After making the playoffs for five straight seasons – a run that included a spot in the East Final for three straight seasons and one Grey Cup win – the Montreal Alouettes were looking to do all three once again in 2025.
Well, with a new swagger led by quarterback Davis Alexander, they got to the playoffs, then to the East Final, and then to the Grey Cup, but just couldn’t get the job done in the big dance against the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Fast forward to the off-season, where there are now less than two weeks until the communication window opens, and the Alouettes have largely locked in their team for 2026. The goal during this free agency period for vice-president and general manager Danny Maciocia will be to add along the fringes, maybe a starter or two, as the team gears up to attempt to make a third Grey Cup in the past four years.
The Free Agency Communication Window, in which teams can openly speak with any clubs pending free agents, opens Feb.1 at 12 p.m. ET and closes Feb.8 at 12 p.m. ET. The official CFL free agency period opens Feb.10 at 12 p.m. ET
Pending Free Agents
* = Canadian
QB Shea Patterson
QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson
QB Caleb Evans
SB/FB Regis Cibasu*
RB Sean Thomas Erlington*
WR Charleston Rambo
WR James Letcher Jr.
OT Jamar McGloster
OG/OT Landon Rice*
DT Dylan Wynn
DE Shawn Lemon
HB Ciante Evans
S Marc-Antoine Dequoy*
S Scott Hutter*
Only 14 players remain without a contract from last season, and only a couple of those had a major role.
The most prominent name on the list is safety Marc-Antoine Dequoy, who goes back with Maciocia from their days at the University of Montreal. Wideout Charleston Rambo, defensive tackle Dylan Wynn, and late veteran adds in edge Shawn Lemon and halfback Ciante Evans are other names to keep an eye on.
Offence
Alouettes offence depth chart
Montreal’s offence was fantastic at times last season and rolling with confidence; at other moments, it was dull and could not move the ball. The difference? Look no further than quarterback Davis Alexander. It’s not shocking that the team was better with their starting pivot in the lineup than without, but the fact that they were an entirely different team with him shows just how important he is to the team’s success.
With Alexander:
33.2 points per game
20.9 points allowed per game
404.4 net yards per game
300.2 pass yards per game
111.4 rush yards per game
10 total sacks allowed
9 total turnovers
+19 turnover differential
Without Alexander:
18.8 points per game
26.5 points allowed per game
289.5 net yards per game
225.0 pass yards per game
78.1 rush yards per game
18 total sacks allowed
25 total turnovers
-10 turnover differential
Alexander’s superpower is his ability to make throws downfield from the pocket and on the run while limiting turnovers. This scatter plot showcases a quarterback’s risk factor and effectiveness using Pro Football Focus’ “Turnover-worthy play” and “Big Time Throw” percentages, showcasing just how far from the rest Alexander was last season in terms of efficient downfield throwing.
I charted #CFL QBs based on PFF’s Big Time Throw % and Turnover Worthy Play % to visualize how each QB impacted their team in 2025
The bottom right quadrant is where you want to be pic.twitter.com/sdMYnuXspi
— Coty Wiles (@CotyWilesSports) December 17, 2025
His kryptonite, however, might be his hamstring. The 27-year-old suffered a grade 3C hamstring tear in Week 7 against the Toronto Argonauts, causing him to hit the six-game injured list, before suffering a grade 2A tear upon his return, severely limiting him in the big game against Saskatchewan.
No off-season surgery was needed, and he is expected to be fully healthy for 2026. That’s great news for the Alouettes, because the team had a totally different feel with him under centre – both in play and in conviction, a conviction that is now laced throughout the DNA of this team.
At receiver, Alexander has arguably the best starting group north of the border, especially given how well they fit together. The trio of Canadian Tyson Philpot, Austin Mack, and Tyler Snead are all effective and well-rounded. Add in Cole Spieker, Alex Hollins, and potentially pending free agent Charleston Rambo – though they certainly have enough to get by without him – around them, and you have a great group.
