Tyson Philpot is already a Grey Cup hero. This past off-season, the 26-year-old became one of the CFL\u2019s highest paid players when he signed a two-year-old contract extension last December. And Tyson listened to advice of his twin brother Jalen, who said changing up his diet would help recovery and durability over an 18-game season. The year was supposed to be the season of his life, but Tyson Philpot felt like an imposter.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know what that was until someone told me what that was – and they\u2019re like, \u2018that\u2019s so common for football players, or somebody that just got paid (a new contract),\u201d Philpot said this Grey Cup week. \u201cI would say it\u2019s because of the injuries (I suffered), though, obviously, you know, that puts self-doubt in your head and it\u2019s like, \u2018You just got paid and, you know, you get hurt again. What\u2019s gonna happen?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
So, this year, Tyson Philpot used the CFL and CFLPA\u2019s mental help services to understand himself better. <\/p>\n
Philpot is the 2026 Most Outstanding Canadian, who was almost 500 yards more productive than the next receiver who was not a Montreal Alouette; meanwhile, CFL No. 2 receiver Tyler Snead\u2019s own career-high 1474 yards was not even good enough for him to win a $1,000 yards after catch bet against Philpot. And the Delta, B.C. native is already etched in football history for catching the game-winning touchdown of the 110th Grey Cup with just 13 seconds to go. <\/p>\n
And yet, at one point, Philpot struggled to appreciate himself and all his achievements.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like I\u2019m somebody that doesn\u2019t, you know, take in stuff,\u201d Philpot said. \u201cI would be like, I got something and \u2018it\u2019s okay.\u2019 I don\u2019t appreciate it at all,\u201d Philpot said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think that\u2019s where you lose some of that deservingness. It happened, you\u2019re onto the next.\u201d<\/p>\n
The first step for Philpot was to listen to the people he respects the most, his former veteran Alouette teammate Shawn Lemon, his close friend and Edmonton Elks receiver Kaion Julien-Grant, and his mom, Colleen Purcell. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s something that I was shy about before, but, you know, I talked with my mom and she was like, \u2018everybody needs to talk to somebody,\u2019\u201d Philpot said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is so much pressure on them,\u201d Purcell said of her son, and every athlete.<\/p>\n
Philpot singles out Julien-Grant for being not just a friend in football but a friend for life. Julien-Grant was open and relatable when talking about mental health and speaking to someone. <\/p>\n
\u201cKian [Julien-Grant] is actually someone that I leaned on so much while he was [in Montreal] and he\u2019s the one that actually recommended me to somebody, and, like, [Julien-Grant] and I have great conversations like that,\u201d Philpot said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut yeah, just talking about, you know, expectations and who I am – but remembering who I am, right? Like, I got paid for a reason and, you know, but yeah, like the self-doubt creeped in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Julien-Grant, and those Philpot trusts, are protective of Philpot and his decision to prioritize his mental health. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to put yourself first in your own mental, because at the end of the day, we\u2019re all we got,\u201d Julien-Grant said.<\/p>\n
Lemon benefited from Philpot\u2019s late, fourth quarter Grey Cup heroics in 2023. It would be Lemon\u2019s third Grey Cup ring. Philpot said Lemon\u2019s guidance made him see achievement a different way.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that\u2019s something, you know, Shawn Lemon actually helped me a lot in the off-season too, about being where your feet are and appreciating these moments because like this it\u2019s gone,\u201d Philpot said as he snapped his fingers. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I think that\u2019s something that helped me. But it\u2019s, you know, it\u2019s my people around me, for real, and it\u2019s those ex-football guys, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
It all led Philpot to use the league and union\u2019s mental health services to begin shaping a new perspective for right here and right now: The man who has already made one of the greatest catches in Grey Cup history is visualizing making the catch, again.<\/p>\n
\u201cMan, I visualized making plays. I don\u2019t want it to come down to the last play, but I visualize making that play again,\u201d Philpot said. \u201cSorry, Tyrell [Ford] but, you know, I envision running by him. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think I put everything in my mind before it happens, so I\u2019m so ready for that moment. I think that\u2019s what helps with the confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
The player can learn to live and excel in the moment, but it doesn\u2019t have to be a selfish existence, not when you\u2019re a member of a Montreal Alouettes locker room that tries to pride itself on the bonds that can be strengthened through respect and vulnerability. <\/p>\n
\u201cErasing where you come from, who you are, what your race is, and it\u2019s just being there for your brother,\u201d Philpot said. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd, you know, if someone is down, if someone is going through something, be there for them. [Our locker room has] talked about: It\u2019s not hard to ask your brother how he\u2019s doing. You see somebody down, ask them how they\u2019re doing – pick them up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even Philpot\u2019s Grey Cup opponent on Sunday, who offered a helping hand first, knows where he too can find a helping hand. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever he does,\u201d Julien-Grant said, \u201cI\u2019m always proud of him.\u201d<\/p>\n
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