The 2024 CFL campaign kicks off with a showdown between the Montreal Alouettes and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Thursday night.
However, perhaps this season more so than in the past, there seems to be no shortage of storylines to watch, and intriguing matchups to keep tabs on as the year progresses. Parity could be the name of the game this season, as the recent doormats of the league, Ottawa and Edmonton, appear to have made tangible changes in the offseason that could lead to improved on field play.
The Argos, who ran away with the East in 2023, will be without their starting quarterback for the first half of the year, while the Blue Bombers saw veteran stalwarts depart via free agency or retirement this spring.
With 9 teams all convinced that “this is our year”, let’s take a look at the most intriguing narratives surrounding each CFL franchise heading into opening night.
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
The current favourite to win it all at most sports books at +200, Winnipeg enters the season with the bullseye on their back in the West once again. With four straight trips to the Grey Cup on their resume, there’s no reason to believe that the Bombers won’t be in the mix to emerge from the West throughout the season.
Demerio Houston, Jermarcus Hardrick, Dakota Prukop, Janarion Grant, Winston Rose, and Greg McCrae are all out this season, leaving some significant holes on the roster. However, one could argue that they retained the most important pieces of their core heading into 2024, so they shouldn’t be too much worse for wear.
Yet for all the big name departures, it’s perhaps the arrival of a familiar face to Canadian football fans which bears keeping an eye on this season. Following 4 seasons in the States, Chris Streveler is back with the Blue Bombers to serve as Zach Collaros’ backup.
There’s zero reason to believe there’s a QB controversy brewing in Manitoba, as evidenced by Collaros’ two Most Outstanding Player awards. However, watching how Buck Pierce utilizes the versatile signal caller’s skillset is worth keeping an eye on.
Odds are the former New York Jet didn’t sign on with Winnipeg solely to hold a clipboard all year.
BC Lions
With the Grey Cup headed to the West Coast this year, BC will be extra motivated to defend home field and represent the Western Division at season’s end. Coming in at +490 at most sports books means they trail only Winnipeg heading into the season in the minds of oddsmakers.
With a trio of high octane wide receivers, and Vernon Adams Jr. signed through the 2026 campaign, the Lions offence shouldn’t miss a beat in 2024. But the real question will be whether Adams can limit the turnovers in big moments to help his team take the next step.
Few will argue that BC boasts one of the most exciting offensive units in the league. But as we saw a few times in 2023, Adams’ gun slinger mentality can get the team in trouble from time to time as well. That fact was on full display against the Argos in Week 4 last year when he threw 6 interceptions to the double blue.
The only element one could argue is currently missing from Adams’ game is his ability to extend drives with his legs. Only 4 times in 2023 did he take off and run more than 3 times in a game, with 5 weeks of 1 rushing attempt sprinkled in as well.
If Adams Jr. can look to tuck it and run rather than trying to force the ball downfield into double coverage, we could see the Lions finally dethrone Winnipeg atop the Western standings.
Montreal Alouettes
Given the suspension to Chad Kelly (more on that later), Montreal is the defacto favourite to come out of the East at +500 at most major sports books.
Few predicted the run that the Als went on last year to win the Grey Cup. So much so that their rallying cry became the now infamous “F*ck You Just Watch” mantra which they had engraved on their championship rings.
But with the departures of both Austin Mack and William Stanback, does Montreal have the firepower to compete in the suddenly wide open East again this season? While some team narratives come down to a specific player, or position of strength, the narrative to watch in Montreal for 2024 is relatively simple: Was 2023 a fluke? Or can this team run it back and put a stranglehold on the East for year’s to come?
Toronto Argonauts
16-2 in 2023. Grey Cup champions in 2022. And one of the most complete rosters in the league on paper. However, without the CFL’s 2023 Most Outstanding Player winner Chad Kelly under centre for the first half of the year, that might all be for naught come playoff time.
The sports books have the Argos coming in just behind the Als at +550 to win it all in 2024, and that’s almost entirely due to the Kelly suspension. Cameron Dukes and Nick Arbuckle are expected to share the workload in the early goings, but as most Toronto fans will tell you, they’d be fine coming into Week 10 with a near .500 record.
Indeed one of, if not THE storyline to watch in all of the CFL this year is what the club (and league for that matter) opts to do with Kelly moving forward. With his suspension being set at a “minimum of 9 games”, is there a chance that the 30 year old could be out even longer?
Is Dukes able to take the starting job and running with it? And if things don’t work out in New York, could Nathan Rourke make a return to the CFL and have teams tripping over themselves to sign him? Everything is very much in play for Toronto in 2024, and it all starts under centre as this season has the potential to be a future Hollywood script, or go completely off the rails for all the wrong reasons.
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
It’s a new era in Hamilton. Gone are defensive mainstays Ted Laurent and Simoni Lawrence, and in is head coach Scott Milanovich. Whether those moves are for the positive or not remains to be seen.
Few teams have as wide an outlook in the oddsmakers minds as the Ti-Cats do this season. They average out to about +750 heading into Week 1, but some have them listed as the longest shots of any team to come out of the East.
