
Daniel Crump/CFL.ca
The 2024 season was another indicator that who you have behind your starting quarterback is just as important as who you start the season with.
We already know over half the league in 2025 will head into the season with a different quarterback than the person they had throwing the ball in week one of last season.
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Toronto went three quarterbacks deep to win the 111th Grey Cup with their starter suspended off the start of the season and then injured at the end.
As the league heads into free agency, some teams seem pretty comfortable with their quarterback room as they stand today. Other teams still have some work to do with options available to fill some holes.
Let’s take a look at how the quarterback rooms stand.
SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS
Starter: Trevor Harris
Backups: Jake Maier, Jack Coan, Michael Hiers
Pending free agents: Shea Patterson
I think the Roughriders are the most stable from top down at the end of January. Trevor Harris came in to the year recovering from a major injury in 2023 and stabilized the offence when he had the ball. The team’s play softened without him in the lineup but once they geared up again a few weeks after his return, they rolled to the Western Final.
The addition of Jake Maier is a big upgrade at back-up, which is why we see Patterson still left unsigned and heading to free agency. A new place for Maier with a coaching staff familiar with his best days in Calgary could be what he needs to rejuvenate his career after the Stamps decided to move on.
The team is also big on Jack Coan and even Trevor Harris is complimentary of the young Notre Dame product’s first year in the league. Michael Hiers will make his way to his first CFL training camp to try to hang on to a job.
WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS
Starter: Zach Collaros
Backups: Jake Dolegala, Terry Wilson
Pending free agents: Chris Streveler
The Bombers top gun still has some good years left but like the Roughriders, need to look to what they have in the future.
So behind him, no one is over 30 heading into 2025. While Chris Streveler is a fan favourite, it’ll be interesting to see if the Bombers bring him back on another one year deal or if Streveler’s knee injury from last year will delay any team giving him a shot.
Jake Dolegala has always shown flashes with a big arm but even in the Grey Cup, the team went with Terry Wilson when Collaros left with the infamous finger injury.
HAMILTON TIGER-CATS
Starter: Bo Levi Mitchell
Backups: Taylor Powell, Taulia Tagovailoa, Harrison Frost
Pending free agents: NONE
The Tiger-Cats have two quarterbacks you think they see a future in with Powell and Tagovailoa.
You might remember Scott Milanovich benched Mitchell in 2024 in favour of Powell but an unfortunate injury put Mitchell right back in the drivers seat and he never let go of the wheel.
It’ll be interesting to see what the Tiger-Cats do in 2025 and if Mitchell can start the year stronger or if the noise will follow them around.
The Tiger-Cats should be thrilled with the QB room they have with even Harrison Frost having thrown a touchdown pass in 2024.
TORONTO ARGONAUTS
Starter: Chad Kelly
Backups: NONE
Pending free agents: Cameron Dukes, Nick Arbuckle, Bryan Scott
The Argonauts are one of the teams who approach free agency with some big questions to answer.
The only quarterback under contract is recovering from a significant leg injury in the Eastern Final that knocked him out of the 111th Grey Cup and put a pause to his off-season training.
However, as the Argonauts more than proved last season, you need depth at the position. Having all three quarterbacks behind Kelly hitting free agency as of now (and with other teams lurking for depth), the Argonauts need to start locking up some pivots before they’re left with a very unstable situation at the most important position.
CALGARY STAMPEDERS
Starter: Vernon Adams Jr.
Backups: P.J. Walker
Pending free agents: Tommy Stevens, Logan Bonner, Matt Shiltz
The Stampeders made the boldest move of the off-season already with the trade for Vernon Adams Jr. from division rival BC.
Adams brings instant big-play ability to an offence that was missing those big explosion plays. The move away from Jake Maier was predictable after another underwhelming season offensively from the once powerhouse Stamps. Bringing in Adams was step one in Dave Dickenson’s attempt to get Calgary back in the playoff conversation after their unbelievable post-season streak was snapped in 2024.
