Photo: Pascal Ratthe/Montreal Alouettes
The Montreal Alouettes will have a new quarterback this week and a new man protecting his blindside.
Rookie Canadian Tiger Shanks will be making his first career start at left tackle on Saturday. The Alouettes selected Shanks fifth overall in the 2025 CFL Draft out of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, and he has dressed in all nine games in a depth capacity. During his time with the Rebels, the Vancouver, B.C.-born blocker started 51 games and became the first UNLV lineman to earn consecutive first-team All-Mountain West honours.
The 23-year-old’s insertion into the lineup appears to be largely ratio-related, as the team’s regular left tackle, Nick Callender, will still dress and has been listed as a designated nationalized American. Under CFL rules, he can replace Shanks indefinitely if he is injured, or play 25 snaps in the game in place of a designated Canadian starter or his backup. In this case, the Alouettes have listed left guard Pier-Olivier Lestage and sixth man Jesse Gibbon as the players who can be rotated.
The move was necessitated by the absence of running back Sean Thomas-Erlington, who is out this week with a neck injury. The veteran Canadian ball carrier has rushed 80 times for 361 yards and two touchdowns this year, while catching nine passes for 68 yards and another score. American rookie Travis Theis will step into the starting role, with Stevie Scott III coming on to back him up.
The two big changes on offence occur at the same time as the Alouettes turn to Caleb Evans, the team’s opening day third-stringer, at quarterback. The 27-year-old has 15 career starts under his belt with Ottawa and Montreal, and threw for 113 yards and a touchdown last week in relief. The benched McLeod Bethel-Thompson has been placed on the six-game injured list with an undisclosed issue, with newly signed QB Cameron Dukes joining James Morgan as the second backup.
Additionally, Canadian receiver Kaseem Ferdinand will dress, while American defensive tackle Kori Roberson Jr. has been placed on the practice roster.
The Montreal Alouettes (5-4) will visit the B.C. Lions (4-5) at BC Place Stadium on Saturday, August 16 with kickoff slated for 7:00 p.m. EDT. The Alouettes suffered a late collapse against the Edmonton Elks last week, while the Lions completed a comeback win over the red-hot Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
The game will be broadcast on TSN in Canada, CBS Sports Network in the United States, and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune-in on TSN 690 in Montreal and 730 CKNW in Vancouver.
Graphic courtesy: Montreal Alouettes