The Toronto Argonauts have released Chandler Worthy. Not once, four times. However, the Montreal Alouettes kick return specialist assures that he does not have revenge in his heart as the two teams will face each other in the East Final on Sunday at BMO Field.
Posted at 9:56 a.m.
“This game doesn’t mean more to me because we’re playing Toronto. It means more because I want with all my heart that my teammates and I win it, he said after practice on Wednesday. I have bonded very tightly with the members of this team and I don’t think of the Argos as the team that cut me four times, but rather as the one that will try to prevent me from living my dream of playing to the Gray Cup.
“I refuse to let them stop me. I approach this match with confidence: I know this team, I know the guys I will face on the pitch. I want to dominate this game to make it to the final no matter who gets in my way. »
Worthy played for the Argos in 2017, 2019 and 2021. The Toronto squad cut him for one last time after the last training camp.
” It was hard. At times I wanted to give it all up and I even did for a while, Worthy admits. But here the circle is complete. You have to believe in yourself. It doesn’t matter what others see in you, if you believe in yourself, keep working and believe your time will come, when it finally comes, then you have the opportunity to enjoy it. I wouldn’t say that my time in Toronto was difficult. He helped build my character. »
To say he was born with the Alouettes is an understatement: he was responsible for 1,862 yards gained for the Alouettes in 2022. He ranks second in the CFL with 1,220 yards on kickoff returns, registering two touchdowns along the way. This total of yards is also the second highest total in the history of the club. His 547 yards on punt returns rank him fifth in the CFL in that regard.
“I’ve found a place where I’m accepted,” Worthy said of his success in 2022. “It’s been a long time since I played for a team where people like what I’m doing. I was made to feel at home here. In this locker room, I have forged good ties with several of my teammates. I discovered a group where people don’t envy others’ success, but are genuinely happy to see them succeed. »
Worthy attributes his success and that of the Alouettes’ special teams to his coordinator, Byron Archambault.
“He’s a great leader,” he praised him. He does a great job of getting everyone to believe in their teammates. He makes us all want to improve and dominate when we step on this ground. […] He is one of the best leaders I have played football for. »
Unsurprisingly, Archambault refuses to take credit.
“The guys accepted this challenge from the start. Four days after the camp opened, the players found themselves with a new coordinator, someone who is in the role for the first time, and who is only one, two or three years older than some of these players. They might have been skeptical; they never were. They bought my concepts from the start. They exceeded expectations from the start and have been improving ever since. »