Montreal Alouettes wide receiver Tyler Snead probably knows better than anyone what his franchise quarterback Davis Alexander is going through with a nagging hamstring injury, as he is not only the quarterback's top target, but also his roommate and close friend.
Both players addressed the media Tuesday morning in Montreal, their final appearances before the offseason. The receiver was impressed by Alexander's pain tolerance and determination.
“Less than one percent would play in the Gray Cup with an injury like that,” Snead told the media. “For him to come out and perform the way he did and put it all on the line for us, that's the type of guy, the type of competitor and the type of leader he is for us. That's why everyone follows him and why everything is different when he's there.”
The 27-year-old passer battled a hamstring injury from April until the end of the season. Now that the Alouettes are done for the year, he spoke about the extent of what he had to endure: a Grade 3C tear and a Grade 2A partial tear last week in Hamilton.
A Grade 3C tear is the second most severe hamstring injury an athlete can suffer, just one stage behind a bone tear, requiring surgery and four to six weeks of recovery. Alexander never fully recovered, but nevertheless played the entire Gray Cup.
When asked if his training plan last offseason contributed to the injury, Alexander admitted that he may have been training too hard.
“I think this has been talked about a little bit,” he said. “Maybe I trained too hard. Until now I didn't believe it was something happening, so I'll keep an eye on it.”
Alexander could also go through training camp with an injury to prove his place in the CFL as a starter.
“Selfish, yes (that may be true),” he said. “But I don't think we knew how serious the injury was at the time. I was able to get through training camp and felt good.”
The Gig Harbor, Wash., native, who turned the ball over three times against the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Gray Cup, made no excuses for his play or poor passes. He doesn't think his injury or management of it had any impact on his performance.
“If you play the worst game of your career in the biggest game, it eats away at you a little bit,” he said. “As you saw at the end of the game, I threw one of the best balls of my entire life: that deep ball to Snead. I can't use (the injury) as an excuse at all.”
Snead concluded his media appearance by declaring his faith in his quarterback and his team moving forward. With a healthy quarterback in 2026, he believes the sky's the limit.
“I know this team and this group will come back to the same position and we will end up in the same position. Next time we will finish and win.”
The Saskatchewan Roughriders defeated the Montreal Alouettes in the 112th Gray Cup at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg, 25-17.
Trevor Harris was named MVP after he completed 23 of 27 pass attempts for 302 yards, winning his first Gray Cup as a starter. Samuel Emilus was named the most valuable Canadian after he had 10 catches for 108 yards and just two completions, falling short of a Gray Cup record.
