Inside the CFL: Elks QB Cody Fajardo indebted to Alouettes for salvaging career

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Riding the carousel that is often the norm for CFL players, veteran quarterback Cody Fajardo can’t say Montreal was a long-term residence.

While his two seasons with the Alouettes were abruptly cut short, and Fajardo received the short end of the stick — departing 13 months after leading the franchise to its first Grey Cup victory in 13 seasons — the organization salvaged his career at a time when all the starting quarterback jobs appeared to be filled.

And that’s something Fajardo, 33, in his ninth season, won’t ever forget as he returned to Montreal for Friday night’s game against the Als at Molson Stadium.

“I think Montreal did more for me than I did for Montreal in my career. I can’t reiterate that enough,” Fajardo told The Gazette this week. “Going to Montreal and having that success did way more for my career.”

There’s no doubt the Als resurrected Fajardo’s career when it appeared to be on life support after being run out of Regina and blamed for all of the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ shortcomings. The native of Brea, Calif., gave the team what it needed — legitimacy, a championship and a return to prominence.

Signed as a free agent by Montreal in 2023 after the departure of Trevor Harris to Saskatchewan, the move at the time appeared to be nothing more than a stopgap, desperate transaction. Instead, the Als recovered from a four-game losing streak and a 6-7 record to win their final eight games, capped by their comeback victory against Winnipeg in the Grey Cup. Fajardo was named the game’s most valuable player.

In a perfect world, Fajardo would still be with the Als, having signed a contract extension after the Cup win that would have commenced this season. But he suffered a hamstring injury last July, when Montreal was 5-0, and never seemed to recapture his moxie upon returning.

With Davis Alexander, 26, enjoying unbridled success during Fajardo’s absence, management decided he would be the future and the Als traded Fajardo to Edmonton in December for quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson. Bethel-Thompson has become the Als’ starter with Alexander on the six-game injured list.

Fajardo was enjoying success last season before his injury and appeared destined for a most outstanding player nomination.

“I was playing some of the best ball of my career,” he said. “I think we would have kept momentum late in the year and going into the playoffs. Maybe it would have been a different (East Division final) against Toronto. I don’t know, but the only way I was going to be back in Montreal was if we were in the Grey Cup. That’s how I envisioned it.”

Als general manager Danny Maciocia said it would have been unfair to Fajardo — especially after he requested a trade — to retain him as Alexander’s backup. And while Fajardo went to Edmonton as Tre Ford’s backup and took the pay cut he was destined to receive with the Als, that move made sense considering Fajardo had no history with the Elks.

“The biggest thing was it would have been unfair to Davis if you’re really going to make him the franchise guy,” Fajardo said. “It would have been a weird dynamic when you had a franchise guy there who had won you the Grey Cup, had the best record in the CFL and you kept him on as your backup. They wanted to give him that vote of confidence … to give Davis a clean slate.”

Nonetheless, the story has come full circle. Edmonton deemed Ford, a native of Niagara Falls, Ont., to be its franchise QB, signing him in December to a three-year contract extension, including a reported $100,000 bonus. But after a 1-4 start, and with a rookie head coach in Mark Kilam, the Elks benched Ford two games ago for Fajardo.

While Edmonton has yet to win with Fajardo, the team’s play has vastly improved, losing to Saskatchewan and Hamilton by a combined seven points. Fajardo has passed for 603 yards, completing 79.3 per cent of his throws, and three touchdowns while being intercepted once. He has brought a calm presence to the huddle and remains one of the CFL’s most accurate passers. He completed his first 17 attempts against the Tiger-Cats.

If returning to Saskatchewan two weeks ago for the first time since 2022 was emotional, Fajardo said facing the Als for the first time on their home field carried similar, albeit slightly tempered, significance.

“The thing that Montreal gave me is something nobody can take away — being a Grey Cup quarterback,” he said. “The amount of people who thought I couldn’t do it after 2022 kind of validated my career. When the schedule came out, I’d be lying if I said some games don’t mean just a little bit more. This would be one.

“Obviously, there’s a great storyline with me leaving Montreal … but it never has been a me vs. McLeod thing. I think the Alouettes were doing me a favour.”