6 off-season storylines to watch

Don Landry

CFL.ca

The march of time is relentless.

Saskatchewan fans might be feeling like they’ve barely had time to celebrate the Roughriders’ 112th Grey Cup championship while everyone else turns their attention to what’s next in 2026.

That’s the way it goes, though. Season in and season out, the focus is always forward and with that in mind, here are six storylines to keep an eye on as the building blocks of the 2026 CFL campaign start to pile into place this off-season.

WHO’S HEAD MAN IN TORONTO?

This could be the first of the major post-Grey Cup dominoes to topple.

After Ryan Dinwiddie jumped over to the REDBLACKS to take over as head coach and general manager in Ottawa, the Argos are left searching for a replacement.

With top choice Mike O’Shea listening to an offer but ultimately deciding to stay in Winnipeg, the Argonauts have reportedly now cast a pretty wide net for Dinwiddie successors, a list that includes in-house candidates as well as some familiar names from outside Toronto.

Dinwiddie’s search for coaches to fill out his staff, as well as the same kinds of decisions to be made by Toronto’s new head coach, could set the assistant coaches carousel moving in the weeks ahead.

QUARTERBACK QUESTIONS LOOM

The Saskatchewan Roughriders, Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Edmonton Elks are looking to cement their quarterbacking situations with what each of them probably hope will be simple solutions already at hand.

The Roughriders and Trevor Harris have publicly shown they are each willing to keep the beat going with the idea that the 39-year-old Grey Cup MVP plays again in 2026.

The Ticats and Bo Levi Mitchell have some talking to do, with the 35-year-old East Division Most Outstanding Player holding an expiring contract.

And the Edmonton Elks would surely love to have 33-year-old Cody Fajardo back in Green and Gold after he stepped in mid-season and was instrumental in turning the Elks into a rising force as 2025 played out.

If the Elks get Fajardo to return on a new contract, that will ratchet up the intrigue when it comes to back-up quarterback Tre Ford, who entered the 2025 season as Edmonton’s starter.

Would Edmonton find a way to keep both quarterbacks on the roster? Or would Ford be on the move?

HOW MANY CHAMPS CAN THE ROUGHRIDERS KEEP?

We all know the old adage about getting to the top being hard but staying there being even harder.

Win a Grey Cup and your players get targeted in free agency by other teams hoping to land key pieces themselves. And winners all want raises. Fitting new contracts in under the cap can be a big time challenge for defending champs who hope to bring ‘em all back.

Ask the Toronto Argonauts, who won the Grey Cup in 2024 and then lost a slew of players in free agency, especially from the defence.

Outside of Harris, potential Saskatchewan free agents include running back AJ Ouellette, and receivers like Grey Cup Most Valuable Canadian Samuel Emilus as well as Dohnte Meyers and Kian Schaffer-Baker.

On defence, mainstays such as linebacker A.J. Allen and defensive back Tevaughn Campbell could hit the market and so could defensive linemen Malik Carney and Micah Johnson.

That’s to name just a few.

General manager Jeremy O’Day and head coach Corey Mace have their off-season work cut out for them.

WHO’S LANDING BRADY?

Tough, talented and explosive, workhorse running back Brady Oliveira would be a sensational get for any team in the CFL, coming off a season in which he rushed for 1,163 yards and caught passes for 546 more.

The CFL’s 2024 George Reed Most Outstanding Player loves playing in his hometown, but he is also aware that he could cash in heavily if he tries the free agency market in February.

“I think I owe it to myself to capitalize on (his success) because I’ve earned that,” Oliveira told reporters earlier this month. “I work my butt off to put myself in that position to kind of get what I deserve.”

But the Bombers have negotiating rights for two-and-a-half months ahead of free agency and it will be interesting to see if they can keep the 28-year-old in their offensive backfield in 2026.

WHO TOPS THE PROSPECTS LIST?

Last year, quarterback Kurtis Rourke (Indiana) was the top prospect on the CFL Scouting Bureau’s winter list, holding down the number one position after having it as well the previous fall. He was selected by Saskatchewan in the third round of the CFL Draft after being taken in the seventh round of the NFL Draft (San Francisco).

The fall list for 2026 draft prospects saw defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor (a native of Ottawa playing for the University of Miami) at number one. Mesidor was originally ranked at number seven on the 2025 draft class list, but was subsequently shifted to the 2026 class when he decided to play one more year of college ball.

After an injury-plagued 2023 and then a 2024 season where he played tackle, Mesidor has shone in 2025 after being bumped back out to defensive end for the Hurricanes.

There is always healthy change from the fall list, and the winter prospect rankings will set up an important spring for eligible players and teams alike, as we head towards the draft.

DON’T SLEEP ON DECEMBER

Our off-season focus can often zero in on the opening of free agency in February, but with some of the scenarios mentioned above, we could be in for a busy month of announcements in December.

Last year, for instance, the Saskatchewan Roughriders extended Trevor Harris on December 5. The Edmonton Elks announced a new contract for Tre Ford on December 6, and the Calgary Stampeders unveiled a re-worked deal with quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. on December 11.

The Montreal Alouettes extended defensive linemen Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund and Lwal Uguak last December and the BC Lions announced a new contract for defensive end Mathieu Betts a week before Christmas.

Undoubtedly, every single CFL general manager out there is working on getting big-name potential free agents to sign long before February comes along.

What early Christmas gifts will fans get this year?

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