Alouettes QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson expected to start against Tiger-Cats

Article content

At age 36 and in his seventh CFL season, Alouettes quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson remains one of the last players to leave practice at Stade Hébert.

During Tuesday’s session, at a time when he could have sought relief from the sweltering heat, the veteran instead chose to have receiver Tyler Snead run some routes as they continued to seek chemistry.

“That’s the great thing about football; there’s always something you can get better at,” Bethel-Thompson said. “You’re never finished. As soon as you think you’re finished, you have a terrible game.

“Football’s a beautiful sport, the best profession you could ask for. There’s no better mental, emotional or physical challenge in the world than playing quarterback. It’s an all-encompassing body, mind and soul adventure. The more you can get a little edge here and there. … I feel uncomfortable when I’m not working on something.”

Bethel-Thompson is in his first season with Montreal after the Als acquired him from Edmonton last winter for quarterback Cody Fajardo, who became expendable when the team moved to Davis Alexander as the franchise pivot.

While Alexander has lived up to expectations through the early blush of the season, he suffered a hamstring injury during the third quarter of Thursday’s victory at Edmonton and was replaced by Bethel-Thompson.

Alexander hasn’t practised this week. And while he hasn’t been ruled out of Friday’s game at Hamilton, it appears likely Bethel-Thompson will be the starter when the Als face the Tiger-Cats.

Montreal was leading Edmonton 25-6 when Bethel-Thompson entered. The Als held on for a 38-28 win, but it wasn’t as close as it appeared, with Edmonton scoring 22 points in the fourth quarter.

Bethel-Thompson managed the game effectively, completing six of eight passes for 77 yards. He connected with receiver Tyson Philpot for a 37-yard gain on his first play, then found Charleston Rambo for a 16-yard completion to the Edmonton 20. But the Als had to settle for a field goal, further increasing their lead.

“I had more completions than incompletions,” Bethel-Thompson quipped. “We moved the ball early and got a couple of points on the board. But we missed timing late in the game with the receivers and had too many two-and-outs.

“I feel I have stuff to get better at,” added the 6-foot-4, 230-pounder. “This long into my career, I’m still improving. Once I stop improving, maybe that’s when it’s time to stop doing it. Until then, I’m going to keep rolling.”

One play in particular stood out last week. During the fourth quarter, Bethel-Thompson ran for an eight-yard gain, but tried to leap over Elks defenders in a valiant attempt to gain the first down. He landed two yards short. Although he wasn’t injured on the play, Bethel-Thompson needed to show more caution — especially with Alexander already injured.

Bethel-Thompson said it wasn’t the brightest move of his career, but one he has made before. And while head coach Jason Maas wasn’t happy about the decision, he took a more philosophical approach.

“Obviously, I loved the effort and want-to,” Maas said. “But there’s a time and a place for that. That wasn’t quite it, but I loved his compete. All our quarterbacks have a high compete level. They care about football and doing it the right way. When you see that, you know he’s a very unselfish individual and he’s going to compete. That’s what it takes to play quarterback. (But) there were other things he could have done on that play.”

Maas said Bethel-Thompson, like any quarterback, arrives early and leaves late, spending time in the film room in advance of every game.

“He’s dedicated to his craft and works hard at it,” Maas said. “Looking at him physically, he has taken care of himself. The expectations are high. There’s a reason we went out and got him. Obviously, he’s got to be ready to play, and I think he will be. I know he will be.”

While the Als don’t have to release their roster until Thursday morning, it also appears they’ll be without three injured starters — tailback Sean Thomas-Erlington, receiver Austin Mack and defensive-tackle Dylan Wynn.

Friday will mark Montreal’s third straight road game. The Als are 3-0, while the Ticats, coming off a bye week, are 0-2.