![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/indicator-big.gif\")
<\/p>\n\u201cWinnipeg, they\u2019re coming to bring it, so it\u2019s time to turn up the heat a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t<\/p>\n
Calgary rebounded from its worst season in over two decades in 2024 with an 11-7 record and a narrow 33-30 loss to the B.C. Lions in the West Division semifinal.<\/p>\n
Calgary is the host city of the Grey Cup on Nov. 15.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know what\u2019s at stake,\u201d veteran kicker Ren\u00e9 Paredes said. \u201cI think 80 per cent of the team is back and we added a couple of new guys that look pretty good in camp so everybody\u2019s excited, everybody\u2019s motivated and we\u2019re going to try our best to have a good season and lead to the Grey Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 41-year-old Paredes embarks on his 15th CFL season, all with the Stampeders. Paredes has won two Grey Cups with them (2014, 2018).<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know the Grey Cup is here,\u201d Paredes said. \u201cWe\u2019re not afraid to say it. We just take one week at a time and get to our goal.\u201d<\/p>\n
The strength of Calgary\u2019s offence last season was the run, led by Mills (1,409 yards). The 29-year-old said his 250 pounds to start training camp was the lightest he\u2019d been in his CFL career.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s work to do in the receiving corps with the departures of top catchers Dominique Rhymes (retired) and Damien Alford (NFL), but Adams feels the difference a year can make since his debut as a Stampeder.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt makes a huge difference at the quarterback position coming in only having one off-season and now I had another completely full off-season,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s continuity there.<\/p>\n
\u201cDom, that\u2019s huge shoes to fill. He was our leading receiver last year, but I know all these guys are up for it. Jalen Philpot, he\u2019s going to have a huge year.\u201d<\/p>\n
The status of veteran receive Reggie Begelton, who sustained a season-ending knee injury in Week 2 last year, is unclear. <\/p>\n
His return is \u201ctaking a little longer,\u201d head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson said. \u201cWe\u2019re working on that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Defensive lineman Folarin Orimolade returned to practice this week for the first time since tearing his Achilles tendon in September\u2019s Labour Day game. <\/p>\n
His fellow lineman Jaylon Hutchings rejoined the Stampeders on Sunday. The NFL\u2019s Minnesota Vikings waived Hutchings in April because of a hamstring injury. <\/p>\n
The 26-year-old opted to return to Calgary and signed a three-year contract through 2028.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not going to commit to that unless you feel we\u2019re moving in the right direction,\u201d Dickenson said. \u201cHutch is a difference-maker.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both Orimolade and Hutchings were medically cleared to play Friday.<\/p>\n
Where Calgary needs an upgrade is its return game to start drives from a more advantageous field position. The Stampeders ranked last in total return yards last season.<\/p>\n
Dickenson brought in former Hamilton Tiger-Cat running back Tyreik McAllister to bolster that department, and also share that load with Erik Brooks.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe big thing in the off-season is find bigger guys to block and to try to get the play started,\u201d said the coach and GM.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s going to press to be as good as anyone in the league, Tyreik, and we\u2019ve got to let him get started. He catches the ball clean, don\u2019t press too much, but once there\u2019s a crease and he can hit it, I think you\u2019ll see some house calls.\u201d<\/p>\n
SEASON SNAPSHOT<\/p>\n
2025 record: 11-7, third, West Division. Lost 33-30 to B.C. Lions in division semifinal.<\/p>\n
Did you know?: Calgary hasn\u2019t won a playoff game since winning the Grey Cup in 2018.<\/p>\n
Key additions: WR Dejon Brissett; WR Rashod Owens; RB Tyreik McAllister.<\/p>\n
Key losses: WR Dominique Rhymes (Retired), WR Damien Alford (NFL New Orleans Saints), LB Jacob Roberts (NFL Minnesota Vikings).<\/p>\n
Players to watch: QB Vernon Adams Jr.; RB Dedrick Mills; DB Adrian Greene. <\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 2, 2026.<\/p>\n
Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cWinnipeg, they\u2019re coming to bring it, so it\u2019s time to turn up the heat a little bit.\u201d Calgary…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":709954,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-709953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709953","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=709953"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709953\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/709954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=709953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=709953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=709953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}