Montreal Alouettes quarterback Davis Alexander, who tweaked his hamstring in last Saturday’s Eastern Final, told reporters on Monday that he is not 100 per cent healthy, but insists that he will be able to start in the Grey Cup on Sunday.
Alexander suffered the injury in the fourth quarter of the Alouettes’ dramatic 19-16 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and could be seen walking with a limp near the end of the game.
Per TSN’s Matthew Scianitti, Alexander had an MRI after the Eastern Final, but did not specify what the scan said about his hamstring. Alexander said he will be able to start Sunday in the Grey Cup but will likely need four-to-five rehab treatments a day to reach a comfort level to play.
Alexander twice spent time on the injured list with the injury that limited him to just seven games in his first full season as Montreal’s starter. The Alouettes were 7-0 under Alexander but 3-8 in games he didn’t start.
“Davis has played with this injury for a few games, he played the majority of our training camp with it,” said Montreal head coach Jason Maas. “I know he knows how to deal with it, but it remains to be seen how bad it is.
“If he does not go, we’ll still have the same expectation on our team, which is to go in and win.”
There’s no doubt in Alexander’s mind that he’ll play. When he tweaked the hamstring in the fourth quarter against the Tiger-Cats, Maas instructed backup McLeod Bethel-Thompson to begin warming up only to have Alexander emphatically state he wasn’t coming out of the game.
Alexander is 11-0 during the regular season for Montreal: the best start ever to a CFL career. He has won both of his post-season starts.
Montreal and Saskatchewan will meet Sunday for the third time in the Grey Cup. The Alouettes defeated the Riders in 2009 (28-27) and 2010 (21-18).