25 questions ahead of the 2025 CFL season

You know the saying. “Go big or go home.”

Well, I often choose to go home, not gonna lie.

But on this occasion? The dawning of another season in the great northern league? I go big, baby.

Just ahead of CFL Kickoff, here are 25 questions for the ’25 season.

DID THE ALOUETTES CHOOSE WISELY?

After seeing quarterback Davis Alexander look pretty darn good in taking over for an injured Cody Fajardo for a stretch last season, the Montreal Alouettes felt they had a choice to make: Stay with their 2023 Grey Cup hero, the 33-year-old Fajardo, at QB1, or move on to the 26-year-old Alexander for keeps. We know which way they went, with Fajardo now in Edmonton. But was this the right choice?

CAN THE BOMBERS GET ONE MORE OUT OF THIS CREW?

There has been some change, sure, so it’s not like the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are going lather, rinse, repeat with exactly the same group. But there are mainstays who remain locked in and this team, on the field, is still Willie Jefferson‘s, Stanley Bryant‘s, Zach Collaros‘, Pat Neufeld’s, Jake Thomas‘, and Nic Demski‘s, to name a few. The same mainstays who’ve been there for a remarkable and rare run to five consecutive Grey Cup appearances. Can they make it a record-tying six?

WHAT’S IN STORE FROM A TRIMMED DOWN THOR?

In his second season in Saskatchewan, what is in store for running back AJ Ouellette? (CFL.ca)

Saskatchewan Roughriders’ running back AJ Ouellette, frustrated by an injury-plagued season last year, made a concerted effort to change things up during this past off-season, adjusting his diet and dropping a whole lotta poundage while steeling up his muscle content. Will this new, turbo-charged version of Thor get him back to his hammer-smashing best?

CAN THE REDBLACKS PUT IT ALL TOGETHER?

A lot went right for the Ottawa REDBLACKS in 2024; a breakout starting QB in Dru Brown, a dominating home record and a run defence that was one of the best in the CFL. But that pass defence got shredded. Will new faces in the secondary help the REDBLACKS be a complete contender?

CAN THE ARGOS OVERCOME ONCE AGAIN?

Coming off a 16-2 season that saw them fall flat in the Eastern Final in 2023, the Toronto Argonauts were raided pretty good in the off-season that followed, losing a clutch of key performers to free agency as well as their defensive coordinator to a head coaching job in Saskatchewan. A fall-to-earth season was expected for the team by many but when everything was settled, the Boatmen had another Grey Cup victory to their credit. This past off-season, Toronto was once again stripped of a bevy of stars, especially on defence, leading some to wonder if they’ll be left behind in the East. Can they confound the doubters again?

WILL WE GET A DOUBLE-DIGIT SACK-MASTER?

In 2023, BC defensive end Mathieu Betts rode an 18-sack performance to the Most Outstanding Defensive Player award. Six others hit double digits behind him that year. Last season, the CFL sack leaders (five of them) tied with just eight apiece. Will the 2025 season see a return to more gaudy quarterback-hunting numbers?

ARE THE EDMONTON ELKS GOOD AND TRULY REVIVED?

After another disappointing year in 2024, the Edmonton Elks underwent a raft of changes, including a new general manager, head coach, and a whole host of big-prize free agents. Along with some impressive talent kept in-house, it really does look like Edmonton’s football power is back. But can they prove it?

IS THIS THE YEAR FOR RETURN RECORDS?

Look around the CFL and you see burners, burners everywhere, led by Toronto’s Janarion Grant, the 2024 Most Outstanding Special Teams Player. It makes me wonder; could we see a single-season record for return touchdowns set in 2025? Chris Williams holds the individual mark of six, set in 2012 while he was with Hamilton. But I’m wondering about a league-wide record, too. In an 81-game season, that stands at 22, set in 2004.

CAN VERNON ADAMS JR. KICKSTART THE STAMPS?

The Calgary Stampeders did not enjoy what you would call a banner offensive season in 2024. But now they have Big Play VA as their starting quarterback, and a bunch of pretty great downfield toys for him to play with. Will the Calgary offence start torching opposition defences?

DID THEY CHOOSE WISELY? THIS TIME I’M NOT REFERRING TO THE MONTREAL ALOUETTES. OKAY, I AM, BUT NOT JUST THEM, SPECIFICALLY

In final cutdowns, Montreal parted ways with veteran running back Walter Fletcher, who’d had a very good 2024 season with the Als, with over 1,400 yards in rushing and receiving, altogether. Over in Toronto, the Argos decided to release veteran tailback Ka’Deem Carey who also had a terrific year in 2024, rushing for over a 1,000 yards in Double Blue. Did these two teams make the right decisions for their respective backfields?

WHICH DUO WILL BE THE 2025 BUTCH AND SUNDANCE?

Which quarterback/receiver combo will have the hottest, hardest-to-stop connection in 2025? With Dru Brown slinging to Eugene Lewis, Bo Levi Mitchell throwing to Kenny Lawler, Vernon Adams Jr. firing to Dominique Rhymes and Nathan Rourke targeting last year’s 1,400-yard man, Justin McInnis — for starters — there is big potential for multiple, monster pass-catching years ahead. But who will reign supreme?

CAN THE TICATS AVOID DIGGING A DEEP HOLE?

