Barring an unexpected last-minute turnaround, the spotlight will once again be on Cody Fajardo as the Montreal Alouettes’ starting quarterback starting Sunday. In the meantime, Fajardo and head coach Jason Maas have not forgotten to highlight the quality of the work of the man who brilliantly led the Montreal attack for three and a half games.
Fajardo will return as playmaker for the Alouettes (9-1-0) against the Edmonton Elks (3-7-0) Sunday night at Percival-Molson Stadium.
His mission will not only be to help stop the Alberta team’s three-game winning streak, but also to continue the work accomplished by Davis Alexander, who played a vital role in the Alouettes’ four wins during Fajardo’s absence due to a thigh injury.
“He came in and did an extraordinary job of making the unexpected happen and making the uncomfortable seem comfortable,” Fajardo said of Alexander after the Alouettes’ practice, held in almost fall weather Wednesday afternoon in Saint-Léonard.
“I even told him I was kind of jealous of the way he made it look easy, especially considering he’s a young quarterback with no experience. I told him it took me five or six years to make it look that easy,” Fajardo added.
A few minutes earlier, Maas had also expressed his admiration for Alexander’s work over the past four weeks.
“The biggest thing Davis did was run the offense effectively, play within his boundaries, make the plays that needed to be made. He’s got a great arsenal of individual skills. And like I said before, there’s not a lot of guys that compete more than him and prepare (like him),” Maas said.
“Our expectations were to see him play within his limits and within our offensive framework, and he did that extremely well. And that’s impressive considering the little experience he had when he showed up for those games. I take my hat off to him. He’s a much better quarterback now, four weeks after this experience, than he was before. And we already knew he was pretty good,” added the Alouettes head coach.
Fajardo was, of course, thrilled to be back as the No. 1 quarterback on a team he led to five straight wins before getting injured against the Toronto Argonauts on July 11.
This game is the only one the Alouettes have lost so far in 2024.
“Yes, it was difficult, but it was the smart thing to do,” Fajardo acknowledged of the length of his inactivity.
“It’s probably the most games I’ve missed in my career. It definitely hurts to be on the sidelines, but when your team wins four games while you’re out, it’s nice because it keeps you from wanting to rush back. You can get back to your own rhythm, when you feel good.”
Fajardo believes his main concern heading into Sunday’s game has more to do with ensuring he’ll be fit and able to perform to his expectations than getting into the tempo of the game.
But just putting on the uniform last Friday in Saskatchewan, even though he didn’t play, did him a favor.
“Being involved in the pre-game activities, being in uniform for the game, feeling like you’re just one play away from going on the field, it helps mentally,” he said.