The 2026 Montreal Alouettes training camp is underway in Quebec City at the Université Laval PEPS, and one of the players ecstatic to be preparing for the 2026 CFL season is quarterback Davis Alexander.
Alexander has recovered 100 percent from his hamstring injury that dogged him last season and is enjoying being back handling the ball. “it’s great to be back out here with all the guys,” Davis Alexander said by phone from Quebec City. “A lot of new faces, a lot of new people. People getting acclimated to the rules and stuff. We’re just trying to practice what we preach and compete every day and help the younger guys and make sure we’re the best overall team we can be throughout camp and well rounded and just continue to get better every day.”
Over the course of the winter and then into April when Alexander returned to Montreal to complete his rehabbing, he made certain to follow the game plan precisely. “I came back, I believe April 12,” Alexander said. “I got to work out with the guys, got to see the trainers again, for another three or four weeks before I came out to Quebec City feeling 100% healthy, feeling ready to go, and just making sure to stay at it, making sure to stay part of the rehab and injury prevention and all that stuff, just to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
The key to his successful return stemmed from not pushing his rehabilitation more than was prescribed. “I like to get after it a little bit,” he said. “I like to push myself as much as I can. I think I learned a little bit from that last year but, I’m still not going to change. I’m still going to work extremely hard, and just find different ways to get better. Instead of lifting twice a day, we’re doing lift and then maybe a mobility session at nighttime, or lift, and then maybe a core session, core and stretch at nighttime instead of double lift.”
The quarterback situation for Montreal will see new back-ups for Alexander. Dustin Crum was signed as a free agent from Ottawa to serve as the main backup to Alexander. Anthony Brown Jr. signed to a two-year contract, the former NFL quarterback (who previously spent time with the Baltimore Ravens) is now the lone remaining quarterback competing directly behind Alexander and Crum. “This is a difficult offense to learn,” he said. “I went through it, and luckily, I had Cody (Fajardo) to help me out. Cody was unbelievable to me. I’m kind of trying to take that Cody role and help these guys as best as they can, because the better our room is, the better I’m going to be. That’s what we preach in this organization, it’s just compete, compete, compete. The better I can get Anthony and Crum to be, the better it’s going to make me. And I’m only going to learn more and more by teaching.”
Montreal will play two pre-season games against the Ottawa Redblacks, the first will be at Percival Molson Stadium Friday night with a 7:00 p.m. kickoff. “it’s always a privilege to play in the nest,” he said. “It’s always a privilege to play in front of our amazing fan base. We know that they’re going to bring the juice, and we’re so excited to play in front of them. It feels like it’s been seven months, which I think it has. We’re excited, and just can’t wait to get back into the flow of things.” n