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USA Today
a day ago
- Business
- USA Today
2025 CFL Grey Cup odds for all 9 teams
2025 CFL Grey Cup odds for all 9 teams The CFL season kicks off Thursday, June 5, with QB Trevor Harris and the Saskatchewan Roughriders hosting QB Dru Brown and the Ottawa Redblacks. Below are BetMGM Sportsbook's 2025 CFL Grey Cup odds as of the evening of June 3. The defending Grey Cup champion Toronto Argonauts open their season Friday, June 6, at the Montreal Alouettes in a rematch of last year's Eastern Final. Toronto has captured the Grey Cup in 2 of the past 3 seasons (2022 and 2024), with Montreal taking the title in 2023. Calgary hosts the Hamilton Tiger-Cats Saturday, June 7, marking the Stampeders debut of QB Vernon Adams Jr., acquired in the offseason. Adams' former team, the BC Lions, welcome the Edmonton Elks later that day to wrap up the Week 1 schedule. Lions QB Nathan Rourke looks to bounce back from a disappointing CFL return last season following a brief stint in the NFL. The defending West Division champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who lost to the Argonauts in last year's Grey Cup, are off Week 1 and will open their season at home against the Lions Thursday, June 12. The Argonauts are the preseason favorites to win the title, listed at +325 odds by BetMGM Sportsbook. The Alouettes and Blue Bombers follow at +425 each, with the Lions and Redblacks next at +650 apiece. Below are the 2025 Grey Cup odds, provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Last updated Tuesday, June 3, at 11:16 p.m. ET. Favorites Toronto Argonauts +325 (bet $100 to win $325) Recent Grey Cup champions Montreal Alouettes +425 +425 Winnipeg Blue Bombers +425 Could they? BC Lions +650 +650 Ottawa Redblacks +650 +650 Saskatchewan Roughriders +750 The long shots Hamilton Tiger-Cats +1000 +1000 Calgary Stampeders +1500 +1500 Edmonton Elks +2000 Play our free daily Pick'em Challenge and win! Play now! For more sports betting picks and tips, check out and BetFTW. Follow @corey_a_scott on Twitter/X. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter/X and like us on Facebook. Access NFL coverage: BetFTW | TheHuddle Fantasy Football | BearsWire | BengalsWire | BillsWire | BroncosWire | BrownsWire | BucsWire | CardsWire | ChargersWire | ChiefsWire | ColtsWire | CommandersWire | CowboysWire | DolphinsWire | EaglesWire | FalconsWire | GiantsWire | JaguarsWire | JetsWire | LionsWire | NinersWire | PackersWire | PanthersWire | PatriotsWire | RaidersWire | RamsWire | RavensWire | SaintsWire | SeahawksWire | SteelersWire | TexansWire | TitansWire | VikingsWire | DraftWire | TouchdownWire | ListWire
Vancouver Sun
6 days ago
- Sport
- Vancouver Sun
Ottawa Redblacks aim to use final tuneup as tempo setter for "Grey Cup or bust" season
The Ottawa Redblacks have a singular goal this season. 'Grey Cup or bust, man,' said James Peter, the former Ottawa Gee-Gee who will start at middle linebacker for the Redblacks when they take on the Montreal Alouettes in their preseason finale Friday at TD Place. 'We're going Grey Cup, all the way. I totally believe it. 'We definitely have the guys here to do it. We have the coaches, we have the players. We're super adept at all our positions. So I really feel like we have the room to really get this Grey Cup for Ottawa.' The Redblacks finished third in the East Division last season with a 9-8-1 record, thanks largely to a home mark (7-1-1) that was best in the Canadian Football League. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Quarterback Dru Brown, who was good enough in his first year as a starter to get a contract extension, should be even better in 2025. Geno Smith, one of the CFL's best receivers, was signed as a free agent and joins a core group of American pass catchers that includes the exceptional Justin Hardy, Bralon Addison and Kalil 'The Thrill' Pimpleton. Three-time 1,000-yard rusher William Stanback might have been an even bigger get for general manager Shawn Burk, as he gives Ottawa a running game it lacked after Ryquell Armstead was released for undisciplinary behaviour midway through the 2024 season. Not to be overlooked is the addition of solid veteran centre Peter Godber, who will help open holes for Stanback and provide protection for Brown. If a veteran defence sprinkled with all sorts of star power can match/exceed its capabilities under new co-ordinator William Fields, there's no reason not to expect the Redblacks to contend for their first championship in nine years — and Ottawa's second Grey Cup since 1976. 'It's a whole different scheme of football that we have compared to the last two years, but it's more adaptable for us to play fast, physical football,' Peter said. 'We have guys able to fly to the ball a lot more, just based on how the scheme is run. On top of that, guys don't have to think as much, just play freely and play the football that they've been God-gifted with. In terms of our defensive scheme and everything like that, it's all super simple for us. 'So the whole mindset for us is to go out there and dominate.' The Redblacks didn't get the media attention they would have if they had held their training camp in Ottawa, but there were benefits from spending two weeks in the dorms at Queen's University and in a smaller community like Kingston. 