MONTREAL — The Montreal Alouettes will be minus a key piece when they return to action Thursday on the heels of a humbling loss and a much-needed bye week.
The club has placed starting quarterback Cody Fajardo on the six-game injured list ahead of their meeting with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Last year's Grey Cup MVP did not practise this week after tweaking his hamstring at the end of the first quarter in a 37-18 loss to the Toronto Argonauts on July 11.
Caleb Evans, who won twice in 2023, will take Fajardo's place under centre.
The 26-year-old threw for 127 yards on 12-for-22 passing with two touchdowns and two interceptions against Toronto — Montreal's defeat first since September 2023.
Fajardo is fourth in CFL passing yards (1,636) and touchdowns (10), and holds a league-best completion rate of 77.5 per cent.
Montreal leads the East Division with a 5-1 record. Saskatchewan is also 5-1 and will lean on backup Shea Patterson for a fourth straight game with starter Trevor Harris on the injured list.
Alouettes head coach Jason Maas expressed his confidence in Evans' ability to run the offence smoothly.
"Caleb can make all the throws," Mass told reporters this week. "He's confident, he's won games in this league, and he's won games for us as our starting quarterback.
"Just try not to do too much, play within yourself, make good decisions and trust the guys around you."
Evans' first win with Montreal came against the Roughriders in Week 10 last season when he completed eight passes for 149 yards and a touchdown in a 41-12 victory.
He then led the Alouettes to a 26-25 comeback win against the Ottawa Redblacks — his former team — the following week before relinquishing the starting role as Montreal marched on to the Grey Cup.
Evans said having a bye week and getting plenty of practice reps is a boost.
"Get away from football to clear my mind and kinda have a mini off-season," he said. "Then coming back for a full week of preparation, getting back into the groove of things, I feel great coming into this game."
The Louisiana-Monroe product will have to take care of the ball against a Saskatchewan defence that sports a CFL-best plus-11 margin in 2024.
"The teams that lead the league in turnover margin generally win a lot of games," Maas said. "We usually do a good job of that too, and that's the No. 1 focus for us this week."
It's not all bad news on the injury front for the Als, who will have star defensive back Marc-Antoine Dequoy available. The 29-year-old missed the Toronto setback with a shoulder problem.
"We have to focus on ourselves and what we can control," he told reporters in French. "We faced adversity in the loss, but I like the energy I've seen from the team this week."
The Roughriders are coming off a 19-9 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at home, but will travel to Montreal without star running back A.J. Ouellette (hip injury).
Head coach Corey Mace said his team remains confident heading into Percival Molson Stadium.
"It's been one of the toughest places to play since my time being in this league," Mace told reporters in Saskatchewan. "Another challenge for us and we'll see if we're up for it.
"The way the guys practised and how they attacked the week, I believe that they are."
SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS (5-1) AT MONTREAL ALOUETTES (5-1)
Thursday, Percival Molson Stadium
BEST ON BEST: The Alouettes and Roughriders enter Thursday as the CFL's top teams. Montreal has allowed the fewest points in the league (136), while Saskatchewan sits second (138).
FRIENDLY CONFINES: The Alouettes will play the third and final leg of a three-game homestand. Montreal split the last two and is 2-1 at home.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 24, 2024.
Olivier Neven, The Canadian Press