As the 2026 season approaches, CFL.ca has a new series making the case for every team as a contender to win the 113th Grey Cup, highlighting three reasons why each club has a path to the championship. The series is not intended to make predictions, but to showcase the strengths and potential routes for each team entering the new campaign.<\/p>\n
TORONTO \u2014 A year removed from a 5-13 season, the Toronto Argonauts look much more like the team that won two Grey Cups in three years than the one that missed the playoffs in 2025.<\/p>\n
With key pieces back in place, 2026 presents an opportunity to prove that last season was a blip, not the closing of their championship window.<\/p>\n
Ahead of their season opener against the Montreal Alouettes on June 12, CFL.ca brings you three reasons why the Toronto Argonauts could win the 113th Grey Cup.<\/p>\n
RELATED 1. CHAD KELLY UNDER CENTRE<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The biggest factor to Toronto\u2019s potential success in 2026 will be quarterback Chad Kelly.<\/p>\n The 2023 Most Outstanding Player returns after missing the entire 2025 season with a leg injury.<\/p>\n His return comes in a different environment. With head coach Ryan Dinwiddie off to Ottawa, the Argos promoted quarterbacks coach Mike Miller<\/a>, maintaining continuity within a system that has produced elite quarterback play in each of the past three seasons.<\/p>\n Under Miller\u2019s guidance since 2022, McLeod Bethel-Thompson<\/a> led the CFL in passing yards, Kelly won MOP, and Nick Arbuckle<\/a> earned Grey Cup MVP honours in 2024.<\/p>\n Kelly now returns as the clear starter, already having shown he can carry a team to a Grey Cup, while Arbuckle gives Toronto one of the strongest backup situations in the league.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s weird, but I would say Toronto,\u201d said Hamilton linebacker Wynton McManis<\/a>, who departed from Toronto this off-season, when asked which team improved the most over the winter.\u00a0\u201cThey got the quarterback back.\u201d<\/p>\n If Kelly returns to form, Toronto doesn\u2019t just improve, it immediately re-enters the Grey Cup conversation.<\/p>\n 2. OFFENSIVE FIREPOWER<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n With stability at quarterback restored, Toronto\u2019s offence is positioned to be one of the most productive groups in the CFL.<\/p>\n The Argos already have a receiver group that has proven it can produce at a high level. Damonte Coxie<\/a> was on pace for a 1,500-yard season in 2025 before injury cut him short, while Kevin Mital<\/a> led the CFL with 102 receptions as the league\u2019s most reliable possession target. Jake Herslow<\/a> added nine touchdowns in just 13 games, finishing second in the CFL in receiving scores.<\/p>\n Makai Polk<\/a> adds another layer after flashing 1,000-yard potential as a rookie in 2024. After spending most of last season in the NFL and rejoining the squad in Week 13, he showed he still has that big-play ability despite inconsistent quarterback play down the stretch.<\/p>\n What this group lacked in 2025 was time together. Coxie, Mital, Herslow and Polk combined for just 47 of a possible 72 starts, rarely sharing the field at full strength.<\/p>\n Now, they enter 2026 healthy, under 30, and with a full training camp alongside Kelly.<\/p>\n \u201c(We\u2019re) a lot better than we were last year,\u201d said Polk during the CFL\u2019s off-season content capture in April. \u201cIf we can execute and play the right way, a Grey Cup is possible.\u201d<\/p>\n With continuity in place, the expectation is it shows up every week.<\/p>\n 3. BRINGING BACK THE GREY CUP GANG ON DEFENCE<\/p>\n PICKETT SAYS NO WAY!<\/p>\n \ud83d\uddd3\ufe0f: Ticats vs. @REDBLACKS<\/a> LIVE NOW \u2014 CFL (@CFL) July 20, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n After two Grey Cup wins in three seasons, Toronto\u2019s defensive core was picked apart heading into 2025, and the drop-off was immediate. The Argos allowed a league-high 32.4 points per game last season.<\/p>\n This off-season, the focus shifted to bringing back players who already know how to win in Toronto.<\/p>\n The Argos reintroduced DaShaun Amos<\/a>, Ralph Holley<\/a>, and Robert Priester<\/a>, all Grey Cup champions with the club. The reunion continued with linebacker <\/a>Adarius Pickett<\/a> returning<\/a> after a productive stint in Ottawa.<\/p>\n \u201cPickett\u2019s been putting in the work,\u201d said Coxie. \u201cHe was cutting up in Ottawa, he was going crazy over there. He\u2019s just bringing that energy back.\u201d<\/p>\n This is a group that understands the system and expectations in Toronto. After a season spent searching for consistency, the Argos are betting that familiarity can stabilize the defence.<\/p>\n If that happens, it won\u2019t need to carry the team. It just needs to complement an offence capable of doing the rest.<\/p>\n
\u00bb\u00a03 reasons why Winnipeg could win the 113th Grey Cup<\/a>
\u00bb\u00a03 reasons why Hamilton could win the 113th Grey Cup<\/a>
\u00bb 3 reasons why Ottawa could win the 113th Grey Cup<\/a>
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