The Ottawa Redblacks will open the 2023 regular season minus quarterback Jeremiah Masoli and linebacker Jovan Santos-Knox.
Masoli continues to recover from a knee injury that forced him to miss most of last season. Santos-Knox, who the Redblacks acquired in free agency, is dealing with a hamstring ailment.
Ottawa head coach Bob Dyce told reporters this week neither player will be available for the Redblacks' first two games of 2023. The club visits the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday before facing the Calgary Stampeders on June 15.
Veteran Nick Arbuckle will start at quarterback against Montreal.
That means Winnipeg's Zach Collaros will be the only quarterback making consecutive opening-day starts (2022-23) with the same team. Collaros will lead the Blue Bombers into their season opener Friday night versus the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Bo Levi Mitchell, who spent his first 10 CFL seasons with Calgary, will make his first start with Hamilton.
Montreal will also have a new starter when it faces Ottawa. Cody Fajardo, who helped lead the Saskatchewan Roughriders to consecutive West Division final appearances during his time there, joined the Alouettes in free agency.
That reunited Fajardo with Alouettes head coach Jason Maas, who served as Fajardo's offensive co-ordinator in Regina. But Montreal's offence suffered a big hit this off-season when receiver Eugene Lewis signed with the Edmonton Elks as a free agent.
Fajardo joined the Alouettes after starter Trevor Harris and receiver Jake Wieneke -- a close friend of Harris's -- both signed as free agents with Saskatchewan
A big plus for Montreal would be the healthy return of running back William Stanback.
A fractured ankle limited the six-foot, 233-pound Stanback to just 153 rushing yards on 34 carries over five regular-season games last year. In 2021, he led the CFL with 1,176 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 193 carries (6.1-yard average) in 12 regular-season games.
Two years earlier -- the CFL didn't play in 2020 due to the global pandemic -- Stanback had 1,048 yards (6.2-yard average) and five TDS in 14 regular-season appearances. When Stanback is healthy, he's a player opposing defences must not only account for but prepare to face head on.
And without Lewis and Wieneke, the expectation is for Stanback to get the ball often.
Pick: Montreal.
B.C. Lions versus Calgary Stampeders (Thursday night)
At Calgary, the Jake Maier era begins as the 26-year-old marks his first full season as the Stampeders' starting quarterback. The team is 8-2 in home openers since 2012 but will be without defensive backs Nick Statz (foot) and Daniel Amoaka (knee) as well as offensive lineman Joshua Coker (ankle). Veteran Vernon Adams Jr. starts under centre for the Lions and is 4-3 versus the Stamps, but B.C. won't have receiver Keon Hatcher (foot) and linebacker Maxime Rouyer (hamstring).
Pick: B.C.
Hamilton Tiger-Cats versus Winnipeg Blue Bombers (Friday night)
At Winnipeg, the Bombers are always tough at IG Field (8-1 last season). Collaros is the one who makes the offence tick, but also returning are receivers Dalton Schoen and Canadian Nic Demski, defensive linemen Willie Jefferson and Jackson Jeffcoat, linebacker Adam Bighill and offensive linemen Stanley Bryant and Jermarcus Hardrick, to name a few. Mitchell makes his Hamilton debut, as will running back James Butler, but earning a season-opening win in Manitoba, while not impossible, is always a big ask.
Pick: Winnipeg.
Saskatchewan Roughriders versus Edmonton Elks (Sunday night)
At Edmonton, the Elks look to shake a dubious CFL-record 17-game home losing streak. They'll have a number of new faces, including Lewis (91 catches, 1,303 yards, 10 TDs), the East Division's outstanding player last season with Montreal. Harris makes his Roughriders' debut, but Saskatchewan will have to do a better job of protecting the passer after surrendering a league-high 77 sacks last season. The Elks were next, allowing 53.
Pick: Saskatchewan.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 7, 2023.
Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press
