If it is indeed the final chapter in the Cody Fajardo book, what a final act it would be.
The 34-year-old Edmonton Elks quarterback enters Sunday’s 113th Grey Cup against his former Montreal Alouettes team with it potentially being the final professional football game of his decade-long career.
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“I have a process at the end of every year that I go through with my wife,” Fajardo told the media on Tuesday ahead of the team travelling to Calgary.
“Body-wise, I could play five, six, seven years, I feel great. I’ve been up front about it, it’s hard with young kids and my wife staying home and the sacrifices she makes. It would be very selfish of me to make a decision up here by myself without sitting down with my family. We have a process, we’ve done it every year.”
If he were to claim his second Grey Cup ring as a starter against the team he won his first championship with as a starter back in 2023, it would be a storybook ending for Fajardo if he were to ride off into the sunset.
“I play every game like it’s my last, whether I was 21 years old or whether I’m 34 years old. I’m going to play this Grey Cup game like it’s my last because you just never know in pro sports, I’m going to leave it all on the field. There’s not much sliding that’s going to be happening.”
The last time we saw the Brea, Calif. native in the big game, he completed 80.8 per cent of his passes for 290 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception in 2023 while with the Alouettes, claiming the Grey Cup Most Valuable Player award along the way.
Fajardo has spent a decade in the CFL with five different teams, amassing over 26,000 passing yards and 122 touchdowns, while holding one of the best career completion percentages in Canadian Football League history at 71.0 per cent.