Cody Fajardo, whose play has been erratic lately, is in Nevada after his wife gave birth to the family’s second child on Wednesday.
Fajardo returned home to Nevada during the team’s bye last week and remains there after his wife gave birth to the family’s second child on Wednesday. Montreal will conduct its final full practice Saturday morning and, unless Fajardo suddenly reappears, he’ll miss his fifth game this season.
The Alouettes, meanwhile, re-signed quarterback James Morgan to their practice roster this week. The CFL mandates three quarterbacks are dressed for games.
Montreal head coach Jason Maas intimated Fajardo would return in time to play, but left the door open for a different scenario.
“We expect him to be back, that’s the expectation, but plans can change,” Maas said Thursday. After Friday’s practice, Maas said Fajardo could play even without a practice this week since he has received the game plan.
Alexander, conversely, sounded like he’ll be the starter.
“I think that’s the plan,” he said. “I don’t think it’ll change.”
He has completed 73 of 102 passes (71.6 per cent) for 972 yards along with six touchdowns, while being intercepted once. He also has rushed for 89 yards off 11 carries, scoring once.
Montreal’s offence has been inconsistent of late and hasn’t recovered from the loss of Canadian receiver Tyson Philpot to a season-ending foot injury.
“I still feel like I’m a highly productive receiver in this league,” Mack said. “I’m looking forward to getting back on the field. Offensively, the focus is to get that groove back; get back into our rhythm.”
Added Alexander: “We have some of the best playmakers — if not the best — in the league. We have to find a way to get them the ball and let these guys shine.”
With an 11-3-1 record, the defending Grey Cup champions have secured first place in the East Division and the accompanying opening-round playoff bye. But the Alouettes have only a win and a tie in their last four games.
Maas has repeatedly stated there are no meaningless games, and his team clearly must find its early-season elixir so it has some momentum heading into the playoffs.
“Are we hitting on all cylinders the last four games? No. Absolutely not,” Maas admitted. “There have been games where we haven’t played to our best. Or when the game’s on the line we haven’t come through. There have been critical moments in those games were we could have made a play. We just haven’t. But it’s never because of effort or attitude. We know we need to be better.”
One of the Als’ biggest issues has been their porous run defence. Montreal has allowed an average of 120.3 yards rushing and was particularly exposed in its last game, at Toronto, when the Argonauts gained 234 yards. Should these teams meet in the division final, that could be a critical factor.
“Not every single play do people run on us,” Maas maintained. “They’ve made runs on us, but there’s plays where they don’t make any yards. Have (big plays) happened a little bit too much? Absolutely. That’s a big point of emphasis we talked about during our bye week that we’d like to address.”
The Redblacks (8-6-1) sit second in the division, but are on a three-game losing streak. Ottawa has secured a playoff berth for the first time since 2018.