The other big move happened last season with the addition of NFL veteran P.J. Walker. Walker already has plenty of pro experience and we’ll be intrigued by what we get to see in the preseason in May. A potential return by Shiltz would give the Stampeders that stable veteran CFL backup presence as a safety net.
What the Stampeders could miss is one of the most automatic short yardage quarterbacks in the CFL if Tommy Stevens leaves the team. Logan Bonner had a very brief shot to talk the starting role but wasn’t able to hang on to that opportunity.
EDMONTON ELKS
Starter: Tre Ford
Backups: Cody Fajardo, Jarret Doege
Pending free agents: Dakota Prukop
The Edmonton Elks made two crucial moves to solidify the quarterback room for this season. First, lock up Tre Ford to a new deal as Ford would have been the most coveted free agent next week if he wouldn’t have signed an extension.
Second, make the trade for Cody Fajardo from Montreal to give them a capable backup and veteran to help support Ford in his first full season as a starter.
Fajardo is a great second option as many believe he’s the next best quarterback after the nine starters in the league. Just a season removed from a Grey Cup championship, Fajardo will be eyeing his opportunity for snaps while supporting Ford.
After those two you think the Elks aren’t totally comfortable with the quarterback room with little intel on Doege from his first few years in the league. It’ll be interesting if they’re also a team using free agency to bolster the QB room.
MONTREAL ALOUETTES
Starter: Davis Alexander
Backups: McLeod Bethel-Thompson, Caleb Evans
Pending free agents: Dominique Davis
The decision had to be made to move to Davis Alexander after the young quarterback shone in his first real opportunity. You couldn’t deny the undefeated record as the starter and with him about to hit free agency, the Alouettes knew they couldn’t bare see another team be the benefit of the years of investment they put into Alexander.
It was tough to say goodbye to Fajardo but it’s a tough business. In comes McLeod Bethel-Thompson, who like Fajardo will have to eat some ego to go from starter in 2024 to backup in 2025. Caleb Evans is another stable presence with his veteran presence to support the first year starter as well.
Again Danny Maciocia is showing his savvy as a general manager in the league to continually be looking ahead while keeping the pieces in place to succeed now.
OTTAWA REDBLACKS
Starter: Dru Brown
Backups: Dustin Crum, Tyrie Adams
Pending free agents: Jeremiah Masoli
In Ottawa we find the youngest quarterback room in the league with not one member of the group over the age of 28.
Dru Brown looks to be everything Ottawa was hoping for when they pulled him away from Winnipeg. Brown definitely has the presence of a starting quarterback and I can’t wait to see what he can do in year two in Ottawa.
Dustin Crum and Tyrie Adams are both intriguing prospects as well as the REDBLACKS have a tremendously young and tremendously athletic trio of quarterbacks.
The elephant in the room is what happens with Jeremiah Masoli. The quarterback hasn’t been able to stay healthy but if the 36-year old wants to play again there are a few teams who may be looking for an amazing teammate and leader to join the QB room. It’ll be tough to walk away from Masoli with the amount of respect he has in the locker room but again…. tough business.
BC LIONS
Starter: Nathan Rourke
Backups: Chase Brice, Garrett Shrader
Pending free agents: NONE
Nathan Rourke will be a different quarterback than what we saw in 2024. I’ll almost guarantee it. The young Canadian was put in a tough spot to come in for Adams, who was having an MOP season, and be expected to look like the phenom we saw in 2022.
He wasn’t and it was understandable. He’d been in five different offences and after his merry-go-round like career in the NFL, he was probably feeling a bit dizzy.
Now he’s got a full off-season to decompress, refresh and re-establish himself as the frachise quarterback.
Behind him is only one player, Chase Brice, with CFL experience and extremely limited experience at that. As for Garrett Shrader, he’s a new prospect out of Syracuse who is a big guy who can move around as well.
With so little experience behind Rourke, the Lions are definitely a team to look for to make a quarterback move in the free agent period next week.