Snead, who at 5-foot-7 and 172 pounds was fantastic in the slot last season while embodying the Alouettes’ aura. The 25-year-old finished top six in receptions (84), yards (1,129), and yards after the catch (461), all of which were career highs, with Alexander saying, “everything that this team is built on, Tyler Snead represents it.”
Over the past three seasons, among receivers with more than 200 targets, Snead’s 71.9 per cent catch rate sits second, just below Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ Nic Demski’s 72.1 per cent.
So, Snead gets a ton of targets, catches almost all of them, and makes positive things happen with after-the-catch ability. Add in a more polished intermediate and vertical game, which popped as well last year, and there’s not much he can’t do. The Alouettes rewarded him with an extension through 2027 midway through last season.
Philpot, Mack, and Spieker are no slouches either on the strong side. Philpot and Spieker – along with Snead – sit in the top 15 in YAC, while Mack offers size and field-stretching ability, posting the eighth-highest average depth of target.
The offensive line is filled with size and people-moving ability, with guys who bring a mean streak.
The interior features arguably the best run-blocking offensive lineman in the CFL in Pier-Olivier Lestage at left guard, while centre Justin Lawrence and American right guard Donald Ventrelli aren’t far behind. At 6-foot-6 and 321 pounds, Nick Callender is a mauler in the run game at left tackle as well, who also posted his lowest pressure rate for a season in his career in 2025 (5.1 per cent).
At right tackle, it was Canadian rookie Tiger Shanks thrown into the fire, who started the final seven games of the year, including the Grey Cup, after Jamar McGloster suffered a wrist injury in Week 15.
The fifth-overall pick had mixed results in his nearly 250 snaps, but was the weak link on a line that had all-star-calibre players all along it. The almost 24-year-old held up in pass protection at points, posting the 14th-best pressure rate among all tackles (5.5 per cent), but he got beaten up in the run game.
Shanks has a bright future, but for a team that is competing for championships, an addition or simply a re-signing of McGloster as a stopgap should be the highest priority in free agency offensively.
The overall physical play of the line pairs nicely with the bashing style that running backs Stevie Scott III and Travis Theis bring to the table.
While it was the 25-year-old Theis and pending free agent Sean Thomas Erlington handling the duties most of the year, Scott took over in Week 15 and did not look back. The 6-foot-2, 231-pound wrecking ball ran the ball 113 times for 617 yards (5.5 yards per carry) and four touchdowns over the final six regular-season games and throughout the playoffs, while finishing with the eighth-most total rush yards after contact (299).
That end to the year firmly plants the 25-year-old as the projected starter, but Theis can also do similar things. The 5-foot-11, 215-pound bulldozer is arguably the hardest player to bring down in the league, as his legs just don’t stop moving. Theis also posted the sixth most missed tackles forced (27) on only 70 carries while also averaging the seventh-highest yards per carry with 5.2 (min 70 snaps).
These pair of backs will wear you out, and when you also have that offensive line leaning on you, it’s not a fun day in the office for opposing defences.
Overall, it’s an offence that is efficient, can do a lot of things well, and is well-coached. Between Alexander’s dynamism, the talent and versatility at receiver, a mauling run game, and the creativity from head coach Jason Maas and fourth-year offensive coordinator Anthony Calvillo, it’s no wonder that they averaged over 33 points and 400 yards per game when fully healthy.
Defence
Alouettes defence depth chart
The physical play from the offensive line is more than reciprocated on defence, where presumably this unit will continue to play an attacking style under Noel Thorpe for the fifth straight season.
This defence was just straight up dominant last season with disruptive players at all three levels. The unit led the league in many, many defensive categories, including net offence allowed (338.4), average yards per play allowed (6.02), passing yards allowed (256.9), sacks (45), and big plays allowed (37).
Canadian talent on the edges, who also feed into the swag, in Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund and Lwal Uguak lead the way up front.
