Majority of CFL teams have veteran experience at quarterback position
Nick Arbuckle is again proving the importance of quarterback depth in the CFL.
Arbuckle is expected to be the starter Friday night when the Grey Cup-champion Toronto Argonauts visit the Montreal Alouettes. Incumbent Chad Kelly suffered a serious leg injury in last year's East Division final and was only recently cleared to practise.
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CBC
29 minutes ago
- CBC
Saskatchewan Roughriders season preview
The Morning Edition gets you ready for the 2025 Saskatchewan Roughriders season. 3DownNation's Joel Gasson joins the show to talk about the upcoming season and the home opener against the Ottawa Redblacks.
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Roughriders believe they're ‘on the clock' ahead of 2025 season
Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Trevor Harris (7) throws against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers during the second half of CFL Western Conference final action in Winnipeg Saturday, November 9, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods The Saskatchewan Roughriders have set their team motto for the 2025 season that kicks off Thursday night against the Ottawa Redblacks at Mosaic Stadium. 'We're one the clock,' head coach Corey Mace told reporters Wednesday. 'We think it's our time.' 'What are we going to do with it?' he added. In 2024, Saskatchewan finished second place in the CFL's West Division with a 9-8-1 record, before falling to the rival Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the division final. Much of the team's core has returned to Regina and are hoping to take the next step towards becoming a Grey Cup contender in 2025. 'Everybody's hungry,' Mace said. 'But it's one thing to say – it's another thing to do it every day. And certainly, [Thursday's] another day that we have to answer the bell.' Quarterback Trevor Harris is known to wear several wristbands with various slogans on his arm throughout the season - which he also gives to his teammates as reminders. This year, 'S.R. Time' is written on one of the wristbands. 'For Saskatchewan Roughrider time,' Harris said. 'But I think there's a little bit more to that. And if you say it fast enough, 'it's our time.' 'It is our time to be on the clock. And hopefully this year is our time,' the quarterback added. TSN's Dave Naylor picked the Roughriders to win the West Division and make it to the 112th Grey Cup. 'This was not a team that needed an overhaul,' he told CTV Saskatchewan Morning Live Wednesday. 'On paper, they might be the best lineup.' 'I look at the roster and I go around them position group by position group – I just see consistency. I see some improvements from a year ago,' Naylor added. Cohesion has been the word of the season so far in 2025. Harris believes 2024 was a year of setting the foundation. With so many core players returning, it is time to build something great. 'Now it's time to see what we've done,' he said. 'Hopefully we can make it happen. But we know every week is going to be a tough test.' Saskatchewan kicks off their season Thursday night at 7 p.m. against the Ottawa Redblacks. OL injuries spark first pro start for Collins Due to injuries on the offensive line, one Saskatchewan Roughriders rookie will get his first pro start Thursday night. 'I didn't expect to call it up week one,' Payton Collins said after the team's walkthrough Wednesday. '[I] just have to be ready for whatever and have a chance to help the team this weekend. I'm excited to see us go out and compete.' Collins slots in at the left tackle position Thursday after the team announced Jacob Brammer was out for Week 1 with a back injury. The Eastern Kentucky University Colonel was signed by the Riders just prior to the start of training camp. The All-American set a program record by starting 56 consecutive games, beginning in 2020. As a senior in 2024, he helped lead an offence which rushed for over 2,400 yards, the third-highest total in the conference and produced more than 4,500 yards of total offence and 36 touchdowns. Collins said it has been a transition to learn the CFL-style of game. '[There are] a lot of different rules with 12 people on the field and stuff like the yard off the ball,' he admitted. 'But at the end of the day, it's football. Football is football and it's a physical game. So just come out there and be physical, play hard and the rest will take care of itself.' Due to his bright red hair, Collins has already earned the nicknames 'Big Red' and 'Clifford'. Mace says Collins has built trust in his short tenure with the Riders. 'Big Red is a really good football player,' the head coach said. '[We were] really excited when we had the opportunity to sign him. When he came in, he kind of validated our thoughts.' Saskatchewan started 14 different offensive lineman in 2024 – mostly due to a high number of injuries. Harris also reaffirmed his confidence in the men protecting him in the pocket. 'We've been here before,' the pivot said. 'The bad thing about starting 14 guys on the O-line is you had to start 14 guys. The good thing is you got a lot of faith in a lot of those guys.' 'I know those guys will do a great job,' Harris added. '[It] means a lot they put their trust in [me] to be the starting left tackle this week,' Collins said. 'But also puts a lot on my mind. I gotta make sure I know what I'm doing and go out there and, make them say, 'hey, we made the right decision by starting this guy.' Only one other Roughrider rookie made the main roster. 2025 CFL Draft fourth overall pick Ali Saad will back up on the defensive line to start the season.
National Post
2 hours ago
- National Post
SIMMONS: Argos remain the Toronto team everyone should want to equal
When the Maple Leafs were winning four Stanley Cups in the 1960s — the glory days — the Argos were winning absolutely nothing. Article content The CFL was a nine-team league and the NHL had six teams the time. Article content Article content The Leafs were the standard for Toronto sport while the Argos once went 31 years between titles. Article content But, over time, all that has changed, as has just about everything with the Argos. Article content They are the defending Grey Cup champions. The win last November was the second for head coach Ryan Dinwiddie in just four years on the job. It was the fifth Grey Cup win for the Argos since 2004. Article content That's five wins in the past 20 seasons. Article content This has been the hottest team in Toronto for a lot of our lives, no matter how old you are, the team we want the Leafs and Raptors and Blue Jays to mirror — but somehow that's just not possible. Article content The newest Argos season begins Friday night in Montreal and, if there is any consternation over the season opener, it's not heard in many places. Article content The star quarterback, the controversial figure that is Chad Kelly, isn't healthy enough to start Week 1. The star running back of a year ago, Ka'Deem Carey, the thousand-yard rusher, was let go at the end of camp in a surprising transaction. Two stars from the defensive line, Ralph Holley and Robbie Smith, have gone elsewhere for more money, Holley to try and land a job in Cleveland, Smith went to Edmonton and all but doubled his Toronto salary. Article content And yet coach Dinwiddie likes the roster he has to begin the season, figures these Argos are good enough to make the playoffs, could be back in the Grey Cup again, isn't ruling anything out. And why should he? Article content Article content Dinwiddie isn't easy to define. He doesn't have the head football coaching kind of presence that a Don Matthews had. He doesn't have the folksy way about him that a Marv Levy had in Buffalo. There isn't anything about him that particularly stands out except his resume. Article content That alone should make him a legend for all time in Toronto. Leo Cahill never won anything and talked a great game and remains legendary with those old enough to have been around when he mattered as Argos coach. Matthews won two Grey Cups in two seasons in one of his stints coaching the Argos and had Doug Flutie as his quarterback in those years. He'll always be remembered for that. Article content Dinwiddie has two Grey Cups — probably should have three — and he won while starting at quarterback with Macleod Bethel-Thompson in one game and career backup Nick Arbuckle in the other.
