July 15, 2020

By the Numbers: A look at starts, games played

Dominick Gravel/Montreal Alouettes

TORONTO —  There are many milestones that a CFL player may hit throughout their career.

Depending on the position, receptions, yards, tackles, return touchdowns and much more will be added to the player’s resume. Every year they’ll add to their totals, hitting career-highs and even season-highs in their respective statistical categories.

Those statistics provide context on the skill level of each player. For example, they can prove they’re the top of their position by getting the most yards in a single season. Or they can solidify that they’re one of the best ever by breaking all-time records.

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But it’s keeping track of how many starts or games played that determines each player’s longevity. Those are the ones that have been able to play at a high level and keep their bodies in tip-top shape to stick around for the long haul.

CFL.ca takes a look at some milestones in games started and games played of players around the league:

GAMES STARTED

Bowman 224 starts: John Bowman is the active leader in career starts with 224. If he retires, Odell Willis (189) and Brendon LaBatte (179) are next on the active players list, followed by Charleston Hughes (169).

Odell Willis 200 starts: Currently a free agent, if Willis signs with a team next season, he will have a chance to reach the 200-start milestone He currently has 189 career starts.

200+ starts: In the current era there have been 12 players reach 200+ starts: Gene Makowsky (245), Anthony Calvillo (237), Geroy Simon (235), Scott Flory (234), Henry Burris (229), Chip Cox (226), John Bowman (224), Ricky Ray (219), Nik Lewis (218), Ben Cahoon (216), Kevin Glenn (208), Bryan Chiu (205).

150+ starts: Andrew Harris (144) and Emmanuel Arceneaux (136) are eyeing the 150-start milestone.

100+ starts: Bo Levi Mitchell (97), Shaw Lemon (97), Mike Filer (95), Shane Bergman (93), Spencer Wilson (93), Thaddeus Coleman (92), Micah Johnson (92),  Brad Sinopoli (91), Duron Carter (89), Luke Tasker (88), SirVincent Rogers (87), Jermarcus Hardrick (85), Henoc Muamba (85), C.J. Gable (85), Antoine Pruneau (85), Ed Gainey (84), and Bryan Burnham (82) could all reach 100+ career starts in a full 18-game season.

GAMES PLAYED

Bowman 230 games played: John Bowman is the active leader in games played with 230, followed by Chad Rempel (212) and Calvin McCarty (203). Bowman is five games short of the all-time record for a defensive lineman, set by Ron Atchison with 235 games played. Lui Passaglia holds the CFL record with 408 career games, followed by Bob Cameron (394) and Damon Allen (370). Miles Gorrell holds the record for an offensive lineman at 321 games played. Mike O’Shea holds the games played record for any defensive player at 271 games.

200+ games played: Odell Willis (191) is nine games away from the 200+ mark.

150+ games played: S.J. Green (170), Rob Maver (163), Rene Paredes (161), Sean Whyte (154), Justin Medlock (146), Ted Laurent (142), Emmanuel Arceneaux (140), Almondo Sewell (139), Brad Sinopoli (139), Bo Levi Mitchell (136), Jake Thomas (136), Kristian Matte (135), Solomon Elimimian (133), Trevor Harris (133), Adam Bighill (132) are all within range of 150+ career games played.

100+ games played: Danny O’Brien (99), Natey Adjei (98), Aaron Crawford (98), Spencer Moore (97), Micah Johnson (96), Jermaine Gabriel (95), Willie Jefferson (94), David Menard (94), Thomas Miles (94), Shane Bergman (93), Derek Jones (93), Antoine Pruneau (93), Thaddeus Coleman (92), Zach Collaros (92), Brendan Gillanders (92), Jesse Briggs (91), Duron Carter (91), Jonathon Jennings (90), Mike Benson (89), Cleyon Laing (89), Alex Mateas (88), Luke Tasker (88), Mike Daly (87), Jermarcus Hardrick (87), Michael Klassen (87), SirVincent Rogers (87), C.J. Gable (85), Frederic Plesius (85), Charlie Power (85), Jean-Christophe Beaulieu (83), Andrew Marshall (83), Bryan Burnham (82), Dominique Davis (82) and Aaron Grymes (82) could all reach 100+ career games in a full 18-game season.