The two-time runner-up for Most Outstanding Canadian in Adeyemi-Berglund sets the tone on defence and has developed into one of the better pass rushers in the CFL. The Dartmouth, N.S. native put up a career high 11 sacks in 2025 (fourth in CFL) while finishing seventh in quarterback pressures (51).
Opposite of him is Uguak, who began the year inside before being moved out to the weak-side edge. The 25-year-old hasn’t set the league on fire, but is young and has shown flashes while defending the run.
On the interior, Mustafa Johnson returns under contract and hopefully fully healthy. The soon-to-be 27-year-old was limited to seven games in the regular season while recovering from a knee injury suffered in 2024, before suffering a shoulder injury in the final regular-season game and missing the playoffs.
When healthy, Johnson caused problems for interior offensive lines in 2023 and 2024 as one of the best pass rushers from the position. Kori Roberson Jr., who filled in admirably throughout the playoffs for the injured Johnson, is also under contract and will more than likely get a shot at a starting spot at defensive tackle.
It’s a defensive line that is lacking some depth, however, as American veterans Dylan Wynn and Shawn Lemon are pending free agents. Re-upping one or both of those guys and/or looking elsewhere should be high on Maciocia’s docket come Feb.1.
At linebacker, Montreal said farewell to veteran Darnell Sankey, who has started in the middle for the past three seasons. With Canadians Geoff Cantin-Arku (2027) and Tyrell Richards (2026) receiving extensions and with the Alouettes drafting three linebackers in 2025, they seem fully prepared to go National at middle linebacker alongside stat stuffer Tyrice Beverette on the weak side.
The slated starter at MAC is 2024 ninth-overall pick Cantin-Arku, who has shown that he is ready for a starting role after impressing in all facets of the game in his 1,100-plus snaps over his first two seasons. He’ll be next to Beverette, who is one of the league’s best.
The 2024 runner-up for Most Outstanding Defensive Player does basically everything at a high level, racking up 330 defensive tackles, 57 special teams tackles, 19 sacks, seven interceptions, and nine forced fumbles since arriving in Montreal in 2022. The two-time All-CFL member is the most versatile game wrecker in the league, as he’s arguably the best pass rusher and coverage guy from the inside linebacker spot, who Thorpe uses perfectly.
On the back end, nickel Najee Murray and weak-side halfback Wesley Sutton are as solid as they come and are perfect players for Thorpe’s scheme, while cornerbacks Lorenzo Burns and Kabion Ento form a fantastic pass coverage duo on the outside, especially Ento, who is criminally underrated and should be considered one of, if not the best coverage corner north of the border.
Maciocia and Montreal’s biggest question remaining less than two weeks before the communications window on either side of the ball is the status of Dequoy. The safety remains unsigned, though the Alouettes’ general manager seems confident that a deal will get struck.
“I hope so, I’m banking on it. I would bet on it, but I can’t guarantee that that’ll be the case again,” Maciocia said at the CFL’s off-season winter meetings.
“Nobody knows Marc-Antoine better than I do. I recruited the kid out of [Collège] Montmorency, so I know him really well. I’ve had multiple conversations with him. I’ve sat down with this agent, and we’ve had several discussions. I think there’s a strong desire from his end to play in Montreal and even end his career in Montreal. As far as I’m concerned, I’m hoping that that’ll be the case.”
The 31-year-old hasn’t been as dominant as he was in 2023 when he helped lead the Alouettes’ defence to a Grey Cup win, but he is still a top-half-of-the-league-calibre safety.
Should he depart, Canadians Arthur Hamlin and Nate Beauchemin, who have also seen time at nickel and weak-side linebacker, respectively, would be the next in line to fill the void.
Overall, this defence has disruptive playmakers at all three levels with a veteran coordinator who knows exactly how to use them. Locking in Dequoy and some depth is about all that needs to be touched with this unit, as the Alouettes pretty much already have all they need to win a championship, and they know it.