It appears the Montreal Alouettes aren't being entirely truthful about their quarterback plans for the regular season finale.
After saying Davis Alexander would start all week, the team announced on social media an hour before kickoff Saturday that McLeod Bethel-Thompson would start in Winnipeg instead.
Thursday, head coach Jason Maas was adamant that Alexander would play regardless of whether the game had playoff significance..
“I've said it before: He's not a five-year veteran, in terms of playing five seasons in a row. He needs to play, and he needs to play a lot – especially against an opponent we might face in the playoffs.”
After the Hamilton Tiger-Cats beat the Ottawa Redblacks on Friday to take first place in the East Division and Montreal in second, it appears Maas has changed his mind.
Alexander has started just seven games this season, his first as the Alouettes' franchise quarterback. The 27-year-old has missed significant time with a hamstring injury in two separate areas and has suffered minor injuries in each of his last two games after being hit to the head and elbow.
The Gig Harbor, Washington native remains undefeated in 11 career CFL starts. This season, he completed 158 of 218 passes for 2,024 yards, 10 touchdowns and three interceptions while rushing for 110 yards and a score.
Bethel-Thompson has started seven games this season, playing under 3-4 leadership. The 37-year-old completed 138 of 209 passes for 1,564 yards, nine touchdowns and eight interceptions while rushing for 62 yards.
The Montreal Alouettes (10-7) will tip off against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (9-8) at 3:00 pm ET at Princess Auto Stadium. The Alouettes are coming off back-to-back wins over the Ottawa Redblacks.Bye The Blue Bombers pulled off an upset win over the depleted Saskatchewan Roughriders..
The weather forecast for Winnipeg calls for temperatures of up to 14 degrees and sunny skies. The game will be broadcast on TSN, RDS and CTV in Canada and CFL+ worldwide. Radio listeners can tune in to TSN 690 in Montreal and 680 CJOB in Winnipeg.
