The Saskatchewan Roughriders have signed linebacker Ryder Varga of Regina, Saskatchewan according to the Canadian Football League website on Wednesday. The Roughriders are the third Canadian Football League team that Varga has played for in his career. He previously played two seasons with the British Columbia Lions in 2023 and 2024, and the 2025 season with the Toronto Argonauts.
Varga played 13 games with the Argonauts in 2025. He had 10 special team tackles.
In 49 CFL games over the last three seasons, Varga has 82 defensive tackles, 28 special team tackles and two sacks. The first sack came in a 41-37 Lions win over the Ottawa Redblacks on September 16, 2023. This game was memorable because of the Lions’s sensational comeback. Ottawa had a commanding lead of 37-18 heading into the fourth quarter before the Lions scored 23 fourth quarter points for the improbable win. The second sack also came against the Redblacks. This was in a 34-27 Lions loss to the Redblacks on August 31, 2024.
Varga played his university football with the University of Regina Rams. He was then the Lions’s third round pick, 29th overall, in the 2022 Canadian Football League Draft. With the Rams, Varga had an impressive five years from 2017 to 2022. He had 157 tackles, seven sacks, and four forced fumbles in 32 games played.
