Welcome to Week 17, my friends.

To get you set for the week, I’m looking at a returning starting quarterback, a receiver that needs a bit more attention, a Most Outstanding Rookie candidate, and a must-win game for a West Division team.

It’s also worth noting that this weekend, the CFL is commemorating next week’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Keep an eye out across the league for players wearing orange and white pre-game jerseys, customized footballs featuring orange laces, orange Wilson branding and each club’s Indigenous logo, special content highlighting Indigenous culture and community members, and much more.

Here’s one storyline to watch in each matchup this weekend.

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HE’S BAAACCCK!

Calgary at Montreal | Friday, September 26 | 7:00 p.m. ET | TSN/RDS/CFL+

We haven’t seen Davis Alexander under centre since Week 7, and we’re going see him back in action this weekend in Montreal.

Alexander has been dealing with a hamstring injury this year, but was listed as the starting quarterback on the Alouettes’ depth chart that was released on Thursday.

The Als pivot has not lost a game this season, going 4-0 in the contests he’s started. Without him, the Als are 3-7. He’s thrown for 1,106 yards, six touchdowns, and three interceptions this season, completing 72.7 per cent of his passes. Alexander has also called his own number nine times for 87 yards and a major score.

Despite giving up 52 points to the BC Lions last week, the Stampeders defence is still allowing a league-low 22.8 points per game. As Alexander gets set to return, he’ll have a challenge ahead of him as he looks to extend his team’s winning streak to three.

SOME LOVE FOR KEON HATCHER SR.

Toronto at BC | Friday, September 26 | 10:00 p.m. ET | TSN/CFL+

Keon Hatcher Sr. hasn’t been getting nearly enough love this season, so I’m going to spend some time handing him some.

The Lions’ pass-catcher has hauled in a league-leading 1,317 yards to go along with five touchdowns on 79 receptions. His receiving yard total so far this year is a career-high for the six-foot-one, 212-pounder, with his previous best coming in 2023 (1,226).

And with four games left on the schedule for the Leos, there’s plenty of time for him to add to that total.

Hatcher Sr. is on pace to hit 1,693 yards this season, which would be the most receiving yards since Brandon Zylstra hauled in 1,687 in 2017. BC’s franchise record was set by Geroy Simon in 2006 (1,856). Will Hatcher Sr. break that record in 2025?

Hatcher Sr. has caught 36 of the 39 passes thrown his way for 595 yards and three touchdowns in his last five games, including a monster 147-yard game against Calgary last week. Against the Argos, a team that gives up 358.6 yards per game through the air, expect Nathan Rourke to continue to feed Hatcher Sr. as the Lions look to move up in the standings.

MOST OUTSTANDING ROOKIE CANDIDATE?

Hamilton at Winnipeg | Saturday, September 27 | 3:00 p.m. ET | TSN/CTV/CFL+

Devin Veresuk has my vote (if I had one) for this year’s Most Outstanding Rookie award.

The Tiger-Cats liked what they had seen from the second overall 2025 CFL Draft pick so much that by Week 4, he was their starting middle linebacker as the team moved on from Kyle Wilson.

Since then, Veresuk has been a playmaker in the middle of Hamilton’s defence. His first start saw him tally eight tackles and a pick-six, to go along with another tackle on special teams. That was a snapshot of what was to come from the 23-year-old this year. He’s been all over the stat sheet, collecting 53 defensive tackles, three special teams tackles, a tackle for loss, two sacks, an interception, two touchdowns, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.

Veresuk has been limited in practice this week, so keep an eye out closer to game time to see if he’s going to play this weekend against Winnipeg to add to his case for the end-of-season award. If he is in the mix, he’ll need to be ready to slow down Brady Oliveira, who has gone over 100 yards on the ground in both of his last two games.

On the Winnipeg side, it looks like Zach Collaros is set to return this week after taking first team reps with the Bombers’ offence at practice and was listed as a full participant on the team’s injury report. The Blue and Gold are coming off a win over the Ottawa REDBLACKS as they host the Tabbies at Princess Auto Stadium looking to stay ahead of the Lions, who are also 7-7 on the season.

IT’S A MUST WIN FOR EDMONTON

Saskatchewan at Edmonton | Saturday, September 27 | 7:00 p.m. ET | TSN/CFL+

The Edmonton Elks won’t be eliminated from post-season contention with a loss this weekend, but you can pretty much call this a must-win for the team as they hope to chase down BC and Winnipeg, who are both four points ahead of them in the standings.

Cody Fajardo‘s Elks will want to put the back-to-back heartbreaking losses on walk-off field goals behind them for good this weekend at Commonwealth Stadium.

It won’t be easy this week against the team that boasts the best record in the CFL, but as we’ve seen this year many times, any team can beat any team in the CFL.

The Riders are coming off a bye week and Trevor Harris and co. last saw the field in a loss against the Alouettes. You can bet that they will be itching to improve on their 10-3 record on Saturday night.