Two-time Grey Cup champion Dinwiddie in first season as Ottawa's head coach/GM
Ryan Dinwiddie is kind of feeling like a first-year head coach again.
Ryan Dinwiddie is kind of feeling like a first-year head coach again.
Wynton McManis’s debut with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats will have to wait.
Bo Levi Mitchell isn’t showing signs of slowing down. The 36-year-old quarterback is coming off consecutive 5,000-yard passing campaigns with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. And that’s a first for a player whose decorated 13-year CFL career includes two Grey Cup wins, two league outstanding player awards and being named the East Division’s top performer in each of the last two seasons.
The 2026 CFL season kicks off Thursday night with the Montreal Alouettes visiting the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Here are some of the top players worth keeping tabs on this year.
Of all the questions surrounding the Edmonton Elks heading into this CFL season, the only one that really matters is: can they win?
Last season, the BC Lions were just 11 seconds away from advancing to their first Grey Cup since 2011. A Trevor Harris pass to Tommy Nield in the dying moments of the Western Final gave the Saskatchewan Roughriders a 24-21 victory. The Riders would go on to defeat the Montreal Alouettes for the CFL championship, while the Lions had a long winter to think about what might have been.
After defeating the Montreal Alouettes 25-16 in November to capture the fourth Grey Cup in franchise history, the Saskatchewan Roughriders capped off their celebration with an epic victory parade through downtown Regina.
Too old. Too slow. Too inaccurate. That’s some of the criticism Winnipeg Blue Bombers fans have about Zach Collaros as the 37-year-old quarterback enters his 14th CFL season.
Edmonton has established a strong foundation and added talent through free agency. Now the team will look to make the playoffs for the first time since 2019, Coty Wiles writes.
The health of franchise QB Davis Alexander will be key for an experienced, physical group looking to win another Grey Cup, Coty Wiles writes.
The Calgary Stampeders seek to build on their turnaround and play in the Grey Cup on home turf in 2026.
Julian Howsare, who’s entering his sixth season in Hamilton and eighth in the CFL, said there are many others on the Ticats defence capable of taking advantage of the resulting one-on-one matchups.
Davis Alexander is out to prove he can play a full campaign after a hamstring injury followed him from training camp through the Grey Cup, limiting him to just seven regular-season contests.
After missing all of last season, waiting another week to open the 2026 campaign is no big deal for Chad Kelly.
It’s officially the Ryan Dinwiddie show in Ottawa. With just one winning season and one playoff appearance over the past six years, Ottawa’s new head coach and general manager wasted little time reshaping the roster after being hired away from Toronto in November.
Veteran QB Bo Levi Mitchell leads a dynamic passing attack that might be good enough to help Hamilton snap its Grey Cup drought, Coty Wiles writes.
The championship infrastructure has largely stayed the same in Winnipeg, but a return to the top of the West Division starts with major improvement on offence, Coty Wiles writes.
American linebacker Aaron Casey, who finished second on the team in sacks last season as a CFL rookie, was among the Toronto Argonauts final cuts.
American running back Mario Anderson Jr. was among 19 players released by Saskatchewan on Saturday as CFL teams made their final cuts ahead of the start of the 2026 regular season.
Quarterback Nathan Rourke completed six of eight passes for 99 yards, while Chase Brice completed nine of 11 for 159 yards and two touchdowns as the B.C. Lions beat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 30-29 Friday night.
Jerjuan Newton had three catches for 87 yards and three touchdowns as the Hamilton Tiger-Cats tripped the Toronto Argonauts 20-14.
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