They were oh-and-five to begin last season. They were oh-and-three to start the season before that. And they were oh-and-four to begin the 2022 campaign. Can the Hamilton Ticats finally come out of the gates, engines revving, and ride a hot start to a drought busting Grey Cup victory in November?

WILL JAMES BUTLER HAVE A “TOLD YOU SO” SEASON?

The veteran running back has returned to the BC Lions for 2025 after two years in Hamilton, where, in year one he starred and in year two, was benched in favour of young up-and-comer Greg Bell. Released by the Ticats ahead of free agency, Butler is back with the team with which he enjoyed his first 1,000-yard season, in 2022.

IS TRE A NUMBER ONE GUY?

He’s been scintillating in relief. And he’s been good in limited opportunities to start while in Edmonton. But the big question about Tre Ford, in 2025 is: Can he be a week-in, week-out QB1 in the CFL? The Elks signed him to a new deal this past off-season, one that screamed “yes he can!” But veteran Cody Fajardo is in the wings and it will be up to Ford to play so well that that’s where the 2023 Grey Cup MVP stays.

WILL WE GET ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL REVENGE TOUR?

The Argos got stung by a bitter home loss in the 2023 Eastern Final, where they made a lot of mistakes and got mugged by a strong defence. They went on to claim the Grey Cup the next year. The Montreal Alouettes got stung by a bitter home loss in the 2024 Eastern Final, where they made a lot of mistakes and got mugged by a strong defence. Can they exact the same kind of revenge in 2025?

WILL HE, AT LONG LAST, LEAD AN EXPEDITION TO THE TOP?

Saskatchewan quarterback Trevor Harris has two Grey Cup rings to his credit, both as a backup (2012 with Toronto and 2016 with Ottawa). In his only start in a Grey Cup game (2018 with Ottawa) his team went down to defeat against the Calgary Stampeders. Harris has had a fine career with great numbers but this one thing has eluded him. Will he, at the age of 39, finally scratch that itch?

CAN DALTON SCHOEN RETURN TO FORM?

After two stunning and sensational seasons to begin his CFL career, Winnipeg receiver Dalton Schoen missed almost all of last season with a serious knee injury. Will he be the same Dalton Schoen we came to know?

CAN NATHAN BE WHAT WE THOUGHT HE COULD BE?

The theory is a sound one. BC quarterback Nathan Rourke suffered in his return to the CFL last year because he returned mid-season, and needed to speed-read his fifth offensive system in less than two years. Now, though, the 27-year-old pivot needs to prove that with consistency in his football life, he can be the man that wowed us all during the 2022 season.

WILL HYPOXIC TRAINING MAKE BRADY OLIVEIRA EVEN BETTER?

The veteran running back has been a workhorse for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers over his career and it will probably be that way again in 2025. This past off-season, Oliveira has been engaging in something called “hypoxic training,” which sees him working out while holding his breath, underwater. It’s supposed to make the mind and body even stronger and if that is the case, Oliveira might be poised to better the 2024 totals that made him the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player.

IS THIS THE YEAR OF THE PHILPOTS?

After they each were selected in the first round of the 2022 draft, both Jalen and Tyson Philpot had “get your feet wet” rookie seasons in Calgary and Montreal, respectively. That had me revved up to see what they’d be up to the following year. But Jalen missed most of the 2023 season due to injury and then Tyson had his ’24 campaign cut in half by a foot injury. These two have been pushing each other for their entire lives, trying to one-up the other. Will this season give us an epic sibling rivalry?

WHO WILL BE THE MOST ‘PILFERY’ OF THE PILFERERS?

We haven’t seen an interceptions leader get to double digits since 2017 but with all the elite ballhawks patrolling CFL backfields in 2025, maybe this is the year for it to happen again. Will Sasky’s Rolan Milligan Jr. lead the way once more? Does Tyrell Ford get to the top with his new team in Edmonton? Will Toronto’s Benjie Franklin ride his hot finish to 2024 all the way through to the interceptions crown in 2025?

WHICH BACK-UP QUARTERBACK SHINES BRIGHTEST IN RELIEF?

In a perfect world, we’d see nine starting quarterbacks go coast to coast this CFL season but the reality is we don’t ever get to see that do we? Injury to or underperformance by one of the league’s starters will mean opportunity for one of the CFL’s backup men and the league is not short on experienced understudies in 2025. From Montreal’s McLeod Bethel-Thompson, to Toronto’s Nick Arbuckle to Edmonton’s Cody Fajardo and Saskatchewan’s Jake Maier — the list goes on — somebody’s QB2 is gonna take the ball and run with it. Which reminds me: Winnipeg’s Chris Streveler, perhaps?

WAS THAT MERELY A ONE-OFF? OR CAN IT BE A TWO-OFF?

The Argos managed to end up with sensational defence in 2024, with an unconventional set up with defensive co-coordinators in Kevin Eiben and Will Fields. Now that Fields is Ottawa’s DC, can Toronto make it work again with Eiben and Jason Shivers?

WHAT DON’T WE KNOW?

This is one of my favourite questions, year after year. That’s because every season, a handful of players most of us knew nothing about arrive and become household names by September. Last year? Guys like Hamilton receiver Shemar Bridges and Edmonton linebacker Nick Anderson announced their presence with authority. Who will it be in 2025?

HOW DOES IT ALL END?

This, of course, is the biggest and most intriguing question of them all. See you on November 16.

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