{"id":602317,"date":"2026-04-14T00:30:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T00:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/602317\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T00:30:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T00:30:09","slug":"stampeders-receiver-jalen-philpot-keeping-an-open-mind-about-cfls-2027-field-changes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/602317\/","title":{"rendered":"Stampeders receiver Jalen Philpot keeping an open mind about CFL\u2019s 2027 field changes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Montreal Alouette Wesley Sutton, right, gives chase to Calgary Stampeders’ receiver Jalen Philpot during a game in Calgary in July of last year.Jeff McIntosh\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

Jalen Philpot is coming around to the CFL\u2019s plan to move goalposts backwards next season.<\/p>\n

Last September, CFL commissioner Stewart Johnston unveiled the league\u2019s two-part plan to improve its game and make it more entertaining for fans. The most controversial changes were for 2027 when the field would be shortened by 10 yards (to a length of 100 yards), endzones by five yards (to 15 yards) and goalposts would move to the back of the reconfigured end zones.<\/p>\n

Johnston believes moving the goalposts will result in more touchdowns scored. Philpot, of Delta, B.C., and entering his fifth season as a receiver with the Calgary Stampeders, initially balked at the changes but has since softened his stance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t too happy in the beginning because I grew up with the Canadian game, I grew up a fan of it,\u201d Philpot said recently. \u201cI\u2019m not too fond of change but I do agree there is a better place for the goalposts and I think you could open up the offence, for sure.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019ve been instances where we\u2019ve hit the goalposts in the middle of the field for wide-open touchdowns and there\u2019s nothing worse. It\u2019s hard to tell if it will improve the game but at the end of the day you want it to be exciting and I think whatever we can do to go in that direction is good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Philpot, 25, is coming off his most productive CFL campaign. The 6-foot, 190-pound receiver had 61 catches for a career-best 830 yards with three touchdowns.<\/p>\n

More importantly, Calgary (11-7) finished third in the West Division to return to the CFL playoffs. However, the Stampeders\u2019 season ended with a 33-30 semi-final loss to the B.C. Lions.<\/p>\n

Calgary has reached the playoffs in three of Philpot\u2019s four CFL seasons but has failed to earn a post-season victory. The franchise hasn\u2019t won the Grey Cup since 2018.<\/p>\n

With Calgary hosting the \u201926 CFL championship, this season would be an ideal time for the Stampeders to reverse those fortunes. <\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, wins and championships are what you\u2019re remembered for,\u201d Philpot said. \u201cI go into every season expecting to be in that final game and it\u2019s definitely enticing this year, for sure, with the Grey Cup being in Calgary.\u201d<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Calgary Stampeders’ receiver Jalen Philpot (85) makes a catch while defended by Hamilton Tiger-Cats defensive back Destin Talbert (25) during a game in Hamilton last October.Peter Power\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

Despite last year\u2019s milestone, Philpot feels he has plenty of room for improvement.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can get better in my route-running and ability to see the field,\u201d he said. \u201cThe thing about Vernon [Calgary quarterback Vernon Adams Jr.] is he knows where he\u2019s going pre-snap so if you can be in that right spot at the right time, that\u2019s what he\u2019s looking for.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a whole timing thing that just comes with comfortability. The way I feel now going into this season is super comfortable, I\u2019ve made the plays so now it\u2019s just go out and be consistent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Calgary boasted the CFL\u2019s top rushing attack last season, Adams\u2019s first with the club. Dedrick Mills ran for a league-best 1,409 yards and finished tied for tops in rushing TDs (11) as the Stampeders averaged a league-leading 126.7 yards on the ground per game.<\/p>\n

Adams still threw for 4,247 yards with 21 TDs and 14 interceptions but Dominique Rhymes \u2013 Calgary\u2019s leading receiver last year with 50 catches for 886 yards and six TDs \u2013 has retired and Canadian Damien Alford (CFL-best 20.4-yard average per catch last year) is with the NFL\u2019s New Orleans Saints. However, veteran Reggie Begelton is expected back after missing most of 2025 with a knee injury.<\/p>\n

Still, many pre-season prognosticators have low expectations of Calgary this season. Philpot is anxious to do his part to prove the doubters wrong.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think just with the extra motivation of us getting ranked low again and the Grey Cup being in Calgary, we\u2019re going to be a forced to be reckoned with right out of the gate,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Montreal Alouette Wesley Sutton, right, gives chase to Calgary Stampeders’ receiver Jalen Philpot…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":602318,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[901,888,902,879,877,903,49,48,876,895,896,891,878,521,875,522,520,46,549,295,894,887,914,880,881,893,889,890,884,904,885,909,910,912,907,911,905,908,882,898,899,714,897,906,82,865,61,900,892,886,883,913],"class_list":{"0":"post-602317","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cfl","8":"tag-alberta","9":"tag-arts-news","10":"tag-bc","11":"tag-breaking-news","12":"tag-breaking-news-video","13":"tag-british-columbia","14":"tag-ca","15":"tag-canada","16":"tag-canada-news","17":"tag-canada-sports","18":"tag-canada-sports-news","19":"tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","20":"tag-canadian-breaking-news","21":"tag-canadian-football-league","22":"tag-canadian-news","23":"tag-canadianfootballleague","24":"tag-cfl","25":"tag-economy","26":"tag-education","27":"tag-environment","28":"tag-federal-government","29":"tag-foreign-news","30":"tag-globe-and-mail","31":"tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","32":"tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","33":"tag-government","34":"tag-life-news","35":"tag-lifestyle","36":"tag-local-news","37":"tag-manitoba","38":"tag-national-news","39":"tag-new-brunswick","40":"tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","41":"tag-northwest-territories","42":"tag-nova-scotia","43":"tag-nunavut","44":"tag-ontario","45":"tag-pei","46":"tag-photos","47":"tag-political-news","48":"tag-political-opinion","49":"tag-politics","50":"tag-politics-news","51":"tag-quebec","52":"tag-sports","53":"tag-sports-news","54":"tag-technology","55":"tag-travel","56":"tag-trudeau","57":"tag-us-news","58":"tag-world-news","59":"tag-yukon"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602317","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=602317"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602317\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/602318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=602317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=602317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=602317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}