Grey Cup MVP Arbuckle in competition for backup Argos QB job
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GUELPH — Being the Grey Cup MVP has earned Nick Arbuckle the chance to compete for his job with the Toronto Argonauts.
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Like all CFL teams, Toronto opened its training camp Sunday. Afterwards, head coach Ryan Dinwiddie declared the backup job behind incumbent Chad Kelly will be an open competition between Arbuckle and third-year pro Cameron Dukes.
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That's somewhat surprising given Toronto looked to Arbuckle to start in the Grey Cup after Kelly suffered a broken ankle in its 30-28 East Division final win over the Montreal Alouettes. The 6-foot-1, 213-pound Arbuckle threw for 252 yards and two TDs to lead the Argos past Winnipeg 41-24, securing MVP honours in his first CFL championship appearance.
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It was a heady ending to a season that Arbuckle began by exploring his options outside football after remaining unsigned in free agency. He finally joined Toronto on May 19 after the CFL suspended Kelly for the entire pre-season and at least the first nine regular-season games for violating its gender-based violence policy.
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'Last year was last year,' said Arbuckle, who signed an extension with Toronto in the off-season. 'I think I celebrated that for about a week and brought the Grey Cup to my daughter's school and made her a hero with all of her friends.
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'But after that week was over, it was back to training and preparing for what's to come next because if anything, winning last year makes winning this year even harder. You can't just rest upon what you've done before.'
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Kelly, the CFL's outstanding player in 2023, was on the field Sunday but wore a baseball cap instead of a helmet. He sustained fractures to both his tibia and fibula in the East final and required surgery.
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While Kelly is expected to make a full recovery, Dinwiddie said the quarterback still hasn't received clearance to resume football activities. And Kelly might not be ready for Toronto's season opener June 6 in Montreal.
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'Two weeks from now I'll have a better answer for you,' Dinwiddie said. 'I'd say it's probably 50-50 at this stage.
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'I don't want to rush him back and we lose him for the whole year. We have to be smart with that … we've got to understand we might have some growing pains without him but I'm not rushing him back.'
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If Kelly isn't ready to play, both Arbuckle and Dukes started games for Toronto last year. And the offence returns nine of the 11 other Grey Cup starters, including veteran receivers DaVaris Daniels and Damonte Coxie, running back Ka'Deem Carey and tackle Ryan Hunter, the CFL's top lineman last year.
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'It's a lot of guys who've been in this offence before, been in the system,' Arbuckle said. 'We have three quarterbacks who've all started and won football games … it's really cool as an offence to have all that from the get-go.
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