After falling just short in the big dance last season, the Montreal Alouettes will get back on the saddle in 2026 with an experienced, physical group looking to win another Grey Cup.
The Alouettes have been a force in the East Division, making the playoffs the past six seasons, the East Final in the past four, while also having one Grey Cup win and two appearances in the big game over the past three years. And despite losing some key veteran contributors, Montreal will look to extend all those streaks in 2026.
Let’s dive into how Quebec’s team is looking heading into the new campaign.
Offence
Beginning with the offence, where there is a new playcaller, a new No.1 receiver, and, hopefully, no new injuries.
Head coach Jason Maas has passed playcalling duties over to fourth-year coordinator Anthony Calvillo, who will look to keep Montreal’s offence rolling with confidence like they did when franchise pivot Davis Alexander was fully healthy in 2026.
The 27-year-old Alexander suffered a grade 3C hamstring tear in Week 7 before suffering a grade 2A tear upon his return, severely limiting him in the big game against Saskatchewan, but he is fully healthy for 2026.
“Last time I got an MRI was at the end of January, and by that time, all the healing was a hundred percent completed,” said Alexander.
“The only thing we’re working through right now is just scar tissue, which is common because the damage was pretty decent. So, there’s still a little bit of scar tissue in there that just feels like tightness. It’s been a big key to try to work that out, the big focus has been single leg work and explosion to make sure both are fine in the same way.”
The offence had a totally different feel with Alexander under centre in 2025 – both in play and in conviction, a conviction that is now laced throughout the DNA of this team. Montreal averaged 14.4 more points, 114.9 more net yards, and turned the ball over 16 fewer times with Alexander in the lineup, a stark difference.
Protecting the franchise pivot is the same fantastic group up front, as the Alouettes offensive line features size, people-moving ability, and guys who bring a mean streak.
The interior features arguably the best run-blocking offensive lineman in the CFL in Pier-Olivier Lestage at left guard, while centre Justin Lawrence and American right guard Donald Ventrelli aren’t far behind. At 6-foot-6 and 321 pounds, Nick Callender is a mauler in the run game at left tackle as well, who also posted his lowest pressure rate for a season in his career in 2025 (5.1 per cent).
At right tackle, Canadian sophomore Tiger Shanks mans the spot after being thrown into the fire for nearly 250 snaps last season. The 2025 fifth-overall had mixed results, as the 24-year-old held up in pass protection at points, posting the 14th-best pressure rate among all tackles (5.5 per cent), but he got beaten up in the run game.
The overall physical play of the line pairs nicely with the bashing style that running backs Stevie Scott III and Travis Theis bring to the table as well.
While it was the 25-year-old Theis and the now-retired Sean Thomas Erlington handling the duties most of 2025, Scott took over in Week 15 and did not look back. The 6-foot-2, 231-pound wrecking ball ran the ball 113 times for 617 yards (5.5 yards per carry) and four touchdowns over the final six regular-season games and throughout the playoffs, while finishing with the eighth-most total rush yards after contact (299).
Theis can also do similar things, as the 5-foot-11, 215-pound bulldozer is arguably the hardest player to bring down in the league. The back posted the sixth-most missed tackles forced (27) on only 70 carries, while also averaging the seventh-highest yards per carry with 5.2 (min 70 snaps).
These pair of backs will wear you out, and when you also have that offensive line leaning on you, it’s not a fun day in the office for opposing defences.
The big change offensively comes in the receiving core, as Austin Mack is out. With the team not making a splash at the position during free agency, it will instead look for the collective group to step up.
Someone capable of even more responsibility is Tyler Snead, who, at 5-foot-7 and 172 pounds, was fantastic in the slot last season while embodying the Alouettes’ swagger.
The 26-year-old in 2025 finished top six in receptions (84), yards (1,129), and yards after the catch (461), all of which were career highs. Over the past three seasons, among receivers with over 200 targets, Snead’s 71.9 per cent catch rate sits second, just below Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ Nic Demski (72.1 per cent).
So, Snead gets a ton of targets, catches almost all of them, and makes positive things happen with after the catch ability. Add in a more polished intermediate and vertical game, which popped as well last year, and there’s not much he can’t do.
He’ll be joined by Canadian Tyson Philpot and American Cole Spieker, who both finished top 15 in yards after catch last season alongside Snead. The team also signed Jerreth Sterns, who posted career highs in Winnipeg last season in catches (48), yards (530), and majors (four).
It’s a very solid group, and if Snead can replicate or even improve on his 2025 numbers in a larger role and Philpot can stay healthy, it’s a receiver room that can more than make do without Mack.