Bo Levi Mitchell showed up to camp in a walking boot, so Milanovich may need to work with a veteran QB who isn’t at 100% coming out of the gates. Does that mean that fans will see Taylor Powell used more in the early going than perhaps they thought? It’s certainly a possibility.
After a disappointing 8-10 campaign last year, Hamilton has all the road signs of a team that could struggle in 2024. Whenever there’s shake ups to the coaching staff and front office, it usually takes a season or two for the new group to fully implement their vision for the team culture. So with that in mind, the story coming out of Hamilton this summer will be whether the Ti-Cats are “retooling” or headed for a lengthy “rebuild”.
Saskatchewan Roughriders
Speaking of new head coaches, fans won’t be shocked by the selection of the newly hired Corey Mace as the story to watch in the prairies this season.
Inheriting a team that went 6-12 in 2023, Mace was the darling of the offseason coaching carousel around the league. Bringing in new voices like Marc Mueller and J.C. Sherritt and suddenly you’ve got a massive culture shift in Regina for the upcoming season.
Most will argue that should translate into more wins for the Riders this season. But the question is, how many more? The oddsmakers have Saskatchewan comfortably behind Winnipeg and BC at +1100 to come out of the West this year, but this is a franchise that feels like it’s on the rise in 2024.
As discussed on the 1867 Sports Show, the CFL tends to be a more fun league when Saskatchewan is competitive. So if Mace can keep the greenies in the thick of the playoff hunt this year, then that’s a massive step forward for the club, and one they can build off of next spring.
Edmonton Elks
Coming in at +2000 to win it all this year, I think it’s safe to say that even the most diehard of Elks fans aren’t expecting a championship this fall.
However, they should be expecting tangible progress, otherwise you could see wholesale changes to the coaching staff and front office in Edmonton ahead of 2025. Chris Jones enters his 3rd season in charge, and made headlines by acquiring McLeod Bethel-Thompson despite the late season success of Tre Ford last year.
While MBT its a veteran signal caller who has a Grey Cup on his resume, the decision to bring him in caught many around the league by surprise. Ford is perhaps the most dynamic athlete in the CFL, and almost single handedly made Elks games bearable to watch last year. So to effectively take him out at the knees to bring in a soon to be 36 year old QB is a questionable choice for a franchise that is still a few years away from seriously competing for a championship.
Needless to say, Jones & Co. have planted their flag in the ground for 2024 as they’re putting their faith in the veteran signal caller over the promising project under centre. Whether that results in more wins in 2024, or a full scale disaster is still to be determined. But whatever the outcome, management’s future with the franchise is absolutely tied to MBT’s success moving forward.
Calgary Stampeders
How the mighty have fallen. After perennially being atop the West Division, Calgary is clearly a team in transition for 2024. Their outlook isn’t all that dissimilar to that of Hamilton out East.
Will their postseason streak of 18 straight playoff appearances finally come to an end? Or can they tinker on the fly and adjust to Jake Maier’s skillset at quarterback?
At +2000 the oddsmakers think this could be the year the club finally bottoms out. And whether or not that happens once again falls on a quarterback’s shoulders. Maier is very much in the “prove it” stage of his career.
After throwing for 4,244 yards and 19 TDs in 2023, there’s room to be cautiously optimistic with the 27 year old in terms of his CFL future. He set career highs in completions, yards, and TD’s but also threw 15 picks (with several coming at the worst possible time for the Stamps, costing them some wins last year).
The club added veteran Matthew Shiltz in the offseason to hopefully push Maier this year. But their ultimate outlook will come down to whether or not the Fullerton, CA native can realize his full potential in OC Pat DelMonaco’s system.
Ottawa RedBlacks
Coming in at +2000, the RedBlacks have actually seen their odds improve after a strong pre-season showing. Despite resting most of their veterans, Ottawa looked to be in midseason form leading up to Week 1. And of course they’re then promptly rewarded with a Week 1 bye to kill that momentum.
In terms of storylines, this one is simple. It’s time to put up, or shut up in the nation’s capital. Since 2019, Ottawa is 14-54, and has been the doormat of the Eastern Division. While the fanbase has been extremely supportive of team, at a certain point the losing becomes too much.
You can blame injuries, coaching decisions, front office mismanagement or a slew of other factors. But at the end of the day, Ottawa needs to realize that they need to put together a winning brand of football in short order, otherwise the economics of a gate driven league are going to start forcing some uncomfortable conversations at TD Place.
Luckily, the club appears to be as deep as ever at the QB position. After cycling through a laundry list of quarterbacks over the last half decade, the RedBlacks now feature Dru Brown, Dustin Crum and Jeremiah Masoli in their QB room, making for one of the most competitive units in the league.
Can Ottawa look to overtake Hamilton in the Eastern Division this year and finally give fans a taste of postseason football? Or will the wheels come off once again, leading to another long summer near the Rideau Canal?
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: Cmm3. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.