With the arrival of Labour Day weekend, the CFL season is about to heat up.
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are set to host the Toronto Argonauts in the annual Labour Day Classic on Monday afternoon.
You can watch the game Monday at 2pm ET/11am PT on TSN1/4, TSN.ca and the TSN App.
Argos veteran defensive back Adarius Pickett is well aware of the importance of the Labour Day Classic given the historic and intense QEW rivalry with the Ticats and what it means for the standings in the East Division.
Toronto sits second in the East Division with a 5-6 record after dropping a close contest to the Saskatchewan Roughriders last Saturday while Hamilton have lost two straight and rank third in the East with a 4-8 record.
The Argonauts and Tiger-Cats have split their two head-to-head matchups this season.
“I think it’s one of those situations that we all know is kind of like a playoff game essentially right now in middle of the season. It’s going to be game 12 for us, game 13 for them,” Pickett said Friday morning during an appearance on TSN 1050’s First Up.
“I know we both fighting for second place in the East, fighting for a playoff spot. So, it’s definitely going to be one of those intense games and I mean again, of course, it’s the Labour Day Classic too, so that just intensifies it just that much more.”
The Argos have won three of the past four Labour Day Classics, but the Ticats own the all-time advantage with a 37-16-1 record.
Toronto won last year’s Labour Day Classic in dramatic fashion by a score of 35-33.
Pickett and the Argonauts are likely to square off against Canadian quarterback Tre Ford, who’s currently in his first season in Hamilton, for the third time this campaign as veteran star pivot Bo Levi Mitchell is still sidelined with an ankle injury.
Pickett says preparing to defend a “dual threat” quarterback like Ford is a lot different than game planning for somebody like Mitchell.
“Bo Levi is definitely, I would say like an air raid quarterback. He’s gonna throw the ball all over the field. He mostly stays in the pocket. They rely on a run game and then play a lot of play action off of that,” explained Pickett. “Tre Ford, he has a dynamic quarterback dual-threat ability to also run a ball, extend plays. He will throw the ball explosive down the field just as well but that preparation for the dual threat part is a lot different than facing the pocket passes.”
Over 12 games this season, Ford has thrown for 1,218 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions, adding 383 rushing yards on 35 attempts.
Pickett, who turns 30 on Saturday, is in his second stint with the Argonauts and currently ranks second in the CFL with 69 total tackles, one behind teammate Isaac Darkangelo.
Additionally, Argonauts veteran defensive lineman Shawn Lemon, 38, is having a resurgent year as he’s tied for the league lead with eight sacks and two forced fumbles.
As a member of the Ottawa Redblacks, Pickett played a full 18-game season in 2025 after suffering a torn Achilles with the Redblacks in September of the 2024 season.
The six-year CFL veteran says he’s felt healthy all-season long after a “great” off-season of preparation.
“I feel really good, honestly. I do the same thing every morning. Before y’all called, I was doing my cardio on the bike. Every morning I ride the bike for about 20 minutes. I hit my morning workout and then we go to meetings and all of that. I come back after practice, do another 20 minutes, do a little bit more core work and then do my treatment and I go home. Watch my film and stuff like that,” said Pickett. “But I feel really good, I’m really blessed. I had a great off-season to prepare me for this long, extensive season. Ever since I tore my Achilles, really been refining some things and taking time, changing my diet, doing certain things like that. I feel really good. I’m ready to go, ready for this last part of the season.”
After playing NCAA football with UCLA from 2014 to 2018, Pickett attempted to crack an NFL roster, spending time on practice squads with the Chicago Bears, Los Angeles Chargers and New England Patriots.
The native of Berkeley, Calif., eventually joined the CFL in 2021, playing his first two seasons with the Montreal Alouettes.
Pickett signed with the Argonauts for the 2023 season where he put up the best numbers of his career with 105 tackles, including six sacks, over 18 games to earn his first CFL All-Star nod.
Following their matchup against the Ticats, the Argos have six games remaining on the season, including two contests against the winless Redblacks.