'You spend a lot of time with the teammates, and you get to build bonds on the first day, two, three days,' said Daniel Adeboboye, who was acquired from his hometown Toronto Argos in a January trade and will be the Redblacks starting running back against the Alouettes. 'By the end of training camp, it's like your family.' A strong special-teams player like Peter, Adeboboye won two Grey Cups with the Double Blue. He senses the Redblacks have an intangible for success that was prevalent with the Argos. 'I wasn't the No. 1 running back in my time there, but something that I did understand is that, on teams, when everyone knows their role and they do it to the best of their abilities, those are the teams that win,' he said. 'I've been on teams in the past when guys were not content with their job, and they wanted to do this or that. There might not be as much buy-in. But, when you have everyone on the field that wants to win, who wants to be the best at their position, whatever it may be, those are the teams that go the furthest because they understand what it takes. That's when championships are won.' At the very least, there will be pressure on the Redblacks to go further than they did in 2024, when they lost the Eastern semifinal 58-38 to Adeboboye's Argos. But Peter doesn't see that as a problem. 'We had pressure that we instilled on ourselves last year, so it's kind of just a carry forward,' he said. 'The expectations are still the same. The only expectation that's different is to actually win that Grey Cup. So, with that, it's more so that everybody has got to be that thermostat in the room and just turn it up. 'In terms of us on the defensive side of the ball, we've got to go out there and just play fast and physical football, and expectation-wise, it's also the same. We just have to be the dominant group that we are, just carry forward how we were last year, and be even 10 times more dominant, 10 times more physical, and just go there and have fun.' Peter plans on doing just that Friday, the last team tuneup before things get real. 'My mindset is to go in and just show that I'm physical, I'm dominant, I'm able to command a defence, I'm able to get everybody aligned, assigned, and make sure that we're all ready to go and play,' he said. 'We've just go to go out and show that, 'Hey, we are the Redblacks and we're here to win a Grey Cup.' At the end of the day, go out there and ball. 'It really is a tempo setter.'
Calgary Herald
7 days ago
- Sport
- Calgary Herald
Ottawa Redblacks: Why winning is secondary in CFL pre-season finale
Completing their exhibition schedule with an unblemished record will not be the priority for the Ottawa Redblacks on Friday. Article content Article content Sure they'd like to beat the Montreal Alouettes for the second week in a row — all proud professional athletes want to win every game they play — but the coaching staff is more concerned with determining the roster for a game just six days later, when the Redblacks kick off the Canadian Football League's 2025 schedule in Regina against the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Article content Article content That means fans at TD Place for Ottawa's first home game since last season's Week 21, 37-31 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats will not see most of the team's front-line players. Article content Article content Among those watching the action in civilian clothes will be quarterback Dru Brown, Most Outstanding Player award nominee Justin Hardy, the flashy Kalil Pimpleton, Bralon Addison, Devonte Dedmon, new offensive weapons Geno Lewis and William Stanback, most offensive- and defensive-line starters, Jovan Santos-Knox and Adarius 'The Party Starter' Pickett. Article content What will be on display are fierce battles for the few available starting jobs, backup spots, practice-roster vacancies and even trying to be noticed by other CFL teams looking to fill holes. Article content 'We bring in 85 guys, plus the non-counters, and on Day 1, I tell them, whether they make our roster or in the preseason, they need to perform so somebody else may see them and give them an opportunity,' head coach Bob Dyce said at TD Place on Thursday, the Redblacks' first day back at home base after a training camp held at Queen's University in Kingston. Article content Article content 'I'd love to see all these guys play in the league, whether it's with us or somebody else. That's our goal as coaches: prepare them, make these guys better players, so that they continue to to have opportunities.' Article content Talking to the team at Dyce's request earlier in the day was defensive back Justin Howell, a former Carleton Raven who the Redblacks selected with their seventh-round pick (55th overall) in the 2018 draft and has been a mainstay since. Article content Dyce, who was the Redblacks special-teams coach then, remembers vividly how Howell performed that year in the pre-season finale against the Toronto Argonauts. Article content 'It sticks in my mind,' Dyce said. 'Justin went out, played on special teams and made the point that I had to go to the head coach (who was Rick Campbell, now Redblacks special-teams coach) and say, 'We cannot release this guy.'