Overall, it’s an offence that is efficient, can do a lot of things well, and is well-coached. Between Alexander’s dynamism, the talent and versatility at receiver, a mauling run game, and the creativity from Maas and Calvillo, it’s no wonder that they averaged more than 33 points and 400 yards per game when fully healthy in 2025. They will look to do it again with largely the same group in 2026.
Defence
While Alexander and his swagger rightfully stole the headlines in 2025, it was defensive coordinator Noel Thorpe’s defence that was atop the league and held Montreal in every game last season.
It was silly how good the unit was in 2025 with their physical and attacking style, as they had disruptors at all three levels. Montreal led the league in many defensive categories, including net offence allowed (338.4), average yards per play allowed (6.02), passing yards allowed (256.9), sacks (45), and big plays allowed (37).
Heading into 2026, however, the Alouettes have lost veteran contributors from all three levels, including defensive tackles Dylan Wynn and Shawn Oakman, middle linebacker Darnell Sankey, and safety Marc-Antoine Dequoy. Replacing these veteran contributors will be key, especially on the back end following star safety Dequoy’s retirement.
The good news? Montreal is pretty insulated with Canadian talent at the safety position, as former third-round pick Arthur Hamlin, former second-round pick Nate Beauchemin, and former first-round pick Jonathan Sutherland (who signed this off-season after starting his career in the NFL) are all featured.
Hamlin seems to have the starting spot heading into the season after the 26-year-old saw some time in the lineup in 2025, recording 17 tackles. The group only has 343 CFL defensive snaps combined, with Hamlin recording all but seven of them. It’s a young, inexperienced group, but one with upside that Montreal has invested in.
The rest of the back end is great, as thumper in nickel Najee Murray and weak-side halfback Wesley Sutton are as solid as they come and are perfect players for Thorpe’s scheme. Second-year man Robert Kenendy seems primed to start on the strong-side at halfback after 30 tackles in eight games last season, while cornerbacks Lorenzo Burns and Kabion Ento form a fantastic pass coverage duo on the outside. Especially Ento, who is criminally underrated and should be considered one of, if not the best coverage corner north of the border.
At inside linebacker, Canadian Geoff Cantin-Arku and 2025 tackles leader Micah Awe are ready to step into the Sankey-sized hole left up the middle. The former will step into the starter’s role, as the former first-round pick in Cantin-Arku has shown in his 1,100-plus snaps over the past two seasons that he’s ready for a starting role.
The real star of the show on the defence is on the weak side with Tyrice Beverette. The 2024 runner-up for Most Outstanding Defensive Player does basically everything at a high level, racking up 330 defensive tackles, 57 special-teams tackles, 19 sacks, seven interceptions, and nine forced fumbles since arriving in Montreal in 2022. The two-time All-CFL member is the most versatile game wrecker in the league, as he’s arguably the best pass rusher and coverage guy from the inside linebacker spot, who Thorpe uses perfectly.
There is more star talent on the defensive line as well, beginning on the edges with Canadians Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund and Lwal Uguak.
The two-time runner-up for Most Outstanding Canadian in Adeyemi-Berglund sets the tone on defence and has developed into one of the better pass rushers in the CFL. The Dartmouth, N.S. native put up a career high 11 sacks in 2025 (fourth in CFL) while finishing seventh in quarterback pressures (51).
Opposite of him is Uguak, who hasn’t set the league on fire since being taken in the first round in 2023, but the 26-year-old brings inside-out versatility and has shown flashes while defending the run.
Some questions come up on the interior, however, beginning with Mustafa Johnson. The 27-year-old was limited to seven games in the regular season last season while recovering from a knee injury suffered in 2024, before suffering a shoulder injury in the final regular-season game and missing the playoffs. When healthy, Johnson caused problems for interior offensive lines in 2023 and 2024 as one of the best pass rushers from the position.
There are even more questions opposite of him, as Kori Roberson Jr. – who filled in admirably throughout the playoffs for the injured Johnson – and a mix of American rookies in Daniel Wise and Decarius Hawthorne will look to fill the void.
Even with the bets on some young Canadians stepping up, Montreal projects to have another strong year defensively. The newcomers fit Thorpe’s attacking defence, and while the depth will be tested in 2026, the Alouettes have made a significant investment to extend this dominant defence’s window.
The team has fresh faces that need to fill some big shoes and other players on the roster that need to prove they can stay healthy, but it’s easy to see a path where Montreal is in the playoffs, East Final, and Grey Cup all once again in 2026.
