Evans looks to seize opportunity as Alouettes search for solutions at QB

MONTREAL - Caleb Evans never stopped believing he might get another chance, even after the back-to-back setbacks he suffered 12 months ago.

First, he lost his job as the Montreal Alouettes' primary backup to Davis Alexander, failing to seize his opportunity while starting quarterback Cody Fajardo missed time. A week later, Evans sustained a season-ending knee injury while subbing in for Alexander against Hamilton on Aug. 2, 2024.

But that wasn't the end of his time in Montreal. The 27-year-old American returned on a one-year contract — and now he'll make his first CFL start since July 25, 2024, when the Alouettes (5-4) visit the B.C. Lions on Saturday.

"You never know, injuries happen,” Evans said after taking first-team reps Thursday at Stade Hébert. “You just always got to be ready.

“It was just hard work to get back here, and I'm thankful for it."

Evans, Montreal’s third-string and short-yardage QB this season, replaced a subpar McLeod Bethel-Thompson and threw for 113 yards and one touchdown on 14-of-18 passing in the second half of last week’s 23-22 loss to the Edmonton Elks.

Bethel-Thompson joined Alexander — now the franchise QB — on the six-game injured list with a right elbow injury Wednesday, meaning Evans could get some runway in the starting role.

"He's been tremendous about handling adversity, really throughout his career,” head coach Jason Maas said. "He's just an unselfish person and very committed to the game. I'm very excited for him and the opportunity that lies ahead of him."

Evans, who has a knack for running the ball but has struggled with pass efficiency, will make his fourth start for the Alouettes and 17th in the CFL after a previous stint with the Ottawa Redblacks.

This time around, he’s coming in with a new perspective.

"More comfortable, calm,” he said. “After you go through the highs and lows, there's not much more to go through … can't get no lower, so you just got to go out there, sling, go out and have fun."

“There’s gonna always be naysayers and doubters,” he added. “This process has taught me a lot about myself, how hard I want to work mentally and physically, so it's just more to prove myself right."

The task ahead, however, will be anything but easy. 

The Lions (4-5) are coming off a big win over the East Division-leading Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and the Alouettes — losers of two in a row — have only practised once with Evans as the starter.

Injury-plagued Montreal, which is also missing top receivers Austin Mack and Tyson Philpot, began the week with team meetings on Monday and Tuesday before cancelling Wednesday’s practice due to inclement weather.

Maas points out the Alouettes have won with backups in recent years — Evans himself won two games while replacing Fajardo in 2023 — but this season, they have a 1-4 record without Alexander.

The offence has often stagnated. Through Week 10, Montreal ranks last in the CFL in offensive TDs, and second-last in offensive points, net offence and pass efficiency. Its TD drive percentage is also a league-low 13.6.

Maas said Alexander, who is one win shy of a record-setting 9-0 start to a CFL career, is “progressing,” but a timeline for his return remains unclear.

“It's far enough away where we can't exactly pinpoint a date that he's going to come back,” Maas said.

The Alouettes are not the only team that’s shuffled quarterbacks this season. Only Toronto’s Nick Arbuckle and Hamilton’s Bo Levi Mitchell have started all of their teams’ games.

Montreal will join Ottawa (Dru Brown, Dustin Crum, Matt Shiltz) as the only teams to start three QBs this season.

“This is part of the Canadian Football League and you need depth at that position,” said former Alouettes QB and current offensive coordinator Anthony Calvillo. “You need the other guys to make sure they're going to give you a chance to win out there, and we feel very confident in the guys that we have.”

Beyond Evans, James Morgan is waiting in the wings for his first CFL chance. The Alouettes also signed former Toronto Argonauts QB Cameron Dukes on Wednesday.

Dukes filled in for suspended starter Chad Kelly in Toronto last season before he was cut from training camp this year.

Since then, the 27-year-old American has been in Florida, where he trains aspiring quarterbacks. Dukes was working out at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday when Alouettes general manager Danny Maciocia rang him up.

“He's like, 'Hey, you can get a flight up here today?'" Dukes recalled. "Went straight home, started packing, got a flight at 4 o'clock, and I was up here at 1 a.m."

He calls it a “full-circle moment” after working out for Maciocia in Vegas before signing with Toronto in 2023.

"I actually said to him, ‘I've been waiting on your call, man!'” Dukes said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 14, 2025.