The Saskatchewan Roughriders have already started chipping away at their lengthy list of free agents heading into the offseason.

Veteran running back Marcus Thigpen signed a one-year contract extension with the Riders on Tuesday to remain in Green and White for the 2019 season.

"It feels great, to be honest with you, we didn't get the results that we wanted this year, but I'm looking forward to coming back and bringing the team closer to our goal next year, so I'm excited to be back," said Thigpen.

The 32-year-old finished with 408 rushing yards and 233 receiving yards to go along with six total touchdowns in 13 regular season games during the 2018 season.

Thigpen negotiated his own contract to remain with the Riders. He was scheduled to become a free agent in February 2019.

The Riders' offence struggled throughout the season, but Thigpen feels there are good building blocks in place heading into next season.

"We've just got a few pieces that we need to get in place," he said. "I'm not sure what our quarterback situation will be, we definitely need another running back, our receivers are doing really well, but offensively [this season], we just didn't pull our part, defence and special teams did an amazing job all year, so offensively, we've just got to get those pieces back in place.

The Riders have 27 players scheduled to become free agents this winter, including quarterback Zach Collaros and Most Outstanding Player nominee Willie Jefferson, who, along with linebacker Sam Eguaveon, is expected to garner NFL interest.