During the holiday season, C.J. Reavis’ girlfriend had a dream he’d be playing for a red team, and it turned into real life.
The two-time CFL all-star was a key veteran piece for the Saskatchewan Roughriders as the team won the 112th Grey Cup. He was voted the best at his favoured strong-side linebacker position for two seasons in a row. However, after Canadians Nelson Lokombo and Jaxon Ford went down with injuries, the 30-year-old moved to safety.
“Antoine Brooks is my little brother, but he’s a baller, and I know a baller when I see a baller. Since the first day he got to camp, he’s making plays — he does it all. Antoine is one of the best athletes I’ve ever been around. I feel like he didn’t need much coaching from me; he needed little stuff, little details being more of a pro, but his ability is top-notch,” Reavis told 3DownNation.
“When they asked me to move, I knew we weren’t going to lose the playmaking ability that much because he knew how to make plays. He was such a sponge. He came to me, he asked questions whenever he didn’t understand something. He grew a lot from being a backup, special teams guy to playing and counting on him to make plays. As you can see, he made plays throughout the whole end of the season and playoff games.”
Week 18 was when Reavis slid back to safety, and Brooks Jr. started his first career CFL game at strong-side linebacker. That came against the Ottawa Redblacks; little did Reavis know TD Place would become his future home. Brooks Jr. undercut a Dru Brown pass and took it back 85 yards for an interception touchdown in Saskatchewan’s 20-13 win on Friday, October 3. His playmaking ability and consistency allowed Reavis to become expendable.
“After the season, I was told they were going to start talking about deals with my agent, but it went quiet for a while. When I saw people getting signed, I knew, I felt it on my own; I didn’t have to hear anything. I didn’t hear from anybody until Kyle Carson finally gave me a call and let me know what it might end up being,” Reavis said.
“He let me know that he loves me and that I outplayed myself; it’s not a bad thing, it’s actually a good thing. You have established as a great player in the league, so now you earn a certain amount of money. If your team’s best interest is to not do that, I understand business. I get it, he’s younger, he’s cheaper, and he can play ball.”
The 27-year-old Brooks Jr. has one more year left on his CFL rookie contract at minimum salary around $75,000, while Reavis earned approximately $120,000 in 2025. The 30-year-old initially signed with Saskatchewan in April 2022. He played 55 games with the Riders, recorded 209 defensive tackles, 11 special teams stops, nine sacks, six forced fumbles and two interceptions.
“Honestly, I saw the writing on the wall. I wasn’t really too upset about it. Obviously, it hurt. They brought me to Canada — changed my whole life. I’m forever indebted to Kyle and J.O. for that. But it definitely hurt seeing that you make a move for the team betterment and then at the end it gives you the short end of the stick,” Reavis said.
“It was a little bit before the window. [Kyle] knew I hadn’t heard from anybody. He knew what kind of person I was. He knew I took it to heart a little bit, but let me know, ‘We all love you.’ He was trying to get me back; they wanted me back, but it might not be for what I want to come back for. He gave me the real on that, so I appreciated him.”
Reavis entered CFL free agency for the first time when the communication window opened. The Toronto Argonauts wanted him to play safety, but he wasn’t into it. B.C. wanted him to join the Lions, although he ultimately chose the Redblacks mainly due to “comfortability” with the coaching staff. Head coach and general manager Ryan Dinwiddie had ties to Corey Mace from time together in Toronto, and so does defensive coordinator William Fields, who, according to Reavis, employs a similar defensive scheme to what he played in with the Riders.
“In CFL free agency, it happens in one day. You get calls with a bunch of teams, then you got to make a decision in one day. It’s a big turnaround. You go from having anxiety to then being excited. It happened in five hours. I was in Mexico with my girlfriend. I woke up a free agent and went to sleep an Ottawa Redblack. It happens really, really fast,” Reavis explained.
“Go win this cup. I feel like Ottawa’s had the talent to do it every year. They’ve been close as far as competing early in the season, they just fall off at the end of the year. But I feel like now with our coaches, R.D. at the helm, he knows how to win. Us coming to bring that championship mentality and the players they already have on the roster, I don’t see us not competing this year.”
By “us,” Reavis means fellow former Roughriders in Canadian linebacker A.J. Allen, Global defensive lineman Habakkuk Baldonado and quarterback Jake Maier, who also signed with Ottawa as free agents. Those four played varying roles in Saskatchewan’s CFL championship run, which the quartet wants to replicate in the nation’s capital.
The six-foot, 198-pound playmaker looks forward to playing the Riders for the first time in his CFL career. Saskatchewan travels to TD Place in Week 5 on Friday, July 3. Reavis goes to the prairies for the first time as a visitor in Week 10 on Friday, August 7. Even though he wanted to say playing the Roughriders would not give him any extra juice, it could not be denied.
“Knowing myself, I’m definitely going to have some extra juice. I already have juice anyway, but I feel like I’m going to be a little extra. They already know,” Reavis said about his old teammates in Green and White.
“We had our battles in practice. I always told them, ‘If it gets to that point, I’m going to have to do it to y’all.’ It’ll be fun. I can’t wait to go back to Mosaic; it’ll be weird being there as a visitor. I’m excited to go back to Regina and put on a show.”
