Players to watch as Calgary Stampeders kick off season and new era after roster overhaul

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And so it begins.

The hopeful turnaround of the Calgary Stampeders following a few futile seasons kicks off Saturday against the visiting Hamilton Tiger-Cats at McMahon Stadium (5 p.m., TSN, CHQR 770 AM/107.3 FM the Edge, TSN).

Are they headed for another down year, as ugly as their five-win playoff miss of 2024? Or is the Canadian Football League franchise now on the upturn?

One thing’s for sure …

It’s not like the Dave Dickenson & Co. sat on their hands and did nothing in the face of criticism offered over the last two campaigns.

They went out and made some noise, just as they promised they would in trying to U-turn their fortunes.

While the mission was to improve in all areas of the franchise — both on and off the field — it’s the pigskin personnel that matters most to fans.

But the Stampeders didn’t fall short on that, living up to their promise to be aggressive in the off-season.

The Red and White sent underachievers packing, made a monster trade and signed many sought-after free agents.

Good on them.

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But stay tuned Saturday — and beyond — to see how it’s turned out.

And with that, here are five-plus talents to watch as the Stamps enter a new era …

QB Vernon Adams Jr.

It’s arguably the biggest signing by the Stamps in decades. The veteran CFL pivot is a top-three QB in the league and comes armed with a desire to win a Grey Cup. A championship has eluded him until this point. He’s charismatic and talented and should bring excitement to the field as both a passer and runner. After all, they don’t call him ‘Big-Play V.A.’ for nothing. So if nothing else, the offence should be fun once again, with no apologies for the vanilla flavour we’ve seen from QBs in recent years.

WRs Dominique Rhymes and Tevin Jones

‘The Twins’, as they bill themselves, are tall, rangy, talented pass-catchers, giving Adams two more dynamic targets to go with veterans Reggie Begelton, Jalen Philpot and Clark Barnes. It’s quite the receiving corps actually, with Rhymes and Jones bringing as much bravado as three-time 1,000-yard-man Begelton. Rhymes is quite familiar with Adams, so that connection is strong — they hooked up for big passing gains with the BC Lions. And Jones, who has similar traits to Rhymes, should be familiar to Stamps fans, having run amok for 200-plus receiving yards on the Red and White last Labour Day.

DE Folarin Orimolade

Nobody is more excited about the return of ‘Flo’ to the Stampeders than Dickenson himself. After all, the GM/head coach cashed in a big star, trading away top-shelf linebacker Cam Judge to bring back the sack-master, who was an original signee by the Stamps seven years ago. Flo is considered an elite edge-rusher, and the Stamps need the pressure turned up on opposition QBs after issues in that area the past few seasons. How Flo goes is likely how the defence will go. And word is Orimolade will help elevate the ugly run-stop game, as well.

LB Marquel Lee

The early returns of signing Lee project the Stamps might have got lucky with this guy. The 29-year-old linebacker is a football veteran, who feels like his career in the NFL has likely run its course. But he wants to play and wants to lead. And he doesn’t seem like a guy who shrinks in the face of a rebuilding project. Getting a pro for that all-important job as middleman of the defence is key, and Lee looks like just the man to do it. The Stamps are banking on the idea he’ll lead and keep others accountable.

DBs Damian Webb and Derrick Moncrief

It’s another thick-as-thieves duo, with Webb and Moncrief bringing CFL veteranship and promise to the back-end of the Stamps defence. Webb was an all-star last year, and Moncrief was an all-star a few seasons back, so they have the accolades to back up the bravado they’ve brought in trying to rebuild the secondary. Webb gets the call at the all-important safety spot to — at least — start the season, while Moncrief sneaks up to be the strong-side linebacker. Moncrief has shown before that he can that job as a run-stopper, a pressure guy and a coverage man. If these two come as advertised — like Rhymes and Jones on the offence — then it’s another prime package duo the Stamps can hang any kind of turnaround on.

SHORT YARDAGE

The starters are set for Saturday’s season-opener against Bo Levi Mitchell and the incoming Tiger-Cats … On offence, it’s QB Adams, RB Dedrick Mills, FB William Langlais, WRs Jones, Rhymes, Begelton, Philpot and Barnes and OLs D’Antne Demery, Zack Williams, Bryce Bell, Christy Nkanu and Josh Coker … On defence, it’s DLs Orimolade, Miles Brown, Jaylon Hutchings and Clarence Hicks, LBs Lee, Micah Teitz and Bailey Devine-Scott, and DBs Webb, Jaydon Grant, Sheldon Arnold, Ben Labrosse and Tyler Richardson … The injured list has QB Josh Love, RB Damien Alford, WR Damien Alford, OL Rodeem Brown, OL Tomas Jack-Kurdyla, DL Charles Wiley, DL Joshua Coatney, DB Bentlee Sanders and DB Kaylyn St-Cyr on the one-game stay and WR Malik Henry, OL Kyle Saxelid, DL Jason Javier-Messier and DB Anton Haie on the six-game board.

tsaelhof@postmedia.com

www.x.com/ToddSaelhofPM