Alouettes GM Danny Maciocia facing quarterback dilemma this off-season

MONTREAL — The Montreal Alouettes believe they’re in a great spot at quarterback, but there’s one problem: they can’t pay both Cody Fajardo and Davis Alexander what they’re worth.

“You can’t pay starting quarterback money to two quarterbacks,” Alouettes general manager Danny Maciocia said Tuesday at Olympic Stadium. “That's impossible, because it's going to take a significant hit elsewhere.”

Unsure of which QB will start next season, the Alouettes have big decisions to make behind centre in the coming weeks and months.

Fajardo, the 2023 Grey Cup MVP, was the starter this past season and is under contract through next year, when he’ll be 33.

Meanwhile, the 26-year-old Alexander could test free agency if unsigned by February. Viewed as the potential quarterback of the future, Alexander broke out this season by going 5-0 while Fajardo was absent.

“If you told me with a gun to my head that I had to pick … I don't know which one I would,” head coach Jason Maas said. “I've been with Cody for five years and I know what Cody is capable of.

“You also have to look at longevity. If Cody is going to play a year more or a couple of years more and Davis has potentially 10 more years down the road… everybody saw what a long career Anthony Calvillo had here, and when you leave that situation after a long career, finding the next one is not quite easy.”

Maciocia wouldn’t rule out the possibility of bringing both players back next season if it can make sense from a salary cap perspective.

Fresh off losing 30-28 to the Toronto Argonauts in the CFL’s East Division final on Saturday, Maciocia said he hadn’t yet discussed an extension with Alexander.

The GM also confirmed he hadn’t asked Fajardo to restructure his contract, though it’s clear that would be necessary for both players to return.

“If Cody would be good about taking a cut to let Davis make a little bit more, and you worked that for another year, that's a doable thing,” Maas said. “(But) that takes a lot of guts for both those guys when they both don't need to do that, I guess.”

Fajardo, meanwhile, said Monday that he doesn’t want to be in a situation where he’s not the undisputed No. 1.

"You want to be on a team where you know you're going to be the guy and you don't feel like if you play bad in one game, all of a sudden you're not going to be that guy,” he said.

Coming off his heroic performance in the Grey Cup, Fajardo carried that momentum into this season, leading Montreal to a 5-0 start before injuring his hamstring in Week 6 against Toronto.

The six-foot-two, 223-pound veteran’s play never quite returned to that level after his injury, although he finished with a league-leading 73.6 completion percentage while totalling 3,105 passing yards, 16 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 14 games.

Fajardo went 27-for-42 with 330 yards and three TDs in the East final but also fumbled the ball and threw two interceptions.

Maciocia didn’t pin that loss on his quarterback, pointing out that the first interception bounced out of Walter Fletcher’s hands, while the other came on a possible game-tying two-point conversion.

The GM also stated the Alouettes would be having the same quarterback dilemma even if Montreal repeated as the Grey Cup champion.

“We just would be having this conversation next week about the same two players,” he said. "I saw this thing as maybe going a Grey Cup, winning the Grey Cup, Cody being the MVP again, and here we are. Same problem, same issues, same conversation."

That’s because Maciocia isn’t keen on letting Alexander walk to free agency and join another team, and there are plenty of potential suitors in the nine-team CFL.

The six-foot, 195-pound Alexander went 105-for-151 for 1,347 passing yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions. He also rushed for 166 yards and three TDs on 24 carries.

“Two years ago, when I saw (Alexander) play in a pre-season game, I knew the league had a starting quarterback on its hands,” Maciocia said. “He’s a guy that loves competing, he’s a gamer.

“This is a young player who, from my point of view, will be a quarterback for eight, 10, 12 years, if everything goes well and he stays in good health."

Fajardo cautioned that having two talented QBs can divide fans, teammates and coaches.

Maciocia, however, saw the two-quarterback system work first-hand when he coached Ricky Ray and Maas in Edmonton and won two Grey Cups (2003, 2005).

"You always need two quarterbacks,” he said. "Even if this scenario does not play itself out the way some people would like, you still need a second QB.

“You've seen it now every single year, the backup quarterback comes in and wins you two to three games.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.

Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press