdowns. In 2016, he led Canada West in receptions (58), receiving yards (834) and receiving touchdowns (11) en route to being named a Canada West all-star and first-team All-Canadian.
During his graduating season with the Rams, Picton was also on Saskatchewan’s practice roster. He returned to the practice roster in 2018 before making his CFL regular-season debut on Saturday, July 27, 2019 against the host B.C. Lions.
Picton posted a career-high 25 receptions in 2021 and scored his first CFL touchdown that year. He also established a career single-game best for receptions with eight against the host Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Saturday, November 20, 2021.
In 2023, Picton posted a personal-best 232 receiving yards. One of his 17 catches was a four-yard TD connection with Trevor Harris late in the fourth quarter against Edmonton on July 6, 2023. The successful two-point convert attempt created an 11-11 tie at Mosaic Stadium. A single on the ensuing kickoff gave Saskatchewan a 12-11 victory.
Last season, Picton caught 20 passes for 226 yards in 14 regular-season games. Seven of those receptions were registered against the visiting Calgary Stampeders on July 12. He also wore No. 81 on Sunday, November 16 for the 112th Grey Cup game as Saskatchewan defeated the Montreal Alouettes 25-17 at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg.
His time with the Roughriders includes the team’s establishment of the Saskatchewan Roughrider Foundation, which he has represented by visiting schools across the province and speaking with youngsters about literacy via the Rider Reading program and mental health through Win With Wellness.
Picton and his wife, Kaylee, are year-round residents of Regina.
