Who Might Win the CFL This Season?
The Grey Cup is one of the most prestigious trophies in Canadian sport, awarded to the winner of the Canadian Football League (CFL) playoffs each season. The regular season began on June 8 and runs until the end of October with the Grey Cup championship game taking place on November 19 at the Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, but who might win it?
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers
The current favorites at the time of writing, Winnipeg has already won the Grey Cup on 12 occasions, with their most recent win coming at the end of the 2021 season when they beat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. No other team has appeared in the championship game as often as the Blue Bombers, who’ve reached this stage 27 times.
In fact, having won two championships in a row, they came agonizingly close to a historic three-peat in the 2022 final, when a blocked field goal in the dying seconds meant that the Toronto Argonauts could claim the trophy instead.
This season, the roster is like last year’s, with most of their key players returning. Quarterback Zach Collaros was the Most Outstanding Player in the last two seasons and the Blue Bombers will be hoping that he drives them to the championship game again. Wide receiver Kenny Lawler returned as a free agent but was placed on the suspended list for up to four weeks at the start of the season.
The BC Lions
Based in Vancouver, the BC Lions franchise has collected six Grey Cup wins since its founding in 1954. Their first championship came in 1964, with the most recent trophy won in 2011. Last season saw them perform well, ending with a 12-6 record before losing to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the West Final. This season, they’re currently classed as second favorites to win the coveted trophy again.
Jevoni Robinson and Junior Aho joined in the Global Draft, while Francis Bemiy was their first-round pick in the National Draft. However, Nathan Rourke will be a big loss. After a breakout season in 2022 where he set a record for the highest pass completion in the CFL and won the Most Outstanding Canadian award, Rourke had a series of workouts with NFL teams before joining the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Vernon Adams is widely tipped to be the starting QB for the Lions this season and having joined in 2022 he covered for Rourke when he was injured last year. How he performs will go a long way to determining their success this season. You can read about latest football betting odds as the season progresses, finding out who the favorites are in each game and also to win the Grey Cup. With a variety of ways of betting, you can choose which wager makes sense to you based on the latest news.
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats
There are differing opinions on how many times the Hamilton Tiger-Cats have won the Grey Cup. Some sources list eight wins, which is how many championship games they’ve won since the Tigers and the Wildcats merged in 1950. However, others add in the trophies won by the different Hamilton teams before then, bringing up a total of 15.
Either way, the last time their fans were able to celebrate a championship win was back in 1999. Last season, they successfully made it to the playoffs for the fourth consecutive time but eventually lost to the Montreal Alouettes in the East Semi-Final.
Their chances this season could depend upon the success of their roster changes. The biggest move has been the addition of quarterback Bo-Levi Mitchell. He won the Grey Cup in 2014 and 2018 with the Calgary Stampeders and will be keen to do so again this season.
The Toronto Argonauts
As the oldest pro sports team in North America to never have changed their name, the Argonauts franchise has a long and proud history. Their Grey Cup win in 2022 was their 18th time winning this trophy, which is a record. They’ve also got the best winning percentage of any CFL team in the championship game, as they’ve only lost it on six occasions.
This season is their 150th anniversary, as well as their 65th season in the CFL. As the Grey Cup holder and looking for a third consecutive appearance in the playoffs, it’s easy to see why the Argonauts are classed among the favorites to win the championship.
Their top pick in the National Draft was wide receiver Jared Wayne, who joined them in the second round. Perhaps more importantly, cornerback Jamal Peters has re-signed with the Argonauts. He had a terrific 2022 season and was a key player in helping Toronto win the Grey Cup before joining the Atlanta Falcons. However, it didn’t work out for him in the US, and he said that returning was an easy decision.
It’s sure to be another exciting CFL season, with several teams capable of winning the Grey Cup and a lot of tough games for us to look forward to.
