{"id":714553,"date":"2026-06-04T13:06:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T13:06:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/714553\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T13:06:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T13:06:10","slug":"alouettes-2026-season-rides-on-qbs-health-undersized-receivers-and-defensive-changes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/714553\/","title":{"rendered":"Alouettes’ 2026 season rides on QB’s health, undersized receivers and defensive changes"},"content":{"rendered":"

If it ain\u2019t broke, don\u2019t fix it.<\/p>\n

When the Alouettes launch their regular season Thursday at Hamilton (7:30 p.m., TSN1, TSN4, TSN5, RDS, TSN Radio-690, 99.5 FM) in a rematch of the 2025 East Division final<\/a>, 36 of 45 players on the active roster will be returning.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m big on continuity and having a foundation in place,\u201d general manager Danny Maciocia<\/a> told The Gazette. \u201cYou\u2019re always going to tweak it every single year; that\u2019s a given. But I think we were able to identify key pieces we wanted to keep around. Most of our heavy lifting was in the month of December. When February (free agency) rolled around, there wasn\u2019t much to add.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Als have been the model of consistency. Montreal has made the playoffs the past six seasons, the division final the past four and have reached the Grey Cup twice since 2023, winning one CFL title. The Als were potentially one from defeating Saskatchewan last season and, had quarterback Davis Alexander<\/a> been playing on two healthy legs, the outcome might have been different.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re excited with what lies ahead,\u201d Maciocia said.<\/p>\n

\"Alouettes'Alouettes running-back Stevie Scott III, left, celebrates after a touchdown with receiver Tyson Philpot during Grey Cup against the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Winnipeg on Nov. 16. Brent Just \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Here are some questions and thoughts to ponder heading into the season:<\/p>\n

Can Alexander remain healthy? Every CFL team\u2019s fortunes rest on the play of its starting quarterback. While Alexander had forged an 11-0 record before losing to the Roughriders, a recurring hamstring injury<\/a> limited him to seven regular-season games in 2025. And the cast of QBs replacing him were lamentable.<\/p>\n

The Als\u2019 offence averaged 14.4 more points, 114.9 additional net yards and 16 fewer turnovers when Alexander played. They weren\u2019t the same team without his swagger and leadership.<\/p>\n

Although Alexander appears healthy and wasn\u2019t going to play extensively during the pre-season, he was limited to two series against Ottawa on May 22 before departing with a knee injury.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s always a bit of luck that goes into that and there\u2019s only so much you can control,\u201d Maciocia said. \u201cHe came to training camp physically in a much better state than last year. We have the same five up front blocking for him, so there\u2019s continuity there. And we have a few backs that know how to protect the QB. There\u2019s a lot to look forward to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yeah, but two starting receivers are gone: The frequently injured and underachieving Austin Mack was released last winter before being owed an off-season bonus \u2014\u00a0a frequent occurrence in the CFL \u2014\u00a0while Charleston Rambo is attempting to land an NFL contract.<\/p>\n

Tyler Snead, Cole Spieker and Tyson Philpot have returned. Snead, only 5-foot-7 and 187 pounds, caught 84 passes for 1,129 yards. Canadian Philpot is the best of Montreal\u2019s receivers, but has been repeatedly injured. In 12 games last season, he caught 61 passes for 804 yards and five touchdowns.<\/p>\n

Alexander Hollins returns and, although he rarely dressed last season after joining Montreal, he gained 1,173 yards and scored nine TDs with B.C. in 2023. The Als also signed free agent from Winnipeg. While Sterns caught 48 passes for 530 yards in 2025, he\u2019s only 5-foot-8 and 184 pounds.<\/p>\n

Fast players eventually lose their speed, but small players never grow.<\/p>\n

\"AlouettesAlouettes safety Marc-Antoine Dequoy, left, and defensive-back Wesley Sutton bring down Saskatchewan Roughriders wide-receiver Kian Schaffer-Baker during Grey Cup in Winnipeg on Nov. 16. Brent Just \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Does defence win championships? Yes. The Als had a league-leading 45 sacks and 17 forced fumbles (12 recovered) last season despite intercepting a modest 18 passes. Nonetheless, Montreal\u2019s defence ranked first in the league.<\/p>\n

But the Als will be without middle-linebacker Darnell Sankey, now in B.C., and safety , who retired. Canadian Geoffrey Cantin-Arku, a former first-round draft choice, replaces Sankey, while the hard-hitting Micah Awe has been repatriated<\/a>. Awe had a CFL-leading 117 tackles with B.C. in 2025.<\/p>\n

While the Als have depth at safety in Nate Beauchemin, Arthur Hamlin and former first-round draft choice Jonathan Sutherland, they\u2019re inexperienced at the position and might be exploited. Beauchemin is the starter, but we believe the position will eventually be filled by Sutherland, who was selected fifth overall in 2023. He has been in the NFL since then with the Seattle Seahawks, New York Giants and Las Vegas Raiders.<\/p>\n

Seven is better than three: The Als must score more touchdowns this season to remain competitive. Montreal\u2019s 34 offensive TDs ranked last, while its 58 field goals were the CFL high. Offensively, the team averaged 23.3 points, placing undue pressure on the defence to perform.<\/p>\n

And teams no longer fear coming into Molson Stadium, where the Als had a 4-5 record. Coincidentally, they played better on the road (6-3). This is something the Canadiens can relate to.<\/p>\n

hzurkowsky@postmedia.com<\/p>\n

\t\tEditor\u2019s Pi\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If it ain\u2019t broke, don\u2019t fix it. When the Alouettes launch their regular season Thursday at Hamilton (7:30…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":714554,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-714553","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\/714553","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=714553"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714553\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/714554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=714553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=714553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=714553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}