Ottawa Citizen
7 days ago
- Sport
- Ottawa Citizen
Ottawa Redblacks: Why winning is secondary in CFL pre-season finale
Completing their exhibition schedule with an unblemished record will not be the priority for the Ottawa Redblacks on Friday. Article content Article content Sure they'd like to beat the Montreal Alouettes for the second week in a row — all proud professional athletes want to win every game they play — but the coaching staff is more concerned with determining the roster for a game just six days later, when the Redblacks kick off the Canadian Football League's 2025 schedule in Regina against the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Article content Article content That means fans at TD Place for Ottawa's first home game since last season's Week 21, 37-31 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats will not see most of the team's front-line players. Article content Article content Among those watching the action in civilian clothes will be quarterback Dru Brown, Most Outstanding Player award nominee Justin Hardy, the flashy Kalil Pimpleton, Bralon Addison, Devonte Dedmon, new offensive weapons Geno Lewis and William Stanback, most offensive- and defensive-line starters, Jovan Santos-Knox and Adarius 'The Party Starter' Pickett. Article content What will be on display are fierce battles for the few available starting jobs, backup spots, practice-roster vacancies and even trying to be noticed by other CFL teams looking to fill holes. Article content 'We bring in 85 guys, plus the non-counters, and on Day 1, I tell them, whether they make our roster or in the preseason, they need to perform so somebody else may see them and give them an opportunity,' head coach Bob Dyce said at TD Place on Thursday, the Redblacks' first day back at home base after a training camp held at Queen's University in Kingston. Article content Article content 'I'd love to see all these guys play in the league, whether it's with us or somebody else. That's our goal as coaches: prepare them, make these guys better players, so that they continue to to have opportunities.' Article content Talking to the team at Dyce's request earlier in the day was defensive back Justin Howell, a former Carleton Raven who the Redblacks selected with their seventh-round pick (55th overall) in the 2018 draft and has been a mainstay since. Article content Dyce, who was the Redblacks special-teams coach then, remembers vividly how Howell performed that year in the pre-season finale against the Toronto Argonauts. Article content 'It sticks in my mind,' Dyce said. 'Justin went out, played on special teams and made the point that I had to go to the head coach (who was Rick Campbell, now Redblacks special-teams coach) and say, 'We cannot release this guy.'
Globe and Mail
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Globe and Mail
With Dru Brown leading the offence, Redblacks look to take another step in 2025
After reaching the CFL playoffs last year for the first time since 2018, the Ottawa Redblacks are focused on taking the next step. The building blocks for the upcoming season are being laid down at training camp on campus at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont., and the foundation starts at quarterback. After his first full season with the Redblacks the team will once again turn to Dru Brown to lead the offence. 'There's just comfort now,' general manager Shawn Burke said from camp in a phone interview. 'Everything's not new any more. He knows the playbook, he knows the guys around him. You saw the progression last year. His leadership is steady.' Brown was limited to 15 games last year due to injury but provided the Redblacks with the most consistent play under centre since Trevor Harris led the offence from 2016-18. Brown completed 312 passes for 3,959 yards and 18 touchdowns in the regular season, then completed a playoff-record 46 passes for 476 yards and three touchdowns in Ottawa's loss to eventual Grey Cup champion Toronto in the East Division final. The Redblacks extended Brown through 2026, but wanted to ensure proper depth should something happen. Ottawa added seven-year veteran Matt Shiltz to its quarterback room where he will be joined by Dustin Crum and Tyree Adams, who will be battling to move up the depth chart. 'It's a big camp for Tyree,' Burke said. 'Last year, he missed most of it with injury, and that limited his chances. Now he's getting the reps he needs, and we're eager to see where he fits.' Last season Burke and head coach Bob Dyce identified a need to have a more physical run game and made a key addition signing bruising rusher William Stanback. 'William's looked great so far,' Burke said. 'We want to be a physical football team, and that starts with the run game. We talked about it a lot after last season. It needed to be better. William and [Canadian running back] Daniel Adeboboye give us a solid one-two punch.' Stanback's signing was just one piece of a larger effort to solidify the Redblacks offence. The team turned heads after signing Eugene Lewis, a three-time 1,000-yard receiver. 'When a guy like Geno [Lewis] wants to come to your team, it says something,' Burke said. 'His energy, his professionalism, it's impressive to watch every day. He wanted to be here. We've talked before in free agency, and it finally lined up.' Lewis joins an already impressive cast. The Redblacks announced Monday they had re-signed Kalil Pimpleton to an extension through the 2027 season. With veterans Justin Hardy, who had 1,343 receiving yards, and Bralon Addison, the Redblacks are looking to be a force in the East Division. The offensive line, often a source of instability in recent years, is shaping into a dependable unit. Dino Boyd will be returning from injury and handle duties at left tackle, while Zack Pelehos, a product of the University of Ottawa, has solidified his role on the right side. Veteran guards Drew Desjarlais and Dariusz Bladek will flank centre Peter Godber 'Continuity matters,' said Burke. 'Five guys working as one. And now we've got that blend of experience and youth. I like the identity this line is starting to form.' For the seventh straight season Lewis Ward will anchor the kicking game. The 32-year-old has been one of the league's most consistent performers. 'I can tell you without a doubt, it's a great asset,' Burke said. 'Just to know Lewis is going to be back there, you know what you're going to get out of him. The team doesn't blink when he goes out there, when the game's on the line and just who he is as a person and a leader for the organization. You know it's something that I don't take for granted.' The Redblacks open their preseason next week when they take on the Montreal Alouettes.
