Fajardo set to face former team as Alouettes host Roughriders on TSN
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For the first time since becoming a Montreal Alouette in the off-season, quarterback Cody Fajardo will line up against some familiar faces as the Saskatchewan Roughriders pay a visit to Percival Memorial Stadium for Friday Night Football on TSN.
While the California-born 31-year-old didn't start his Canadian Football career in Riderville, it is where the University of Nevada product's light has shined the brightest.
Fajardo quarterbacked the Roughriders for three seasons (2019, 2021-22), after stops with the BC Lions (2018) and Toronto Argonauts (2016-17), whom he won the 105th Grey Cup with in his second season.
Fajardo's first season in Riderville saw him assume command of the offence following an injury to then-starter Zach Collaros in the season opener.
Fajardo flourished in prairies, putting together a career year. He finished with 338 completions for 4,302 yards, 18 touchdowns and eight interceptions. On the ground, Fajardo proved to be a problem for opposing defences, rushing for 611 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Ultimately, the Riders and Fajardo failed to get past the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Western Final, losing 20-13 at home.
Following that Cinderella 2019 season, Fajardo and the Riders turned into pumpkins in the 2021 and 2022 seasons, falling to the Bombers in the Western Final again in 2021 and failing the reach the playoffs last season.
Looking for a fresh start, the Riders and Fajardo parted ways in the off-season.
"It's a little bit of a different story with so much build-up in the off-season, but we're seven games in and I'm just excited to be the starting quarterback for this team," he said on Thursday. "I look forward to every game, but I know a lot of guys on that team and a lot of a lot of brothers that I shared a lot of battlefields with. And it'll be exciting to see them out there and to compete against them."
Fajardo admitted there is some emotion attached to facing the Riders.
"If this is week one, it's a little bit different,” he said. “But there's, obviously, a little bit of attachment to a team that I was with for four years and played a lot of football games for. But at this point in my career, I've played for four teams now.”
“So, if I started having an arrow on all these teams, it's pretty much every team in the league, and that's how the CFL goes. But because it's fresh and this is the most recent team, obviously there's a lot of buildup."
Alouettes head coach Jason Maas, the Riders’ offensive coordinator from 2020-22, said emotion won’t be a factor for him.
"If [Friday’s game] was in Saskatchewan it may be a little bit different feeling but it's not," Maas said Thursday. "…We've all moved on. I mean, I think there’s good feelings in their locker and great feelings in our locker room, all those things about our teams. My focus is on us solely and not about the opponent.”
"Now again, I've got great familiarity with those guys and been in the locker room with them, shared some great memories. So I have no animosity, not holding a grudge."
History aside, Roughriders head coach Craig Dickenson knows his team is in for a battle come kickoff.
"I expect some physicality," Dickenson said pre-game Friday. "They're really strong across the board. They play very hard. And they're known for being tough guys.
"So, our guys know it's going to be a physical game, and we're going to have to play our best."
Fajardo, who has recorded 1,877 passing yards for six touchdowns and five interceptions on the season, left the Alouettes' Week 9 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats early and was initially listed as a game-time decision heading into Friday.
Now listed as active, Dickenson noted that the uncertainty of the Alouettes' starter did throw a wrench into their preparation.
"We got to still do what we do and play our game, but his skill set is definitely different than some other guys," Dickenson said.
With 2,901 net offensive yards on the season (second most in the CFL) the Riders continue to roll with quarterback Mason Fine while veteran Trevor Harris remains on the six-game injured list.
Fine, who is in his second year with the Roughriders after an illustrious career with the University of North Texas Mean Green, touched on his relationship with Fajardo.
"Cody's awesome; he's a great person," Fine said Thursday. "He's a great teammate. He's a great family man. He taught me, was always under his wing. About the situation last year [Fine took over for Fajardo in the final two weeks of the 2022 season], he was always supportive. We were close. We did a lot of things outside of football.
"We're always talking on and off the field. He was a joy to come to work to and we've been texting throughout the season in the off-season and stuff, so we're still pretty close."
That's not to say Fine isn't focused on the highly anticipated East-West clash, especially with the Riders on a short week and coming off a dramatic 26-24 win over the Ottawa Redblacks last week.
"We're going to have no excuses," Fine said. "We're ready to play and we're ready to go. I don't want anyone complaining about a short week or anything."